Faint black, brilliant white: from the weakness of Cluny to the strength of the Cistercians (Galicia and Portugal, twelfth and thirteenth centuries)^*

Medieval Galicia has always been seen, perhaps exaggeratedly so, as a territory in which monasteries exercised unparalleled power. But not all monastic ventures had the same degree of success. Cluny was among those that left a fainter mark on medieval Galician society. Despite the important role played by the House of Burgundy in other regards, its impact on the monastic sphere, strictly speaking, was relatively slight. This article attempts to provide the keys for understanding this fact.