McGuire, Friends and Tales in The Cloister Oral Sources in Caesarius of Heisterbach's Dialogus Miraculorum

ANALECTA
CISTERCIENSIA
ANNUS XXXVI - 1980
NOST
ATER
CISTERCNN
EDITIONES CISTERCIENSES
( I -00153 ) ROMA, PIAZZA DEL TEMPIO DI DIANA , 14
FRIENDS AND TALES IN THE CLOISTER :
ORAL SOURCES IN CAESARIUS OF HEISTERBACH 'S
DIALOGUS MIRACULORUM
BRIAN PATRICK MCGUIRE
Caesarius of Heisterbach (c . 1180 — c . 1240 ) wrote his Dialogus Mira

culorum between 1219 and 1223 . The work has the form of a dialogue
between a monk and a novice in a Cistercian abbey . Caesarius thus
placed himself at the point of departure for a wave of exemplum collec
tions which lasted Middle Ages. ' He is a pioneer
for the remainder of the
in the renewal of a literary form that in Christian literature goes back
to the Gospels the Lives of the Fathers of the Desert , and the Dialogues
,
of Gregory the Great . He writes with freshness and vitality , so that one
often can forget the literary precedents and concentrate on the fascina
tion of the stories themselves . This is partly due to Caesarius ' s ability in
filling his stories with direct speech , but it is mainly a result of his proxi
mity to his sources .
In over 450 of the 746 chapters in the Dialogus Miraculorum ( DM ),
Caesarius identifies the source of his story and thus reveals that he is
drawing on a living oral tradition instead of a received body of written
stories . Although the Wandergeschichte is very much present in Caesa
parallels other contemporary writers much
of
its
rius with Caesa

in
, 2
rius material taken from his own life experiences from the monks
is
,
's
For bibliography see my article Written Sources and Cistercian Inspiration

,
,
«
1
of
edition be
35
Heisterbach The
to
Caesarius Anacleta Cisterciensia 1979

in
,
»
.
)
(
of
as
used Dialogus Miraculorum a bbreviated will be that Joseph

of
the DM
)
(
Strange Cologne Bonn Brussels 1851 reprinted 1966 New Jersey The
,
U
,
A
.S
;
,
,
to .
.
.)
:
(
di
English translations are my own References Roman numerals are the

in
.
stinctio Arabic the chapter Thus fifth distinction eighth

to
DM
in
,
in
,
V
8
;
:
.
chapter
.
of
See Frederic Tubach indispensable Index Exemplorum Handbook

A
:
's
2
nr
Religious Helsinki 1969 For the

FF
Medieval Tales Communications 204

,
).
.
:
to (
relationship other early thirteenth century exemplum writers see

, of
Caesarius
,
Annalen des
zu
Joseph Greven Kleinere Studien Cäsarius von Heisterbach

,
»
«
Vereins für
99
11
Historischen den Niederrhein Köln 1916

,
),
1
-
.
(
168 Brian Patrick McGuire
mother abbey Himmerod from neigh
its
around in Heisterbach or
,
him
bouring Cistercian abbeys Cistercian nuns other monks secular canons
,
parish priests and even from lay people tracing and cataloguing the
In
,
.
oral Caesarius we can find much more than monastic mind
of
sources
a
literary methods We can enter into the midst
an
of
and author early
.
's
us
thirteenth century Europe Caesarius introduces people from almost
to
.
us
every class and condition medieval society and lets share their
in
in
beliefs hopes and failures These impulses are naturally sifted through
,
.
used for the purpose edifi
be
the Cistercian mind and are meant
of
to
on
cation The emphasis the miraculous means that Caesarius looking
is
.
or
for the extraordinary not the normal , average But the miraculous
.
becomes average the course the DM that the details everyday
so
of
of
in
as
life become important the miracles themselves asNatural and super
.^
natural are welded together not into some static literary, product but
,
report thoughts and feelings
on
of
into the words experiences people
,
,
a
spoke
he
whom Caesarius knew and with whom
us
or
Caesarius simply names his immediate source
he
Often gives
,
through whom he has obtained his story But occa
of
the name monk

a
.
sionally he allows us see the complexity the process by which
of
to
a
story reaches him the beginning
of
This the case his section
in
in
.
on
IX
distinctio the Eucharist Here he tells about Heisterbach

2
,
a
.
(
monk Gottschalk Volmarstein who during private mass he was

of
,
saying Christmas day saw the host transformed into most beatiful
on
«
a
child Overwhelmed by the sight Gottschalk embraced and kissed the
,
»
.
he
apparition Thereafter tried keep the vision himself for was

to
it
to
,
.
indiscrete boast about such spiritual favours But Gott

to
considered .
the brothers who told others including Caesarius
of
schalk did tell one

