The French churchman St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was a Cistercian monk and founder and abbot of the monastery of Clairvaux. A theologian and Doctor of the Church, he dominated Europe through his eloquence and his counselling of popes and rulers.

Of a noble family in Burgundy, Bernard was a tall, handsome, slender youth endowed with great charm, a talent for eloquence, sensitivity, and a passion for learning. When he was 23 he persuaded two uncles, his five brothers, and about thirty other young nobles to enter the forlorn Cistercian monastery of Clteaux, founded in 1098 in a swampy area near Dijon. He chose it because, he said, "I was conscious that my weak character needed a strong medicine."

Life at Citeaux was austere and included manual labor, prayer, and study. Bernard's ascetic practices ruined his health, and he was often sick. In 1115 he was chosen to lead a group...