Bernard of Clairvaux is one of the most influential figures in the latter half of the Middle Ages, and one of the most paradoxical. Even Bernard thought of himself as “the chimera of his century.” He was first and foremost a Cistercian monk burning with the zeal of reform. He was a severe critic of the Benedictine order, which he regarded as lax and undisciplined, and he made his opinions of the monastery at Cluny in particular publicly known, even as he became a friend and admirer of the abbot of Cluny, Peter the Venerable. At times his severe discipline estranged his followers; yet, they still admired and were drawn toward his charismatic holiness. Responsible for establishing sixty-eight Cistercian foundations throughout continental Europe, Britain, and Ireland, Bernard nevertheless declined an invitation to establish the order in Jerusalem, nor did he want Cistercian foundations established beyond the Pyrenees. Bernard...