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Bernard of Clairvaux
Cistercian mystic of love who distrusted Abelard's cold dialectic.
Overview
The towering Cistercian abbot of Clairvaux, Bernard shaped twelfth-century Europe as a preacher, reformer, and mystic. Against the rising confidence in dialectic — he led the condemnation of Abelard at Sens — he taught a mysticism of love: the soul ascends to God through humility and charity, not through logic-chopping. His On Loving God and sermons on the Song of Songs chart the degrees of love culminating in union with God.
What they supported — and why
Love above dialectic
SupportedGod is known and reached through love, humility, and experience, not primarily through logical argument.
WhyThe divine is grasped by a purified, loving soul; reason detached from charity breeds pride and error.
The degrees of love
SupportedLove ascends from love of self, to love of God for one's own sake, to love of God purely for God's sake.
WhyThe soul is gradually transformed, learning to love God for himself as grace draws it upward.
Humility as the ground of ascent
SupportedSelf-knowledge and humility are the necessary path to God.
WhyOnly the soul that knows its own lowliness can be lifted by grace toward union.
Causes championed
- The mystical love of God
- Monastic reform
- Humility over intellectual pride
Issues wrestled with
- Is God known by love or by reason?
- What are the stages of the soul's ascent to God?
Hurdles faced
- Fierce controversies (leading the charge against Abelard)
- The burdens of vast political and ecclesiastical influence
Works & books
2 catalogued. Status shows how much survives to today.
On Loving God
SurvivesHis treatise mapping the degrees of love toward union with God.
Sermons on the Song of Songs; On the Steps of Humility and Pride
SurvivesHis mystical and ascetical teaching in sermon and treatise form.
Read the texts free
2 of Bernard of Clairvaux’s works are free to read in full — public-domain English editions on Project Gutenberg, matched from Gutenberg’s own catalogue.
Every edition online — Open Library catalogues 551 works & editions, 65 of them free to read in full.
The influence network
See Bernard of Clairvaux in the map →Influenced by
Influenced
In their words
“The measure of loving God is to love him without measure.”
— On Loving God
Legacy
He kept the mystical, affective heart of medieval Christianity alive against pure dialectic, and became the age's most powerful spiritual voice.
Further reading
Cross-checked against these authoritative references.