Conrad, a monk of Eberbach in Germany, weaves both documentary history and edifying exempla into a gentle exhortion to Cistercians of the early thirteenth century to remain true to their vocation and to the traditions of their Order. Benedicta Ward SLG, a member of the Sisters of the Love of God community, is a fellow of Harris Manchester College and teaches for the Faculty of Theology at Oxford University. She is the author of numerous books on early monasticism and medieval spirituality. Paul Savage received his Ph.D. in medieval history from the University of Notre Dame and wrote his dissertation on the Exordium Magnum. In addition to the early Cistercians he has studied the early generations of the Carthusian Order and contributed several articles on the antipopes in the New Catholic Encyclopedia. He currently teaches history and economics in Salt Lake City.