The successor of Gerald of Salles, the hermit Roger, developed the abbey and established several monasteries and priories (Aubignac, Bœuil, Loc-Dieu, the Palais Notre-Dame, Prébenoît), thereby forming the Order of Dalon.

[3] Upon Roger's death in 1159, the monks of Dalon requested the general chapter of Pontigny to send other instructors, since both orders were following the same Benedictine rule.

In 1162, just after the election of the third abbot, Dalon joined the Order of Cistercians alongside its daughter houses Bœuil, Bonlieu, Loc-Dieu, le Palais and Prébenoît.

Dalon became the third daughter house of Pontigny and received protection from Henry Plantagenet, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart.

The well-known troubadour and lord of Hautefort Bertran de Born withdrew as a monk into Dalon and died there in 1215.