Bernard's conversion - a family matter of spiritual and material importance

When the young squire Bernard de Fontaine, the later Cistercian abbot Bernard de Clairvaux, entered monastic life at Citeaux, he was not alone. At the time and later all members of his knightly family from the Duchy of Burgundy, rather than pursuing dynastic or political ambitions, embraced monastic life. Their story illustrates the importance of lay monks (monachi laici), men who entered religious communities as adults without clerical education or fluency in Latin, yet went on to hold positions of influence in monastic estates.

Templars in Art - The Ordination of Jacques de Molay

The ordination of Jacques de Molay in 1265

Political geography of the Low Countries 1000-1500

The second half of the medieval period, which may be termed the later Middle Ages, consists of the High Middle Ages (ca. 1000-1300) and Late Middle Ages (ca. 1300-1500). The primary powers of the later Middle Ages were the Holy Roman Empire, France, and England. Paris was the cultural and scholarly heart of the period.