From Novice to Abbot: Bernard of Clairvaux’s Formative Years at Cîteaux

Bernard of Clairvaux underwent his formative monastic training at Cîteaux under Abbot Stephen Harding between 1112 (the year of him entering Cîteaux) and 1115 (the year he was sent to lead the founding of a monastery at Clairvaux). These years, as well as his youth, provide a critical lens for understanding Bernard’s later role as abbot of Clairvaux and his influence on the expansion of the Cistercian Order.

Noble Seals: Cistercian and Templar Devotion Through Heraldic Imagery

Medieval nobility in southern France adopted religious symbolism in their personal seals. How did two prominent families, who embraced different spiritual paths during the twelfth century's second half, testified on this in their seals?

The Monastic Legacy of La Brenne: How Medieval Monks Created France's Lake District

In the heart of central France lies one of Europe's most remarkable landscapes - a mosaic of over 2,500 shimmering ponds and lakes scattered across the rolling countryside of the Indre département. This is the Parc Naturel Régional de la Brenne, often called "the land of a thousand ponds." What makes this landscape truly extraordinary is its origin story - a tale of medieval ingenuity, monastic enterprise, and the profound transformation of an entire region through human determination and divine purpose.