La Grande Chartreuse: A Lonely Island of Prayer

It is without doubt a very solitary life, that of a Carthusian father. On ordinary days he only leaves his cell three times—at night (10:30) for the great night service, in the morning for high mass, in the afternoon for vespers, and on these three occasions the cell is exchanged for the chapel of the monastery. At those hours you would see the white-robed monk with his white cowl shading his face, noiselessly coming from his house or cell into the cloister, passing silently into his stall in the chapel, and then without a word to any mortal, only the whispered or chanted words to God, returning after service all silent to the solitude of his cell.

Is he ever weary of this strange, prayer-filled, lonely life? What thoughts occupy him, as day after day, year after year, after that brief visit to the chapel, he comes back to that silent home of his? Does he regret the movement and stir of the life he has left behind? Does this solitude and silence pall upon him, weary him? They say not. The general of the Order spoke to me of the serene, quiet happiness of the fathers. There is never a vacant cell. There are many we know waiting for a chance to fill one of these strange, silent homes. Everyone connected with the Order with whom I have spoken, bears the same unanimous testimony. The happiness of these silent, praying men seems to be deep, unbroken, real.

The especial work of the monks of the Grande Chartreuse is not the care of the sick and afflicted, but they maintain homes for the suffering poor, their revenues being sensibly augmented by the great sale of their famous liqueur, manufactured at a distillery a few miles distant from the monastery, and into the composition of which many herbs growing on the slopes of the Alps largely enter. The secret of the liqueur is rigidly kept. But the raison d'etre of the life of a monk of the Chartreuse without doubt is prayer. Such a life, where all is sacrificed for this one end, may not be our ideal of life surely. The busy man of the nineteenth century seeks more definite, more tangible results than the Carthusian father: He would aim at the blessed guerdon of the honoured philanthropist, at the laurels of the great soldier, at the applause ever given to the successful writer.

The solitary believes that only in the silence of his cell—a silence rarely broken, save by the solemn chant and psalm of his more public services, shared in with his brother monks—comes that whisper of the Eternal, the vena divini susurri, which teaches him the language of communion with God, which dictates the words of those earnest, passionate prayers to his God, by which it is his belief he can best help his brothers and sisters struggling and suffering in the world.

 

Who among us who believe in the mighty power of prayer would dare to cast a stone at these devoted men, who, in pursuit of what they deem the highest ideal of life, have given up all that men hold dear and love—home, friends, love, rank, fame, ease, comfort. They have voluntarily cast all these prized things aside, and only live their grave, austere, perhaps joyless lives, to help in the way they deem most effective, their suffering, erring neighbours.

The Carthusian Horse

The Carthusian Horse: Horse of Kings, Thief of Hearts

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“They have such a heart and they are so generous. They will give you even what they don’t have, [that] they will try [to] give to you.” – Mercedes Gonzalez Cort

 

“When a man mounts a Carthusian Horse, he imagines himself in heaven, without leaving earth.”  – Juan Llamas Perdigo

 

From ancient times, the important role of horses in cultures has been demonstrated through numerous pictorial testimonies. In the Iberian Peninsula in particular, it is known that horses already formed part of the everyday life activities in the earliest civilizations.  These activities were to gain importance in parallel to the rise of the large cities that spread across the land and whose main writers were to praise the magnificence of the horse.

 

The Arabs organized their armies to include a light cavalry, which was almost exclusively formed by Andalusian horses. From their first contact with the breed, the invaders admired the virtues of the Andalusian horse and their great triumph lay in conserving and strengthening the characteristics of the Spanish race itself.  This led to the creation of several important breeding centres and horses were even sent as gifts to Constantinople, Baghdad and other major cities throughout the Islamic Empire.

 

The importance that Arabs gave to horses during their reign in Spain can be reflected in the Spanish words "caballero" (gentleman/knight/horseman) and "caballerosidad" (gentlemanliness/chivalry), which originated in the Middle Ages to classify with honor the owners of these prized animals and their virtues, respectively.

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The internal struggles of the Muslim rulers and the long years of reconquest decimated the horse population. The considerable increase in agriculture and farming activities from the end of the reconquest, in addition to the low demand for the use of horses for purposes of war, saw horses being replaced by mules, which were much more practical for hard work.  Horses had to be protected from undesirable crossbreeding through various government decrees, along with the intervention of Religious Orders, which protected horses within their monasteries, as was the case of the Carthusian monasteries.

