David N. BELL. Handmaid of the Lord: Mary, the Cistercians and Armand-Jean de Rancé. Collegeville; Cistercian Publications, 2021. Pp. 388. $49.95 pb. Reviewed by James K. HANNA, University of Notre Dame.

David Bell’s latest magisterial work is Volume Two-Hundred Ninety-Three in the Cistercian Studies Series brought to life by Liturgical Press. There are two great strengths of the volume this reviewer wishes to highlight.

First, the organization of the work, the division of Bell’s labor. He has presented his research in three parts, titled as such, but in the Introduction, he clearly defines that his work is not a history of Mary as “she has been portrayed, described, idealized, idolized, represented, misrepresented, and so on.” Thank goodness! Rather, his book is a much needed and surely appreciated examination of “what Cistercian writers and preachers have said about Mary from the of the founding fathers of the Order to Armand-Jean de Rancé.” Bell is speaking of the six centuries from the period of foundation (1098-1134) to the death of Armand-Jean de Rancé in 1700.

Following the Introduction is Part One: Mary, where fifty pages help the reader understand the era and controversies surrounding the Dormition or Immaculate Conception – the varying signs of the times and differing atmosphere during the six centuries at hand. This background will give the reader an appreciation for the culture and mindset of the Cistercians we meet in the following chapters.

In Part Two: The Cistercians, we meet many, from Bernard of Clairvaux and Lawrence of Brandisi, to the lesser-known Stephen of Sawley and Ogier of Locedio, to visionaries Gertrude the Great and Elizabeth of Schonau. This survey of mystics and visionaries sets the stage well for our meeting with Armand-Jean de Rancé, who, according to Bell, is “no mystic, no visionary, no Mariolater” but one who “had his feet firmly set on the ground and had a greater devotion to the mother of God than many hitherto have suggested.”

In Part Three: Arman-Jean de Rancé, Bell examines the place of Mary at la Trappe with a review of five conferences given by Rancé at three Marian feasts (Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin, Feast of the Annunciation, and three on the Feast of the Assumption). He concludes with a summary that focuses on the tie that binds the Order: the humility of Mary.

The second great strength of this volume – and there are few books of which this is said - is found in the indices, if used extensively. There are two: Index of Persons, and Index of Principal Marian Themes. It is the second index that this reviewer finds particularly valuable. If used as intended, the reader will understand how the white cowl of the Cistercian came to be regarded as a sign of the order’s consecration to Mary, “Queen of Citeaux.” 

 If a reader ever doubted that Cistercian spirituality and Mariology are inseparable those doubts will be erased by David Bell’s wonderful narrative, organized, and written in a style to please the student of the Order or scholar of Mariology, as well as the novice to both.