Beinecke MS 635
Spain, s. XII/XIII
Cistercian statutes

1. ff. 1r-6r	[prologue, beginning missing:] // fratres mutue pacis futurum precaventes 
naufragium elucidaverunt et statuerunt suisque posteris reliquerunt quo pacto ... solam karitatem 
et animarum utilitatem in divinis et humanis exequitur. [text:] Capitulum primum. Quod nullius 
commodi corporalis exactione mater ecclesia a filia requirat. *******ritatis. Quia unius veri regis 
et domini et magistri nos omnes servos, licet inutiles, esse cognoscimus, iccirco abbatibus et 
confratibus nostris monachis, quos per diversa loca Dei pietas per nos miserrimos hominum sub 
regulari disciplina ordinaverit, nullam terrene commoditatis seu rerum temporalium exactionem 
imponimus ...[f. 5r, chapter X:] ... Alias autem ubicumque convenerint secundum tempus 
abbatiarum ordinem suum tenebunt ut, cuius @cclesia fuerit antiquior, ille sit prior. Ubicumque 
vero consederint, humilient sibi mutuo. [ff. 5v-6r follow three chapters without chapter number 
or heading:] Si forte aliqua controversia inter quoslibet abbates emerserit ...; Si qua domus 
ordinis nostri abbate proprio fuerit destituta ...; Si quis abbas pro inutilitate seu pusillanimitate 
sua a patre suo abbate domus illius ... Set si fuerit tanta necessitas, nichil per se inde faciat, set 
convocatis aliquibus abbatibus nostri ordinis eorum consilio agat quod pariter noverint oportere.

Carta caritatis prior (PL 166.1377-1384). Chapters I-X correspond to the edition by J. Turk, 
Cistercii statuta antiquissima. Analecta Sacri Ordinis Cisterciensis, 4 (1948), pp. 109-113. The 
three chapters at the end are nos. XVIII, XXI and XXV in the edition of the Carta caritatis by 
J.-M. Canivez, Statuta Capitulorum Generalium Ordinis Cisterciensis ab anno 1116 ad annum 
1786, v. 1. Bibliotheque de la Revue d'Histoire Ecclesiastique, v. 9 (Louvain, 1933), pp. XXVI-
XXXI.

2. ff. 6r-125r	Incipiunt capitula libri usuum. I. De Adventu Domini ... CXXVII. De versu 
refectionis. [f. 7v, text:]  I. De Adventu Domini. In Adventu Domini dominica prima Ysaias 
incipiatur ad vigilias et deinceps totus legatur per Adventum ... [f. 124r:] CXXVII. Quando bis 
comedunt monachi.  Quando fratres bis comedunt dicitur ad prandium post Benedicite ... [f. 
125r:] Hec ad biberes. Largitor omnium bonorum benedicat potum servorum suorum.

Usus antiquiores ordinis Cisterciensis, PL 166.1385-1502. There are innumerable and important 
additions and alterations, written by other hands in the margins or on erasure. After one such a 
correction, a full column is left blank (f. 97vb).

3. f. 125r	[S]i per negligentiam evenerit ut perlecto canone et peracta consecratione nec aqua 
nec vinum reperiatur in calice, debet statim infundi utrumque et sacerdos reiterabit ab illo loco 
canonis ... Illud tamen quod intus ceciderat debet prius in calice sepius vino perfundi.

On accidents which may occur during Mass.

4. ff. 125v-126r	Gravior culpa est si cuiquam aliqua negligentia contigerit in corpore et 
sanguine Domini, sive palam, sive in occulte. Hec si abbati evenerit ... Quod si infirmo datum 
reicitur, prout diligentius poterit suscipiatur et contritum in calice cum vino ab aliquo sumatur, si 
integrum sumi non possit, eo quod ore alterius deiectum est.

On accidents which may occur during handling the Eucharist.

5. f. 126r	De negligentia corporis Christi. 

Another version of art. 3.

6. f. 126v	Ivo, humilis Carnotensis ecclesie minister, G., abbati monasterii Wandregisili, 
salutem in Domino. Consuluit parvitatem meam dilectio vestra utrum tabule altarium aliquando 
consecrate, cum translate fuerint et super novam struem lapidum posite, denuo sint consecrande 
... sed hec prudencie vestre sufficere sum arbitratus. Vale.

Ivo of Chartres (Ivo Carnotensis, c. 1040-1117), Letter to G., abbot of St. Wandrille, PL 162.92. 
The addressee is Gerard II (1092-1126).

