GILBERTINI. — Religious order, the only one of English origin, founded by St. Gilberto of Sempringham around 1131–35, with double monasteries modeled on the Order of Fontevrault. William, abbot of Rievaulx, and Alessandro, bishop of Lincoln, contributed to its foundation with counsel and land donations.
In four separate divisions, the monasteries housed choir nuns, lay sisters, lay brothers, and priests called canons, under a single administration conducted by the nuns. These, under the Rule of St. Benedict and Cistercian statutes, partly lived an exclusively contemplative life and partly attended to domestic tasks. Among the religious, under the so-called Rule of St. Augustine and the statutes composed by St. Gilberto, the lay brothers worked the land and provided for the community’s upkeep, while the canons, added later in 1148, attended to the monastery’s spiritual direction. The Order soon achieved great expansion and established new houses on estates offered by nobles and prelates. Nevertheless, it never crossed the borders of England, except for two houses in Ireland. It was approved by Pope Eugenio III in 1148. At the founder’s death, it numbered 700 religious and 500 nuns. When it was suppressed by Enrico VIII together with the other Orders, it numbered 26 monasteries.
The entire Order was governed by a master general, also called the master of Sempringham after the place of his residence. He was elected at the annual General Chapter, attended by the superior and the prioress of every monastery. His authority was absolute, and he continually visited his houses, accompanied by several canons and nuns, who subsequently took part in the General Chapter. The religious wore a black cassock with a white mantle and hood lined with lambskin; the nuns wore white garments similar in form to those of the men.