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St Bernard of Clairvaux
St Bernard of Clairvaux was born near Dijon, France in 1090. His family were of the noble classes: his father, a knight named Tecelin, perished on crusade; and his mother, Aleth, was a daughter of the noble house of Montbard. She was a woman distinguished for her piety, and died while Bernard was a boy.
For a number of years the author of this feature used to organise an annual conference for one of his professional bodies at Queen's College, Cambridge, and so was familiar with St Bernard, who is the Patron Saint of that establishment.
Bernard was not fit for a military career and felt directed towards the church. His desire to enter a monastery was opposed by his relations. He was sent to study at Châtillon-sur-Seine in order to qualify for high ecclesiastical preferment. However his resolve to become a monk was not shaken, and he decided to join the community that Robert of Molesme had founded at Citeaux in 1098, taking with him his brothers and many of his relations and friends.
He was an abbot, and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian monastic order. He is described as "the voice of conscience, the dominating figure in the Christian church from 1125 to 1153" and his authority helped to end the schism of 1130.
St Bernard was the main voice of conservatism during the intellectual revival of Western Europe called the Renaissance of the 12th century, and the principal opponent of a rising trend of scholastic theology. Devoted to promoting the veneration of the Virgin Mary, he was also the most influential advocate of the Second Crusade.
The little community of reformed Benedictines at Cîteaux, which would have so profound an influence on Western monasticism, grew so rapidly that it was soon able to send out offshoots. One of these monasteries, Clairvaux, was founded in 1115, in a wild valley of a tributary of the Aube, on land given by Count Hugh of Troyes. There Bernard, a recent initiate, was appointed abbot.
By the new constitution of the Cistercians, Clairvaux became the chief monastery of the five branches into which the order was divided under the supreme direction of the abbot of Cîteaux. Though nominally subject to Cîteaux, Clairvaux soon became the most important Cistercian house, owing to the fame and influence of Bernard.
Within the wider church, Bernard made a significant contribution to ecclesiastical matters, and elements of his influence are to be found to this day.
He is venerated in both the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. He was canonised as a saint in 1174 and declared a Doctor (of the Church) in 1830.
St Bernard died on 21st August 1153 in Clairvaux, and his feast day is celebrated on 20th August each year.
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