7. ff. 127r-141r	Super instituta generalis capituli apud Cistercium. In carta karitatis inter 
cetera continetur quod singulis annis semel conveniant omnes abbates cenobiorum, que Dei gratia 
in diversis sunt ordinata provinciis, ad Cisterciensem ecclesiam ... Incipiunt capitula super 
instituta generalis capituli. Quo in loco sint construenda cenobia ... De scriptoriis. [f. 128v, text:] 
Quo in loco sint construenda cenobia. In civitatibus, villis, castellis nulla nostra construenda sunt 
cenobia ... De scriptoriis. In omnibus scriptoriis, ubicumque ex consuetudine monachi scribunt, 
silentium teneatur sicut in claustro.

Statuta ordinis Cisterciensis, Prima collectio (1134), J.-M. Canivez, ed., Statuta capitulorum 
generalium, v. 1, pp. 13-32.

8. ff. 141r-148v	Incipiunt capitula usuum conversorum. Qualiter se habeant fratres in 
grangiis ... De campanis. [f. 141v:] Incipit prologus. Cum constet super animas laicorum fratrum 
eque ut monachorum curam nos suscepisse ab episcopis, miror quosdam abbates nostros monachis 
quidem discipline debitam impendere diligentiam, conversis vero aut nullam aut minimam ... [f. 
142r, text:] Qualiter se habeant fratres in grangiis. Tam ad vigilias quam ad horas diei faciant 
orationes suas sicut monachi ... De campanis. Conversi ad grangias campanas non habeant nisi 
parvas nolas in refectorio ad convocandum fratres ad refectionem. Quas qui habere voluerit 
habeat.

Usus conversorum ordinis Cisterciensis, Ph. Guignard, ed., Les monuments
primitifs de la Regle 
cistercienne (Dijon, 1878), pp. 276-287.


Parchment, ff. I (paper) + 148 + I (paper), 230 x 160 mm. Lower edge of many leaves damaged, 
with loss of text. The final pages worn and smudged.

I 8 (-1, ff. 1-7), II-XV 8 (ff. 8-119), XVI 8 (-8, ff. 120-126), XVII-XVIII 8 (ff. 127-142), XIX 8 (-
7, -8, ff. 143-148). Horizontal catchwords under the right-hand column, some missing due to the 
damaged state of the lower margins. All catchwords are decorated with red ink, except the one 
on f. 134v, which refers to a heading and is written in red. The outer side of the quires is hair 
side. Parchment tabs appear at the outer edge of ff. 16, 55 and 89.

Ruled with lead for one column (art. 1), for two columns (all the remaining parts), always of 24 
lines above top line, ruling types 16 and 46, with an additional vertical line between the two 
columns and all horizontal lines crossing the intercolumnar space, 170/175 x 113 mm., 
intercolumnar space 11 mm.

Copied by various hands in Iberian Praegothica: articles 1, 2, 7 and 8 are copied by one hand in 
bold solemn script; artt. 3 and 5 have irregular handwriting by several hands; art. 4 is copied in 
bold script resembling the main hand; art. 6 is in a definitely different script with long ascenders 
and descenders.

The original sections (articles 1, 2, 7 and 8) have red headings and red decorative line-fillers; 1-
line plain initials and numerous 2-line (sometimes 3- or 4-line) plain or flourished initials or 
litterae duplices intermingled. Many round initials such as C, D, O, Q are filled with a human 
face ("face initials"); in art. 7 some initials I are zoomorphic and take the shape of a fish (ff. 127r, 
134r). Red and purple initials normally alternate. Art. 4 has red initials. The remaining articles are 
undecorated.

Limp parchment binding s. XVII/XVIII with remains of two leather ties. On the spine the hand-
written title "Charta charitatis, liber usuum et institut. Ordinis S. Bernardi. M.S." At the bottom 
of the spine a label with the handwritten modern number "1280".

The original part of the manuscript consists of artt. 1, 2, 7 and 8; artt. 3-6 are additions written on 
blank pages at the end of quire XVI. On f. Ir, the s. XVIII inscription: "Este codice fue del 
monasterio de Fitero, en el reino de Navarra. Esta incompleto aunque es mui poco que le falta ... 
Sera del siglo XIII. Lo estimo in 75 reales vellon, i lo adquiri el 16 de Noviembre de 1757". The 
signature underneath is cancelled. The Cistercian abbey of Fitero (between Pamplona and 
Tudela) was perhaps also the place where the manuscript was made, as one of the scribes would 
be the Fitero scribe E mentioned in C. Monterde Albiac, Coleccion diplomatica del monasterio de 
Fitero (1140-1210) (Zaragoza, 1978). Purchased in May 1982 from Laurence Witten on the 
Edwin J. Beinecke Fund.

Bibliography:
D.L. Creasy, Yale University Library Gazette, v. 57 (1983), pp. 171-172.

Albert Derolez

Coll.R 02.06.08