,
,
as
at
times almost something cultural ethnologist

of
There Caesarius
is
in
,
3
when he tries explain why prophets rarely appear Latin

to
to
Old Testament
comparison apostles and martyrs while such
of
Christians their visions

to
in
of ,
visions the prophets are common for the Greek Christians He says this due
is
.
the fact that the Greeks liturgical year devotes more feast days the prophets
to
to
'
Quare autem rarius Apostolis sive Martyribus nobis appareant causa esse
,
videtur quod respectu iam dictorum modica pene nulla illorum

et
ordinum
,
memoria apud Ecclesiam Latinorum Graeci vero nataliciis illorum sollemnizant

). in
,
.
saepius illis apparent VIII

be 48
et
ideo forte DM
,
.
(
This process similar that which can the meticulous inquisition

to
seen
in
is
4
by
records kept Jacques Fournier and now made Roy

Le
widely known through

so
Ladurie Montaillou Village occitan de 1294 1324 Paris 1975 Like Caesarius
,
,
à
's
).
(
Jacques Fourmier deals with extraordinary phenomenon

an
eresy opposed
to
in as
(h
miracles but order understand how heresy manifests itself the people
to
in
),
whom he interviews he feels obliged find out about the most intimate details
to
of ,
their everyday lives The inquisition records have

of
and circumstances course

,
,
.
the advantage that they great extent are the account that the people themselves
to
a
his
of
gave But Caesarius perhaps compensates for this lack immediacy stories
in
.
by the fact that there the telling

no
stories
to
of
duress involved him

in
is
.
Oral Sources in Caesarius of Heisterbach 's Dialogus Miraculorum 169
that « a certain monk » had had a vision in which the host became
Christ as a child . At a later point , he revealed the vision to two Heister
bach monks , Dietrich of Lureke and Constantine . When Gottschalk be
came and was the infirmary the infirmarian Winand questioned
ill
in
,
about the vision The brief direct form which Caesarius repro
in
him
,
.
duces this conversation typical for the DM
is
:
Good brother Gottschalk did you see the Saviour the mass
in
, ,
«
»
?
Responding simply
he
said Yes ,
»
.
He Winand added what form
In
«
,
»
(
?
)
of
an
In
the form he said infant

«
»
,
.
him
And he What did you do
to
«
»
?
:
on
He answered kissed him his mouth
,
«
»
.
I
I At
this Winand And what happened after

» ,
«
»
?
prior
in he
on
placed him said the altar and when he had resumed his
,
,
«
form took him communion

,
5
.»
I
This exchange merely repeats the details Caesarius already has given
injects immediacy that makes the vision all the
an
of
us but element
it
,
by
saying that death

on
more memorable Caesarius ends Gottschalk
.
's
he
bed revealed the vision the abbot Heisterbach Henry

of
to
,
.
Thus we find how story gradually reached the entire community
a
nonymous form
of
Heisterbach first pseudo then clearly linked

in
,
,
a
-a
workings
do
its
Gottschalk own experience But not stop here for

in to
,
), .
's
IX
the following chapter Caesarius tells how Abbot Henry
in
3
,
(
travelling
of
Friesland for visitation Cistercian houses there met

to
a
knight The knight
he
the story
turn narrated
to
to
whom told it
, af in
,
a
.
priest Adolph Drenthe just souththe province

of
village
of
Diever
in
,
,
a
Friesland Adolph was much moved by the story for he had similar
a
.
he
of
of
vision Christ the Eucharist On the one side the host had
in
Mary with the infant reversing

on
seen the other lamb Then the host

,
,
a
as
Christ hanging
he
on
saw the cross with his head bowed seen

if
,
«
through Caesarius explains the obscurity

of
window the Christ seen

a
»
.
by
the fact that Adolph lived

he
an
here immoral life had concu

«
a
:
Adolph spoke
of
bine All this Caesarius knows because the Heister

to
»
.
of
bach monk Bernard Bernard brother was pastor church Rijssen

at
a
.
's
Overijssel Diever Thus Bernard may have himself

of
the south
to
in
come from neighbouring district and could even have known Adolph
a
through his brother The two would probably have been able under
to
.
stand each other regional dialects

