Bernard of Clairvaux

Lived

1090–1153

Era

Medieval

Where

Clairvaux, Burgundy

Tradition

Roman Catholic

The Cistercian reform, and the Second Crusade

A Burgundian nobleman who took thirty companions into the struggling new order at Cîteaux, founded Clairvaux at twenty-five, and became the most influential man in Europe without ever holding office higher than abbot.

Why it matters

The Cistercian reform he led returned monasticism to Benedict's rule and to manual labour, and spread to hundreds of houses in his lifetime. His sermons on the Song of Songs are a founding text of western mystical writing. He also preached the Second Crusade at the pope's request, and when it ended in disaster he accepted the blame publicly. He pursued Abelard to condemnation with a zeal that reads badly.

All the figures, from the apostolic age to the present, or the timeline they stand in.