 

From its foundation towards the end of the XV century, the Monastery of La Cartuja has been converted into the cornerstone of the Jerezano thoroughbred horses. In the mid 1400’s, the production of armor for horse and rider was mastered. This meant the addition of 350lbs to the weight carried into battle.  A decree was issued by the Spanish military authority, directing the Spanish breeders to blend their pure Andalusian mares with Neopolitan drafts. A small group of family breeders refused to do so, and selected their best horses and hid them away in the Carthusian monastery, donated by a wealthy patron, Don Alvaro Obertos de Valeto.

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For almost 400 years, which coincided with the centuries of greatest splendor of the kingdom of Spain, the Carthusian monks established a breeding stock (and kept detailed breeding records) which, through time, would be converted into one of the most celebrated and appreciated stocks in the world. Around the year 1835, the government dissolved the church’s ownership of lands, which led to horses being carefully passed on and treasured by a small handful of families beginning with Pedro José Zapata, who diligently preserved the original lines. He used the brand of the bit, called “Bocado.” Today we still refer to the horses as ‘Bocado’ or Cartujano. The Carthusian horse originated in Spain; it is also known as the Carthusian-Andalusian or Cartujano.

 

The Zamora brothers, who had mares of this breeding, purchased an old horse named El Soldado. They bred him to two mares. The resultant offspring were a colt and a filly; the former was Esclavo, the foundation sire of the Carthusian strain. Esclavo was dark gray, considered to be a perfect horse. He produced many outstanding offsprings, which were purchased by the breeders of Jerez. Esclavo produced a group of mares that about the year 1736 were sold to Don Pedro Picado, who gave some excellent specimens to the Carthusian monks to settle a debt he had incurred. The rest of the stock belonging to Don Pedro Picado went to Antonio Abad Romero and were eventually absorbed into the Andalusian breed. The Esclavo stock at the monastery was integrated into a special line and came to be known as Zamoranos.

 

The stallion Esclavo is said to have had warts under his tail, and his characteristics were passed on to his offspring. Some breeders felt that without the warts, a horse could not be of the Esclavo bloodline. Another characteristic sometimes seen in the Carthusian horse is the evidence of “horns”, actually frontal bosses thought to be inherited from Asian ancestors. Unlike the warts beneath the tail, the horns were not considered proof of Esclavo descent.

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Throughout the centuries that followed, the Carthusian monks guarded their bloodlines with fervor, even defying a royal order to introduce Neapolitan and central European blood into their stock.

 

Don Pedro and Juan Jose Zapata bought a good number of mares from the Carthusians. In 1854, Don Vincent Romero y Garcia, a Jerez landlord, purchased what he could of the excellent group of horses. Don Vincent lived to be ninety-two years old and because of his knowledge of breeding, greatly improved the quality of the horses without using any outside blood.

Without the dedication of the Carthusian monks, the Zapata family, and a few other breeders who refused to cross their horses with other breeds, the purest line of Andalusian blood would have been lost to the world.

 

Today Carthusian horses are raised in state-owned studs around Cordoba, Jerez de la Frontera, and Badajoz. The predominant color is gray, attributed to the important influence of two stallions of this color early in the twentieth century. Some Carthusian horses are chestnut or black. Nearly all of the modern Carthusian horses are descended from the stallion Esclavo.

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The Carthusian horse’s head is light and elegant with a slightly convex profile, broad forehead, small ears, and large, lively eyes. The neck is well proportioned and arched; the chest is broad and deep; the shoulder sloping; the back short and broad; the croup sloped; and the legs are sturdy with broad, clean joints.

 

What horse has such proud and lofty action? A showy and rhythmical walk? Or a high stepping trot full of impulsion? Where can you find a horse with a smooth rocking canter, natural balance, agility, and fire? Combine these spectacular paces with a docile temperament and you have a breed of horse well suited for any horse owner.

 

The Carthusian horse is not a separate breed from the Andalusian, but rather a distinct side branch that is usually considered the purest remaining strain with one of the oldest studbooks in the world. Roughly 82% of the Pura Raza Española (PRE = Pure Spanish Breed) population in Spain contains Cartujano blood, but there are less than 3% pure Cartujano horses within the PRE population and only 500 pure Cartujanos in existence in Spain today.

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The French invasion and the subsequent War of Independence nearly devastated the breed as the monks were expelled more than once from their monastery. In 1810, the horses were saved when “Zapata, founder of the Hospital de Arcos de la Frontera, bought 60 mares and 3 stallions of the best calibre and hid them in ‘Breña del Agua,’ sending the Carthusian monks in Cluny the amount for the established price. From these horses was formed what is at present known as the Yeguada de la Cartuja - Hierro del Bocado.”

For a horse to be considered “pure Cartujano” he must be validated by the Association of Cartujano Breeders in cooperation with the University of Cordoba. Horses receive a certificate such as the one pictured here which acknowledges their genetic purity.

