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

Bernard de 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 those of 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.

Bernard de Clairvaux' youth - from squire to monk

Bernard de Clairvaux (1090/1091 - 1153), Cistercian abbot and theologian, is renowned for his sermons and letters that eloquently blend Christian mysticism with the ideals of knighthood. However, the first 21 years of his life (the years of legal minority) he lived as Bernard de la Fontaine the life of a member of the Burgundian nobility, being a squire himself in direct contact with knights. What is known of these early years?

How were the medieval Cistercians different?

The basis of the Cistercian way of life was traditional, in that they, like other monks, followed the Rule of St Benedict. Indeed, the reason given for the decision in 1098 to leave Molesme for Citeaux was the failure of that community to observe the Rule properly. So in what way did the Cistercians differ from the Benedictines?

The Cistercian Order: incorporated instead of founded

Unlike what is generally thought, there was no Cistercian Order as a united entity for much of the twelfth Century. (...) Such a Cistercian Order was only invented in the third quarter of the twelfth century. That Order as we usually think of it, an administrative institution that united more than five hundred abbeys by 1215 (when its organization was held up by the Fourth Lateran Council as a model to be emulated), did not appear in 1119 or 1113 or 1098, the dates usually asserted, but much later. 

Key Qualities of the Cistercian Order - Simplicity, Practicality and Self-sufficiency

"The promotion of the tenets of their faith on one hand and desire to return to the simplicity of early monasticism on the other, permitted the Cistercians (...) art and architecture. (...) As St Bernard envisaged the Earth as the work of Divine Architect, he himself as a head of his order, actively participated in many practical aspects of founding new Cistercian monasteries, including solving concrete architectural problems. (...) 

Carta Caritatis"- the Cistercian Constitution, Blueprint of the Templar Rule

"‘Carta Caritatis’ (also known as the Charter of Charity) is a Cistercian source that is considered ‘the fundamental constitution of the Cistercian Order.’49 There is much debate amongst historians as to when the charter was actually written.

Origin of the Cistercian Order: isolation and poverty

"The self-induced exclusion from the world discussed in the ‘Exordium Parvum’ is perhaps the first instance we see of the ideal of poverty, which became a part of the (Cistercian) Order’s mantra.

The early Cistercians: back to strict observance of the Rule of St Benedict

"The ‘Exordium Parvum’ is a 12^th century Cistercian document that includes the early history of Cîteaux, incorporating official letters and documents with narrative. While this source illustrates to us that the monks left Molesme to pursue a more rigorous devotion to the Rule of St Benedict, yet there is contrary evidence within the ‘Exordium Cistercii’ that tells us that the monks left for a new way of life because Molesme placed too much emphasis on materialistic wealth and possessions.

Cistercian monasteries - preface to Knights Templar preceptories

The development of the 12th and 13th century Templar commanderies in Europe seems to have been closely related to the pattern of Cistercian settlements. This is one of the ways the Cistercians preceeded the Templars. In what way did the Cistercian monasteries preceed Templar commanderies?