Cistercians

influence on the Second Crusade. This is made apparent by the views portrayed by George Dickson Kerr in Bernard of Clairvaux and Christian Society in the Twelfth Century, published in 1966 and The Second Crusade: Scope and Consequences, published in 2001, written by Jonathan Phillips and Martin Hoch. Bernard of Clairvaux was born in Fontaine, France in 1091. He was a tremendous influence on the Twelfth Century as a whole. During his lifetime, he founded 160 monasteries throughout the western world (Gasquet). At the age of twenty-three, after his mother died, he joined the Cistercian order, a religious order consisting of both monks and nuns. Cistercians focused on manual labour and self-sufficiency. After he and thirty of his friends joined the order, they helped spread the order throughout all of France and into England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Portugal, Spain, and Italy (Catholic Online). The Cistercian order has since been synonymous with Bernardines because of his influence. Talk about how he became Abbot of Clairvaux & the Schism Bernard of Clairvaux was commissioned by Pope Eugenius III in 1144 to preach the Second Crusade (Gasquet). Pope Eugenius III promised Bernard the same indulgences for it that Pope Urban II had promised during the First Crusade (Catholic Online). Bernard is well remembered in history, which can partly be attributed to the fact that 482 of his letters were preserved and translated (Gasquet). Bernard died on the 20th of August, 1153 at the age…

Question 1 The Benedictine abbey of St. Gall and the Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay both bear designs that reflect the monastic lifestyle which was defined by the 6th century Rule of St. Benedict. The monastic design of the abbeys is characterized by main features such as a church, dormitories meant for sleep, a caldarium, a cloister and a chapterhouse. The Rule of Saint Benedict called for monks to maintain a life of obedience, chastity and poverty. Furthermore, it also stated that monks should…

1. In what ways did the buildings of the Italian Cistercians contrast with French Gothic cathedrals such as Reims? In the previous chapter we learned about the Gothic style, so to combine chapter twelve and thirteen together we are going to see the difference in Italian Cistercians with French Gothic cathedrals. For the main difference between the two styles is that Italian Cistercians typically had a single long nave and small windows which lead to a large amount of wall space which can be…

The Cistercian monks pursued their desire to become closer to God through loving him, and the Troubadours pursued their unique desire to express sexual love, which was new for their time. The Troubadours described this feeling of sexual love as Fin'amors; a sexualized devotion towards spiritual love. However, this feeling was considered to be sexual pollution by the Gregorian Reform, and thus became a complication for the Troubadours. The social context in which the text by Bernard of Clairvaux,…

organization was because they were unhappy with how little discipline there was in their own Benedictine monastery. They made many changes to their lifestyle by eating a simple diet, having only one robe to wear, removing from all of their churches and monastic buildings, and setting more time for prayer and manual labor by spending less time at religious services. Unlike the Benedictine monks, who would spend many hours in personal prayer, they would take their religion to people outside the…

The Collision of Classes Beginning in the mid 1100’s and going into the early 1200’s, there was a simultaneous and consistent movement of poor and professional people as new emphasis was put on living a life closer to one like Christ would have lived because of the new Cistercian monks versus the established Benedictine monks as well as the monastic population versus the papacy. The well-established black robed monks of the time thrived on intricate Romanesque architecture and complicated…

of the mass of potential recruits could only be stirred by speaking tours. This form of propaganda was so effective that by the Second Crusade, one of the western Christendom’s most famous figures, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, was on the road to mapping a spiritual topography in order to raise recruits and become the central figure of the Cistercian Order. Born in 1090, France, at a time of experimentation in the religious life, Bernard was a volatile and passionate young man of Burgundian…

of the most influential and one of the most important books of philosophy (Biography). On December 6th, 1273, St. Thomas Aquinas had a spiritual experience. A voice came from the crucifix in the Church (Sister Mary Kathleen). The voice said, “Thou hast written well of me, Thomas; what reward wilt thou have?" Then, St. Thomas replied to the crucifix, saying “None other than thyself, Lord” (Biography). After this experience, St. Thomas Aquinas never wrote again (Sister Mary Kathleen). Finally,…

Why did The Rule of St. Benedict become universally used by communities of monks and nuns across Europe? I think there were several reasons why “The Rule” became universal. I think that it made life as a monk or nun uniform and universal (in a communitarianism sense). All people (monks and nuns) were financially equal. This occurred during a time that was, historically, a very depressed and poor time. With the fall of the Roman civilization and with the Romans being overrun by barbarians, the…

The crusades took place over about 200 years. It wasn’t just one big fight it was a series of wars and battles. There were three monolithic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islamic) fighting in the crusades. Despite their common roots the differences often cause conflict between them. The first crusaders went from Constantinople to Antioch (1096-1099). They fought isolated Turk forces on the way there. In 1212, religious zeal as well as poverty gave rise to what came to be known as the…