Stephen, being ordained, in 1073 obtained the Pope's permission to establish an order. He is said to have settled in Muret near Limoges in 1076, where he made himself a hut of branches of trees and lived there for some time in complete solitude. A few disciples gathered round him, and a community was formed. The Order of Grandmont has been claimed by both Benedictines and Canons Regular as a branch of their respective institutes, although the Grandmontines always maintained that they were hermits.