You are here:

Glossary

Carta Caritatis (the Charter of Charity)

This was a pioneering document that established the constitutional framework of the Order; it outlined the federal arrangement of the abbeys which were joined in bonds of unity and subject to annual visitation. Every abbey was to have a copy of this document. The Carta Caritatis was frequently updated; the earliest version, compiled c. 1114, is no longer extant. It was approved by Pope Calixtus II in 1119