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The Carthusian horse “is the most appropriate one for a king on his day of victory. … It is the aristocracy of horses of pure Spanish blood. … It is the noblest animal in the world.”

 

“[The Carthusian horse] is a beautiful and loyal animal with a big heart … eyes that did not blink when the arrow grazed his neck and caught the ancient meaning in a fleeting, burning glance … ears that heard the cannons’ roar, the whispered words of love ... skin of shot silk that knew the summer’s heat, the winder’s frost … hooves that traced new paths to lands unknown to man … a heart whose beat would quicken keeping pace with the wishes of his master … tireless vigor, proving no demand for him so great … his spirit showed the cheers and hopes of Old Spain’s men of iron, while at his proud feet the conquered nations lay … he’ll forgive like no other your omissions, errors, thoughtless handling … his back, a throne of feathers, will bear you smoothly with the trot and gallop … he’ll go where others dare not … he’ll stand firm where others flee in terror … And at the last, you’ll understand why [the Carthusian horse] was the chosen one of kings.”

Chartreuse: The Queen of Liqueurs - Made by Carthusian Monks

This post on the Carthusian liqueur(s) is offered for the sake of completeness and as a sequel to the post on the Carthusian Monks, since they are the ones who make the excellent liqueur(s). 

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CHARTREUSE: The Queen of Liqueurs

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Monks collecting the herbs needed to make Chartreuse

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Herb room

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Ah, Chartreuse!

Chartreuse is the “mysterious elixir that prolongs life” with its unique green color and is shrouded in secrecy and mystique. This liqueur is made by legendary Carthusian monks, contemplatives of the strictest Order in the Catholic Church. Connoisseurs all over the world are familiar with its very distinctive and mythical taste. This liqueur (one and only in its category) is considered by many “a wonder of nature,” “an unequaled masterpiece,” “peerless,” “a noble liqueur, rich, and satisfying,” a liqueur of which “one knows not how to write all its virtues.” For many, it is also the liqueur “for men who like to play with fire!” Yet, those sophisticated people who have had the opportunity to taste it agree that Chartreuse is much more than that.

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With the revival of the cocktail culture and craft bartending, this iconic liqueur has once again become a favorite. If you haven’t tried it, you must! If you hear someone ordering one “neat,” it is a good bet that the person works in a restaurant/bar. Within the past decade, this Carthusian liqueur has come out of the woodwork and has become the go-to drink for bartenders. “Chartreuse fever” started slowly, but has come on strong, and bartenders have gone from pouring one bottle of Chartreuse a month to four or five a week.

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Aged green Chartreuse

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Chartreuse has a very strong characteristic taste. It is sweet, but it becomes spicy and sharp. You can certainly taste the herbs when you taste it, yet it is also balanced by sweetness; its aroma and flavor are of the utmost complexity. According to many, at first taste, Chartreuse tastes very much like its color – green (herbal/vegetal) – and it is very intense (110 proof!). If you combine half jigger of Chartreuse with two jiggers of gin, your drink will still taste like Chartreuse! Chartreuse has a mystifying flavor that refuses to be conquered.

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Your first whiff of Chartreuse may well leave you dazed, confused, and captivated because you will smell dozens of plants/herbs, which makes Chartreuse so deliciously intriguing. As is the case with other liqueurs, the flavor is sensitive to temperature. If taken straight, it can be served very cold, but is often served at room temperature (we assume that this is how the monks drink it, and it is the most traditional way to drink it).

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Chartreuse transitions in flavors and scents: a sweet licorice, peppermint, and pure black and white pepper notes can be detected. Chartreuse is spicy without being harsh; it is sweet without tasting like candy; and it is a blast of flavor, but never overwhelming. It is always perfectly balanced. Chartreuse is certainly everything other liqueurs try to be, but it stands alone as “the most distinctive liqueur you can serve or give” and one that needs no matches, chemicals, water, or sugar (as other liqueurs might). It is absolutely perfect just the way the Carthusian monks have always made it!

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The Carthusian Order was more than 500 years old when, in 1605 in Vauvert, a small suburb of Paris, the monks received a gift from Francois Hannibal d’Estrées, Marshal of King’s Henri IV artillery: an already ancient manuscript from an “Elixir” soon to be nicknamed “Elixir of Long Life.” This manuscript detailed a blend, infusion, and maceration of 130 herbs, which was so complex that only bits and pieces of it were understood and used. At the beginning of the 18th century, the manuscript was sent to La Grande Chartreuse in Grenoble, where an exhaustive study of the manuscript was undertaken by Frère Jerome Maubec who finally unraveled the mystery.

