Editing Bernard of Clairvaux (section)

==Doctor of the Church==
[[File:Francisco Ribalta - Christ Embracing St Bernard - WGA19350.jpg|thumb|''Christ Embracing St. Bernard'' by [[Francisco Ribalta]]]]
Although acknowledged as "a difficult saint,"<ref>{{Cite book |last=McGuire |first=Brian Patrick |title=The difficult saint: Bernard of Clairvaux and his tradition |date=1991 |publisher=Cistercian Publications |isbn=978-0-87907-626-9 |series=Cistercian studies series |location=Kalamazoo, Mich}}</ref> Bernard has remained influential in the centuries since his death and was named a Doctor of the Church in 1830. In 1953, on the 800th anniversary of his death, [[Pope Pius XII]] devoted the encyclical ''[[Doctor Mellifluus]]'' to him. He labeled the abbot "the [[last of the Fathers]]."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pius XII |date=24 May 1953 |title=Doctor Mellifluus |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_24051953_doctor-mellifluus.html |access-date=2024-10-15 |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

In opposition to the rational approach to understanding God used by the [[scholastics]], Bernard preached in a poetic manner, using appeals to affect and conversion to nurture a more immediate faith experience. He is considered to be a master of Christian rhetoric: "His use of language remains perhaps his most universal legacy."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robertson |first=Duncan |date=1987 |title=The Experience of Reading: Bernard of Clairvaux "Sermons on the Song of Songs", I |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40059330 |journal=Religion & Literature |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=1–20 |jstor=40059330 |issn=0888-3769}}</ref> He contributed lyrics to the [[Cistercian Hymnal]].

As a master of prayer, the abbot emphasized the value of personal, experiential friendship with Christ.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bynum |first=Caroline Walker |date=1977 |title=Jesus as Mother and Abbot as Mother: Some Themes in Twelfth-Century Cistercian Writing |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1509631 |journal=The Harvard Theological Review |volume=70 |issue=3/4 |pages=257–284 |doi=10.1017/S0017816000019933 |jstor=1509631 |issn=0017-8160}}</ref>

===Mariology===

As a [[Mariology|mariologist]], Bernard was not original but exceptionally effective in spreading devotions to the Mother of God since his preaching found such a large audience. He emphasized Mary's humility and insisted on her central role in Christian theology.<ref>Jean Leclercq: "S. Bernard et la devotion médiévale envers Marie," ''Revue d'ascétique et de mystique'' (1954), pp. 361–375.</ref> He developed the theology of her role as [[Co-Redemptrix]] and mediator.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Maunder |first=Chris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NgulDwAAQBAJ&dq=bernard+virgin+mary&pg=PA333 |title=The Oxford Handbook of Mary |date=2019-08-07 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-879255-0 |pages=306 |language=en}}</ref> He famously called Mary an "aquaeduct of grace." [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] has Bernard speak a profound Marian prayer at the beginning of the thirty-third canto of the ''[[Paradiso (Dante)|Paradiso]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gambero |first=Luigi |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mary_in_the_Middle_Ages/dYhHDwAAQBAJ?hl=de&gbpv=1&dq=mary+bernard+%22de+aquaeductu%22&pg=PA133&printsec=frontcover |title=Mary in the Middle Ages: The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Thought of Medieval Latin Theologians |date=2010-11-02 |publisher=Ignatius Press |isbn=978-1-68149-328-2 |pages=131–133 |language=en}}</ref> In Goethe's ''[[Goethe's Faust|Faust]]'', Bernard appears as a "Doctor Marianus," a committed devoté of the Virgin Mary.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goethe |first=J. W. von |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Faust_Part_Two/RjFqf5qwg5wC?hl=de&gbpv=1&dq=goethe+faust+bernard+clairvaux&pg=PA266&printsec=frontcover |title=Faust: Part Two |date=2008-05-08 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-953620-7 |pages=266 |language=en}}</ref>

