Bernard of Clairvaux

BERNARD of Clairvaux. b. Fontaines-lez-Dijon, Côte-d’Or, ca. 1090 ; d. 1153. He was born, probably in 1090, at the castle of the son of Tescelin le Saur, lord of Fontaine, vassal of the duke of Burgundy, and of Aleth de Montbard. He studied with the canons of Saint-Vorles at Châtillon-sur-Seine. In 1112, Bernard, accompanied by thirty followers, entered Cîteaux Abbey (founded in 1098 by Robert de Molesme); he took vows one year later. In 1115, at the request of Abbot Stephen Harding, Bernard left with eleven companions to found the abbey of Clairvaux, in the diocese of Langres. This was Cîteaux’s third daughter house, after La Ferté and Pontigny. He was motivated by the spirit of poverty...