.
's
Strange
Volume Quod intelligens Winandus infirmarius noster
, II
168
: .p
,
,
5
:
, ait
posito infirmitorio Bone frater Godescalce vidistis missa Salvatorem

eo
in
in
,
Respondente illo simpliciter etiam adiecit quali forma forma inquit infan
In
In
,
;
.
:
Ad
Et
Respondit Osculatus sum eum ante

tis
Qui fecistis quod

ei
os
ille suum
?
.
.
: :
:
Et
Winandus quid postea Ego ait super altare eum posui

et
actum est reverso

,
,
,
?
formam priorem sumpsi illum

eo
in
.
Thus one story provokes another out into the open . The miraculous
cannot remain private for long , whether it emerges because of a monk ' s
good life , or a parish priest 's bad ways . Caesarius adds that Adolph is
supposed to have mended his ways and sent his woman into a convent.
We have the following relationship when we look at the stories as an
oral unity :
INSIDE HEISTERBACH : Gottschalk of Volmarstein
Eucharistic miracle of Gott 1. anonymous story told to monk , who tells
schalk others ;
2. monks ask Gottschalk about story , « with
me listening » (Caesarius ) ;
3. Gottschalk tells Dietrich and Constantine ;
4. tells Winand the infirmarer ;
5 . tells Abbot Henry on deathbed .
OUTSIDE HEISTERBACH : 6. Abbot Henry tells knight on way to Frie

Eucharistic miracle of sland about Gottschalk ;
Adolph 7. Knight tells priest Adolph ;
8 . Adolph tells monk Bernard about his vision
of the host .
INSIDE HEISTERBACH : 9. Bernard tells Caesarius ;

Caesarius 's literary activity 10 . Caesarius writes it ali down.
There are probably many more stories that came to Caesarius in

such an involved way , but this is the only set of them in which he outli
nes the plurality of oral sources on which he draws . For the Gottschalk
vision , he probably used accounts given by all the monks whom he
mentions by name . But it is significant that the story itself remains
basically simple and short . Caesarius is not like a modern literary
researcher , interested in comparing and contrasting the testimony of
his various sources . He never loses sight of the moral point : the revelation
of the true identity of the Eucharist . But he fells he can substantiate his
truth by making clear the variety of oral sources on which he draws.
These sources are usually close to the surface of Caesarius 's text.
The problem is to bring them together in some kind of totality that
'
helps explain Caesarius s method and his contacts with people around
him . Here there are two dangers. The first is to reduce the DM to cold
statistics . How many written sources are there , how many oral, and
what types ? This type of information can be very revealing , but by
itself it would leave out the best of Caesarius , the stories themselves
and all they indicate about the various ways in which he used his oral
sources . The other extreme is that in conveying our enthusiasm for
Caesarius , we end up in simply retelling a number of the best and most
revealing stories. How is it possible capture the quality and content
to
of what Caesarius does without lost in detail , the very detail
getting
that makes his stories so rich ? There is perhaps a middle ground , which
involves dividing his informants into groups and asking who they are ,
what they tell Caesarius , and what they indicate about themselves . This
approach also calls for attention to the stories in which Caesarius draws
on his own experience , from his youth at Cologne, his early days at
Heisterbach , and the period when he was writing the DM itself . In what
the major oral sources for Caesarius
all
follows we shall review sto
's
as
ries and far possible try asgain impression the people who
of
some
to
spoke Caesarius and the type person Caesarius himself
of
to
is
.
Best Friends and Inspiration for Writing Herman and Henry
A
.
:
When Caesarius wrote his prologue
he
the DM said that he was
to
,
writing his work my abbot and the advice
at
the order the abbot

of
of
«
abbatis mei
of
Marienstatt imperium nec non abbatis Loci sanctae
et
,
»
(
Mariae consilium Caesarius abbot was Henry who took over Heister
,
).
's
bach 1208 after unanimous election that the Cistercian visitor said
in
divine choice VII

af
was manifestation Heisterbach bloomed under 39

,
a
)
Henry who was both good administrator and spiritual man who .
,
a
"
encouraged Caesarius follow his own interest for writing down mira
to
Henry himself contributed many

of
cles Caesarius most vivid stories

's
.
.
The Abbot
of
Marienstatt founded 1215 from Himmerod the mother

in
,
,
abbey Heisterbach was Herman He the most frequently mentioned
of
is
,
oral source the DM Herman seems have been very complex

to
in
a
'
.
personality both dynamic and prone depression The picture we obtain

to
,
of
the impression
of
from Caesarius him much less consistent than

is
Henry
.
are thus the major oral contributors

DM
These two men the
to
.
Without his abbot permission Caesarius could not have written without
;
,
's
Herman stories Caesarius account would have been much more deri
,
's
's
few years earlier Caesarius had used some

of
vative and second hand

A
-
stories anonymously his homilies the birth and childhood

on
Herman
in
's
reproducing the
he
of
Christ Now used Herman name openly

in
.8
's
chapter the devil

on
of
To
same stories visions this the novice

,
in
(1
5
a
)
.
the dialogue objects the monk why

do
of
you now make known the

to
person
do
of
of
Herman while you didn earlier The response the

so
?
't
see
history
of
For the most detailed account Heisterbach Ferdinand Schmitz

,
,
6
's
137
Beiträge zur Geschichte des Niederrheins

14
90
Die Abtei Heisterbach 1900

,
),
«
-
(
51
16
and 1902 134 209 esp 134

),
,
-
-
, .
.
(
im
Gilbert Wellstein Hermann erster Abt von Marienstatt Westerwalde

