Monastic Commitment and Church Politics, 1124–1129

This chapter details how, until he left for Italy in the early 1130s and became involved in resolving the papal schism, Saint Bernard spent most of his time at his monastery of Clairvaux. The years before he dedicated himself to defending the papacy might at first seem rather tame by comparison with what came afterwards. But a closer look especially at the letters composed at this time shows that Bernard was already committing himself to causes that had nothing to do with Clairvaux or even with Cistercian monasticism. In 1127 or 1128, Bernard drew up a statement about how bishops should behave. It is possible to see the beginning of the polemic against abuse of office in the Church. What is remarkable here, however, is not Bernard's concern with the state of the Church. It is his public statement about what was happening in his own Cistercian Order.