Table of Contents

CONTENTS
Preface   9
Chapters of the Rule
Prologue   15
1. The Kinds of Monks   20
2. Qualities of the Abbot   21
3. Summoning the Brothers for Counsel   25
4. The Tools for Good Works   26
5. Obedience   29
6. Restraint of Speech   31
7. Humility   32
8. The Divine Office at Night   38
9. The Number of Psalms at the Night Office   39
10. The Arrangement of the Night Office in Summer   39
11. The Celebration of Vigils on Sunday   39
12. The Celebration of the Solemnity of Lauds   41
13. The Celebration of Lauds on Ordinary Days   41
14. The Celebration of Vigils on the Anniversaries of Saints   42
15. The Times for Saying Alleluia   42
16. The Celebration of the Divine Office during the Day   43
17. The Number of Psalms to Be Sung at These Hours   43 
18. The Order of the Psalmody   44
19. The Discipline of Psalmody   6
20. Reverence in Prayer   47
21. The Deans of the Monastery   47
22. The Sleeping Arrangements of the Monks   48
23. Excommunication for Faults   48
24. Degrees of Excommunication   49
25. Serious Faults   49
26. Unauthorized Association with the Excommunicated   50
27. The Abbot’s Concern for the Excommunicated   50
28. Those Who Refuse to Amend after Frequent Reproofs   51
29. Readmission of Brothers Who Leave the Monastery   52
30. The Manner of Reproving Boys   52
31. Qualifications of the Monastery Cellarer   53
32. The Tools and Goods of the Monastery   54
33. Monks and Private Ownership   55
34. Distribution of Goods According to Need   55
35. Kitchen Servers of the Week   56
36. The Sick Brothers   57
37. The Elderly and Children   58
38. The Reader for the Week   58
39. The Proper Amount of Food   59
40. The Proper Amount of Drink   60
41. The Times for the Brothers’ Meals   61
42. Silence after Compline   62
43. Tardiness at the Work of God or at Table   63
44. Satisfaction by the Excommunicated   65
45. Mistakes in the Oratory   66
46. Faults Committed in Other Matters   66
47. Announcing the Hours for the Work of God   66 
48. The Daily Manual Labor   67
49. The Observance of Lent   69
50. Brothers Working at a Distance or Traveling   70
51. Brothers on a Short Journey   70
52. The Oratory of the Monastery   70
53. The Reception of Guests   71
54. Letters or Gifts for Monks   73
55. The Clothing and Footwear of the Brothers   73
56. The Abbot’s Table   75
57. The Artisans of the Monastery   75
58. The Procedure for Receiving Brothers   76
59. The Offering of Sons by Nobles or by the Poor   79
60. The Admission of Priests to the Monastery   79
61. The Reception of Visiting Monks   80
62. The Priests of the Monastery   82
63. Community Rank   82
64. The Election of an Abbot   84
65. The Prior of the Monastery   86
66. The Porter of the Monastery   88
67. Brothers Sent on a Journey   89
68. Assignment of Impossible Tasks to a Brother   89
69. The Presumption of Defending Another in the Monastery    90
70. The Presumption of Striking Another Monk at Will   90
71. Mutual Obedience   91
72. The Good Zeal of Monks    92
73. This Rule Only a Beginning of Perfection   92