Vaucelles Abbey, founded in the Cambresis in 1131 by a local castellan, thrived in a borderland region, where German emperors, Flemish counts, kings of France, archbishops of Reims, and popes all had active interests. To understand how Vaucelles flourished, we must look at the relationships that the house created and fostered with local, regional, and international rulers and at how Vaucelles used these relationships to protect is vast holdings. This study also makes the argument that two principal factors influenced the foundation and development of Vaucelles--the fact that the abbey was established in a medieval borderland and that it was a Cistercian house, indeed a direct daugher-house of Clairvaux. These two factors make Vaucelles an exceptional tool for demonstrating many aspects of Vaucelles' policial, social, and economic life in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.