Alberic
The early hopes seemed to be dashed to the ground when the bereaved monks of Molesme obtained a papal command for Robert to return to his former charge, and a good number of the monks of the New Monastery opted to return with him. Alberic accepted the abbatial crozier at the New Monastery, and the little community struggled on. To insure the monks the freedom they needed to live the Rule of Benedict to the full and at the same time save the monastery from depending on outsiders, Alberic introduced into the Cistercian community committed lay men who took vows as lay brothers. These men, fully members of the community, would take charge of the temporal management both at the abbey and at its dependencies, leaving the monks with the possibility of following literally the programme laid out by Saint Benedict. Alberic also fostered the development of a scriptorium at Citeaux to insure the monks with an abundance of good material for their lectio divina (sacred reading). The fine illuminated manuscripts in the municipal library at Dijon bear witness to the fruitfulness of his endeavour. He also encouraged those studies which would contribute to this, such as their Prior Stephen Harding's study of Hebrew and Greek to produce a new and more accurate translation of the Bible.