Glossary

Savigniac Order

This had its origins in 1105 when Vitalis of Mortain established a hermitage in the forest of Savigny. The community later followed the Benedictine Rule, wore grey habits and founded daughter-houses. By 1147 the Order was experiencing financial and administrative problems, prompting the head of the Savigniacs, Abbot Serlo of Savigny, to approach the General Chapter of Cîteaux in 1147, seeking the absorption of his congregation. His request was accepted and this brought fourteen houses in England and Wales within the Cistercian family. Each of the newly affiliated houses was surveyed, checked and ‘illuminated with the Cistercian way of life’.