The Florians, in Latin Floriacenses, were an altogether independent order during the feudal era, and not, as some consider, a branch of the

Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Sain ...

History

The Order of Flora was founded in 1189 by the Abbot Joachim of Flora, by whom its constitutions were drawn up. Besides preserving a number of Cistercian observances, the founder added to the austerities of Cîteaux. The Florians went barefoot; their habits were white and very coarse. Their Breviary differed in the distribution of Offices from that of Cîteaux. The constitutions were approved by Pope Celestine III in 1196. The order spread rapidly, soon numbering as many as thirty-five

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

, but it seems not to have extended beyond Italy. In 1470 the regular abbots were replaced by commendatory abbots, but the abuses of this regime hastened the decline of the order. In 1505 the

Abbey of Flora An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

and its affiliated monasteries were united to the

Order of Cîteaux The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

. In 1515 other Florian monasteries united themselves to the Grande Chartreuse (Carthusians) or to the Dominicans, and in 1570, after a century under the regime of

commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot ( la, abbas commendatarius) is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey '' in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot i ...

s, not a single independent monastery remained, and the Order of Flora had ceased to exist. Under the Abbot of Flora were also four

of religious women, who followed the Florian rule.

Sources

* {{Catholic Cistercian Order