[rssoconnor]

I was reading about the Order of Cistercians the other day, and I am reminded of this passage from wikipedia:

Relaxations were gradually introduced into Cistercian life with regard to diet and simplicity of life. Also, they began accepting the traditional sources of income that monks in comparable orders used: like rents, tolls, and benefices. The agricultural operations were blessed by success. Wealth and splendour characterized the monasteries, so that by 1300, the standard of living in most abbeys was comparable, if not higher, than the standards middling nobles enjoyed.[59]

[59] Jaritz, Gerhard (1985). "The Standard of Living in German and Austrian Cistercian Monasteries of the Late Middle Ages". In Elder, E. Rozanne (ed.). Goad and Nail. Studies in medieval Cistercian history. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-87907-984-0. "A study [Watzl 1978] done for the Lower-Austrian abbey of Heiligenkreuz demonstrates that in the first half of the fifteenth century, no fewer than 201-207 days of the year saw extra food."