In 1125, Bernard of Clairvaux was asked by the abbot William of St. Thierry to speak in defense of Cistercian simplicity over and against what both saw as the excesses of Cluniac monasticism. In his Apologia XII, Bernard rails against the ornamentation of the Cluniac cloister... While some scholars have interpreted Bernard‘s diatribe as a rant against grotesquerie and excessive ornamentation in religious architecture generally, it seems clear from the context that he was particularly concerned about the potential distractions and waste of money represented by such details in specifically monastic settings, and that he sought to draw attention to their presence in Cluniac houses as further evidence of the Cluniacs‘ worldliness. However, at the very moment of Bernard‘s writing, there were arising in his own Cistercian order, as well as in other monastic establishments, any number of bizarre and monstrous creatures, lurking in the pages of illuminated manuscript books. The books in question were bestiaries, and one of their purposes, interestingly, in a contemplative order, was to facilitate the creation of sermons memorable for both preacher and audience. - [Author]

Language: English