===Schism===
Bernard made a self-confident impression and had an undeniable charisma in the eyes of his contemporaries; "his first and greatest miracle," wrote the historian Holdsworth, "was himself."<ref>{{Citation |last=Holdsworth |first=Christopher |title=Bernard of Clairvaux: his first and greatest miracle was himself |date=2012-11-22 |work=The Cambridge Companion to the Cistercian Order |pages=173–185 |editor-last=Birkedal Bruun |editor-first=Mette |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/CCO9780511735899A024/type/book_part |access-date=2024-10-30 |edition=1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cco9780511735899.017 |isbn=978-1-107-00131-2}}</ref> He defended the rights of the church against the encroachments of kings and princes, and recalled to their duty [[Henri Sanglier]], archbishop of Sens and [[Stephen of Senlis]], bishop of Paris. When Honorius II died in 1130, a [[Papal schism of 1130|schism]] broke out in the Church by the election of two popes, [[Pope Innocent II]] and [[Antipope Anacletus II]]. Innocent, having been banished from Rome by Anacletus, took refuge in France. King Louis VI convened a national council of the French bishops at [[Étampes]] and Bernard, summoned there by the bishops, was chosen to judge between the rival popes. He decided in favour of Innocent.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=White |first=Hayden V. |date=1960 |title=The Gregorian Ideal and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2708141 |journal=Journal of the History of Ideas |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=321–348 |doi=10.2307/2708141|jstor=2708141 }}</ref>

Bernard travelled on to Italy and reconciled [[Pisa]] with [[Genoa]], and [[Milan]] with the pope. The same year Bernard was again at the [[Council of Reims]] at the side of Innocent II. He then went to [[Aquitaine]] where he succeeded for the time in detaching [[William X, Duke of Aquitaine]], from the cause of Anacletus.
[[File:Marten Pepijn - Saint Bernard and the Duke of Aquitaine.jpg|thumb|left|''Saint Bernard and the Duke of Aquitaine'', by [[Marten Pepijn]]]]

[[Germany]] had decided to support Innocent through [[Norbert of Xanten]], who was a friend of Bernard's. Pope Innocent, however, insisted on Bernard's company when he met with [[Lothair II, Holy Roman Emperor]]. Lothair II became Innocent's strongest ally among the nobility. Although the councils of Étampes, [[Würzburg]], [[Council of Clermont|Clermont]], and [[Rheims]] all supported Innocent, large portions of the Christian world still supported Anacletus.

In a letter by Bernard to German Emperor Lothair regarding Antipope Anacletus, Bernard wrote, "It is a disgrace for Christ that a Jew sits on the throne of St. Peter's" and "Anacletus has not even a good reputation with his friends, while Innocent is illustrious beyond all doubt." (One of Anacletus' great-great-grandparents, Benedictus, maybe Baruch in Hebrew, was a Jew who had converted to Christianity - but Anacletus himself was not a Jew, and his family had been Christians for three generations).<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/pierleoni/ | title=Pierleóni nell'Enciclopedia Treccani}}</ref>

Bernard wrote to Gerard of Angoulême (a letter known as Letter 126), which questioned Gerard's reasons for supporting Anacletus. Bernard later commented that Gerard was his most formidable opponent during the whole schism. After persuading Gerard, Bernard travelled to visit [[William X, Duke of Aquitaine]]. He was the hardest for Bernard to convince. He did not pledge allegiance to Innocent until 1135. After that, Bernard spent most of his time in [[Italy]] persuading the Italians to pledge allegiance to Innocent.

In 1132, Bernard accompanied Innocent II into Italy, and at Cluny, the pope abolished the dues which Clairvaux used to pay to that abbey. This action gave rise to a quarrel between the [[Cistercians|White Monks]] and the Black Monks which lasted 20 years. In May of that year, the pope, supported by the army of Lothair III, entered Rome, but Lothair III, feeling himself too weak to resist the partisans of Anacletus, retired beyond the Alps, and Innocent sought refuge in Pisa in September 1133. Bernard had returned to France in June and was continuing the work of peacemaking which he had commenced in 1130.

Towards the end of 1134, he made a second journey into Aquitaine, where William X had relapsed into schism. Bernard invited William to the Mass which he celebrated in the Church of La Couldre. At the [[Eucharist]], he "admonished the Duke not to despise God as he did His servants".{{sfn|Gildas|1907}} William yielded and the schism ended.

Bernard went again to Italy, where [[Roger II of Sicily]] was endeavouring to withdraw the Pisans from their allegiance to Innocent. He recalled the city of Milan to obedience to the pope as they had followed the deposed [[Anselm V, Archbishop of Milan]]. For this, he was offered, and he refused, the [[Archbishop of Milan|see of Milan]]. He then returned to Clairvaux. Believing himself at last secure in his cloister, Bernard devoted himself to the composition of the works which won him the title of "Doctor of the Church". He wrote at this time his sermons on the [[Song of Songs]].{{efn|Other mystics such as [[John of the Cross]] also found their language and symbols in Song of Songs.{{sfn|Cunningham|Egan|1996|p=128}}}}