Then, in 1737, a practical formula for the preparation of the Elixir was drawn up. The distribution and sales of this new medicine were limited. One of the monks of La Grande Chartreuse, Frère Charles, would load his mule with the small bottles that he sold in Grenoble and other nearby villages. Today, this “Elixir of Long Life” is still made only by the Carthusian monks following that ancient recipe. This “liqueur of health” is all natural plants, herbs and other botanicals suspended in wine alcohol – 69% alcohol by volume, 138 proof. This elixir was so tasty that it was frequently used as a beverage rather than as medicine, which led to the adaptation (in 1764) of the ancient elixir recipe to make a milder beverage: this is what is known today as “Green Chartreuse” – 55% alcohol, 110 proof. The immediate success caused the liqueur to be consumed far beyond the area around La Grande Chartreuse.

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White Chartreuse

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When the French Revolution erupted in 1789, members of all Religious Orders were expelled, and the Carthusian monks were forced to leave France in 1793. They made a copy of the manuscript kept by one of them who remained in the Monastery, while another monk was in charge of the original. This monk was arrested and sent to prison in Bordeaux, but fortunately he was able secretly to pass the original manuscript to one of his friends, Dom Basile Nantas. Dom Basile, convinced that the Order would never come back to France and unable to make the Elixir himself, sold the recipe to Monsieur Liotard, a pharmacist in Grenoble. Mr. Liotard never produced the Elixir. When Monsieur Liotard died, his heirs returned the manuscript to the Carthusian monks who had returned to their Monastery in 1816.

In 1838, the Chartreuse distillers developed a sweeter form of Chartreuse: “Yellow Chartreuse” (40% alcohol, 80 proof). In 1903, the French government nationalized the Chartreuse distillery and confiscated the monks’ property, expelling them again. This time, the monks, along with their secret recipe, went to Tarragona, Spain where they built a new distillery and began producing their liqueurs with the same label.  However, an additional label said Liqueur fabriquée à Tarragone par les Pères Chartreux (“liquor manufactured in Tarragona by the Carthusian Fathers.” For eight years (from 1921 to 1929), the monks produced an additional liqueur in Marseille (France). The liqueur from Tarragona was nicknamed “Une Tarragone.” The one from Marseille was then officially called “Tarragone.”

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Summary:

*The gift of the manuscript in 1605

*The Elixir Végétal (138 proof) finally made in 1737

*Green Chartreuse (110 proof) in 1764

*Yellow Chartreuse (80 proof) in 1838

*A “White” Chartreuse (60 proof) between 1840 and 1880; then from 1886 to 1900

*After 1904, the liqueur made by the monks in Tarragona nicknamed “Une Tarragone”

*V.E.P. (very prolonged aging) introduced in 1963

*The “Liqueur du 9ème Centenaire” (94 proof) developed in 1984 to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the foundation of the Carthusian Order

*The “1605” version (112 proof in 2005 to commemorate the gift of the recipe by Marshall d’Estrées.

*The “Liqueur des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France” in 2007

* “Génépi” (80 proof)

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All of these liqueurs are made by the monks and are based on that ancient manuscript from 1605. Only two monks are allowed to know the names of the 130 herbs and plants used to make Chartreuse. Eighteen tons of them are delivered to the Grande-Chartreuse Monastery every year. In the “Herb Room,” the herbs and plants are dried, crushed, and mixed in different series and are then kept in a bag carefully numbered and taken to the distillery in Voiron. Each series of herbs and plants macerates in alcohol, and each maceration is then distilled for about 8 hours.

Since the 19th century, the monks have used the copper stills. Most of the distillation of the liqueurs today is done in the stainless-steel stills, which have been designed especially for Chartreuse, in order to enable a very accurate control of the distillation process and, just as important, to allow the monks to monitor the distillation from the Monastery, which is 15 miles away from the distillery.

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Heated by steam, the alcohol and the essence of the plants evaporate to the top of the swan neck, and then are cooled down in the condenser becoming an alcoholate. A last maceration of plants gives its color to the liqueur. A final control is made by the monks before the liqueur can be put to age in the oak-casks of the maturing cellar. Built in 1860 and enlarged in 1966 it is the largest liqueur cellar in the world: 164 meters long. Chartreuse ages in oak casks from Russia, Hungary or France. After several years, the monks will test the liqueur and decide if it is ready to be bottled – only they can make this decision.

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The sales of the liqueurs allow the Carthusians the funds necessary to survive. The fabrication of the liqueur Chartreuse is a great source of revenue and means of support for the monks, and the surplus of their income is distributed in charitable works.

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