Editing Bernard of Clairvaux (section)

==Early life (1090–1113)==
Bernard's parents were [[Tescelin de Fontaine]], lord of [[Fontaine-lès-Dijon]], and [[Alèthe de Montbard]], both members of the highest nobility of [[Burgundy]]. Bernard was the third of seven children, six of whom were sons. Aged nine, he was sent to a school at [[Châtillon-sur-Seine]] run by the [[secular canons]] of Saint-Vorles. Bernard had an interest in literature and rhetoric.

Bernard's mother died when he was a youth. During his education with priests, he often thought of becoming one. In 1098, a group led by [[Robert of Molesme]] had founded [[Cîteaux Abbey]], near [[Dijon]], with the purpose of living according to a literal interpretation of the [[Rule of St Benedict|Rule of St. Benedict]]. They established new administrative structures among their monasteries, effectively creating a new order, known, after the first abbey, as the [[Order of Cistercians]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schachenmayr |first=Alkuin |date=2020 |title=Conference Notes on Stephen Harding as the Sole Author of the Carta Caritatis: Did the Carta found the Order? |url=https://www.amad.org/jspui/handle/123456789/167182 |journal=Cistercian Studies Quarterly |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=417–424}}</ref> After his mother died, Bernard decided to go to Cîteaux. In 1113 he and thirty other young noblemen of Burgundy, many of whom were his relatives, sought and gained admission to the new monastery.{{sfn|McManners|1990|p=204}} Bernard's example was so convincing that scores (among them his own father) followed him into the monastic life.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olson |title=Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint. Defender of Christianity Against Rationalism |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2013 |publication-date=2013 |chapter=}}</ref> As a result, he is considered the patron of religious vocations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mixa |first=Robert |date=2017-08-20 |title=St. Bernard of Clairvaux – Promoter of the Religious Life Par Excellence |url=https://vocationblog.com/2017/08/st-bernard-of-clairvaux-promoter-of-the-religious-life-par-excellence/ |access-date=2024-10-14 |website=Vocation Blog |language=en-US}}</ref>