The vita contemplativa: Bernard of Clairvaux’s ideas on the ideal way of life

Abstract

Bernard of Clairvaux was an influential abbot in the twelfth century, who belonged to the new Cistercian order. What was his ideal way of life? How did this ideal take shape in the Cistercian order? Was Bernard able to live up to his own ideals? These and other questions are dealt with in this thesis. I tried to answer them on the basis of a close-reading of four of Bernard's tracts and the methodology of History of Mentalities.