Bernhard of Clairvaux

[Rheingold]

Bernhard of Clairvaux is a 12th century French cleric whose sermons and writings had an immense impact on Europe in his time. Whereas Clairvaux is mainly associated with the Second Crusade, as he encouraged large numbers of his compatriots to join the military operations in the East, his mystical writings have nearly been forgotten. Clairvaux, who was canonized in 1174, wrote about the ways and means to return to God and live in compliance with His will. While human beings are prone to commit sins, and tend to fail God because of their natural disposition to sin, God provides an opportunity for all the Lost Sons and Daughters to be restored to His Grace through His unfailing love. In this respect, Clairvaux's mystical writings can be read as a guideline on how to heed God's word in everyday live, even after 800 years have elapsed, and even in our time. Clairvaux's writings are written clearly and for everyone to understand; in this Christian treatise he demonstrates that virtues like love, loyalty and benevolence are significant for all of us - in our relationship to God as well as in our relationship to other people.

I hope that some of you will find this interesting and might be encouraged to read up on Clairvaux; I learnt of his theological writings when I prepared for a term paper on Wolfram von Eschenbach's "Parzival", which is largely based on a French source (Chrétiens de Troye's "Perceval").