In 1137, he was again forced to leave the abbey by order of the pope to put an end to the quarrel between Lothair and Roger of Sicily. At the conference held at Palermo, Bernard succeeded in convincing Roger of the rights of Innocent II. He also silenced the final supporters who sustained the schism. Anacletus died of "grief and disappointment" in 1138, and with him, the schism ended.{{sfn|Gildas|1907}}{{sfn|Cristiani|1977|p=}}

In 1139, Bernard assisted at the [[Second Council of the Lateran]], in which the surviving adherents of the schism were definitively condemned. About the same time, Bernard was visited at Clairvaux by [[Saint Malachy|Malachy]], [[Primate of All Ireland]], and a very close friendship formed between them. Malachy wanted to become a Cistercian, but the pope would not give his permission. Malachy died at Clairvaux in 1148.{{sfn|Gildas|1907}}

===Conflict with Abelard===
Towards the close of the 11th century, a spirit of independence flourished within schools of [[philosophy]] and [[theology]]. The movement found an ardent and powerful advocate in [[Peter Abelard]]. Abelard's treatise on the [[Trinity]] had been condemned as heretical in 1121, and he was compelled to throw his own book into a fire. However, Abelard continued to develop his controversial teachings. Bernard is said to have held a meeting with Abelard intending to persuade him to amend his writings, during which Abelard repented and promised to do so. But once out of Bernard's presence, he reneged.{{sfn|Evans|2000|pp=115–123}}

Bernard then denounced Abelard to the pope and cardinals of the [[Roman Curia|Curia]]. Abelard sought a debate with Bernard, but Bernard initially declined, saying he did not feel matters of such importance should be settled by logical analyses. Bernard's letters to [[William of St-Thierry]] also express his apprehension about confronting the preeminent logician. Abelard continued to press for a public debate, and made his challenge widely known, making it hard for Bernard to decline. In 1141, at the urgings of Abelard, the archbishop of Sens called a council of bishops, where Abelard and Bernard were to put their respective cases so Abelard would have a chance to clear his name.{{sfn|Evans|2000|pp=115–123}}

Bernard lobbied the prelates on the evening before the debate, swaying many of them to his view. The next day, after Bernard made his opening statement, Abelard decided to retire without attempting to answer.{{sfn|Evans|2000|pp=115–123}} The council found in favour of Bernard and their judgment was confirmed by the pope. Abelard submitted without resistance, and he retired to Cluny to live under the protection of [[Peter the Venerable]], where he died two years later.

===The challenge of heresy===
Bernard had occupied himself in sending bands of monks from his overcrowded monastery into Germany, Sweden, England, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, and Italy. Some of these, at the command of Innocent II, took possession of [[Tre Fontane Abbey]], from which [[Eugene III]] was chosen in 1145. Pope Innocent II died in the year 1143. His two successors, [[Pope Celestine II]] and [[Pope Lucius II]], reigned only a short time, and then Bernard saw one of his disciples, Bernard of Pisa, known thereafter as Eugene III, raised to the [[Chair of Saint Peter]]. Bernard sent him, at the pope's own request, various instructions which comprise the often-quoted ''[[De consideratione]].'' Its main argument is that church reform ought to start with the pope. Temporal matters are merely accessories; Bernard insists that piety and meditation were to precede action.{{sfn|McManners|1990|p=210}}

Having previously helped end the schism within the Church, Bernard was now called upon to combat heresy. [[Henry of Lausanne]], a former [[Cluny Abbey|Cluniac]] monk, had adopted the teachings of the [[Petrobrusians]], followers of [[Peter of Bruys]] and spread them in a modified form after Peter's death. Henry of Lausanne's followers became known as [[Henricians]]. In June 1145, at the invitation of Cardinal [[Alberic of Ostia]], Bernard travelled in southern France. His preaching, aided by his ascetic looks and simple attire, helped doom the new sects. Both the Henrician and the Petrobrusian faiths began to die out by the end of that year. Soon afterwards, Henry of Lausanne was arrested, brought before the [[bishop of Toulouse]], and probably imprisoned for life. In a letter to the people of Toulouse, undoubtedly written at the end of 1146, Bernard calls upon them to extirpate the last remnants of the heresy. He also preached against [[Catharism]]. Prior to the second hearing of [[Gilbert of Poitiers]] at the [[Council of Reims (1148)|Council of Reims 1148]], Bernard held a private meeting with a number of the attendees, attempting to pressure them to condemn Gilbert. This offended the various cardinals in attendance, who then proceeded to insist that they were the only persons who could judge the case, and no verdict of heresy was placed against Gilbert.