The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons, is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church founded in Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Norbert of Xanten, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg. Premonstratensians are designated by OPraem following their name.
The Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church.
Saint Augustine surrounded by Augustinian monks (Paduan school, 15th century), relief in the portal tympanum of the former Augustinian convent of Santo Stefano in Venice. The book inscription is the beginning of the Rule of Saint Augustine: ANTE O[MN]IA FRATRES CARISSIMI DILIGATVR DEVS DEINDE PROXIMVS QVIA ISTA PR[A]ECEPTA SVNT N[O]B[IS] DATA - "First of all, most beloved brothers, God shall be loved, thereafter the neighbour, for these instructions have been given to us."