,
,
7
»
P
.
Studien und Mitteilungen zur Geschichte des Benediktiner Ordens XXXVI Neue
all
Folge Salzburg 1915 especially valuable because Wellstein collects

57
, 92
the
,
),
,
V
-
(
evidence concerning Herman both narrative and documentary

.
Dixit michi vir quidam valde venerabilis sacerdos prelatus

et
ordine nostro
in
,
,
8
visionem satis terribilem Die Wundergeschichten des Caesarius von Heisterbach

...
, I
Publikationen der Gesellschaft für Rheinische Geschichtskunde XLIII Bonn

:
(
be
von Alfons Hilka

as
herausgegeben
84
referred Hilka
To
to
1933
.p
),
I.
all
of
monk indicates first of that Caesarius himself the monk the
is
dialogue and secondly that Herman experiences and support for his
's
work are essential for him
:
of
He out great charity revealed his secrets me but the time forbade
to
at
me reveal them But afterwards overcome by my insistence he gave way
to
,
.
.
knew that the weight his person could provide significant authority
of
For
a
I
for my writings
.
.
Thus both Herman and Henry are living witnesses the activity
of
to
the supernatural inside and outside
of
Cistercian houses
.
Caesarius writing the DM and his position
as
at
of
novicemaster
's
Heisterbach have long connection with each other
10
been seen This
in
.
explains the dialogue form between master and novice and the many
as
places the work where Caesarius uses his stories teaching material
in
for inexperienced recruits The only voluntary indication that Caesarius

.
was novicemaster however the first sentence the prolugue
of
is
,
:
debito iniunctae solicitudinis aliqua his quae ordine nostro
ex
ex
Cum
in
nostris temporibus miraculose gesta sunt quotidie fiunt recitarem noviciis
et
.
ex
The words debito iniunctae sollicitudinis indicate that was Cae
it
sarius duty look after the novices and this points his holding
to
to
,
's
some point after

at
he
office novicemaster himself became monk

as
in
a
and before he started the DM
of
In
1200 1219 the course the DM

in
.
as
42
he mentions Godfred our novicemaster This shows that

,
),
(X
»
.
at
Caesarius did not occupy the office the time Also when we consider
.
of
his many trips outside Heisterbach from 1218 onwards we shall as

,
or
seems unlikely that monk who was either the move
on
later see
it
,
was immersed his writings would have had the time devote the
in
to
to
DM
novices that they required The probably partly the fruit

of
Cae
is
.
as
experiences novicemaster but

of
sarius also the result freedom

it
is
,
a
's
writing
of
movement and opportunity for that novicemaster would not

a
normally have had

11
.
est
Strange Vol 285 Novicius Quid quod personam huius venerandi

.p
,
I,
9
:
.
de
abbatis cum scriberes Infantia Salvatoris Homelias Morales pene omnes

et
,
praedictas visiones ibi poneres

ita
personam eius celare studuisti Monachus Ipse

,
multa caritate secreta sua mihi revelans tunc temporis ne eum proderem pro
ex
hibuit quod postea tamen importunitate mea victus concessit Sciebam enim
,
,
,
personae illius gravitatem posse non modicam scribendis praebere auctoritatem

.
Karl Langosch
10
As excellent article Caesarius von Heisterbach

in
), in
,
«
»
's
Verfasserlexikon Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalter Berlin Leipzig 1933

,
-
(
:
345
.p
all
found some delight discovering that Angelo

11
After these considerations

in
,
I
Manrique Annales Cistercienses Lyons 1642 238 long ago came

to
IV
the
in
p
,
),
,
.
(
, ut
same conclusion Fieri potuit Caesarius magister fuerit cum his aliqua no
ex
,
,
:
iam
vitis recitaret sed cum scriberet alius

ei
successerit
,
.
When he wrote the DM , Caesarius thus held a favoured position at

Heisterbach , however difficult it is for us to assign him to a traditional
monastic office . It has long been accepted that he eventually became
prior . 12 But this assertion is based on post -medieval Cistercian litera
ture and has no basis in Caesarius' s own writings or in other contem
porary sources. 13 When we consider the outpouring of homilies , biogra
phies , and miracle collections that came from his pen in the years after
1218 , 14 it is difficult to imagine how he would have had the time also to
be the spiritual caretaker of the monks . His role in the life of Heisterbach
12 Most recently stated in Fritz Wagner's comprehensive and helpful « Studien

zu Caesarius von Heisterbach » , Analecta Cisterciensia 29 ( 1973 ) , 81 -2 .
13Our knowledge about Caesarius comes exclusively from his own works. In
vain I have searched Heisterbach , Himmerod , and Eberbach documents as well
as record collections from the archdioceses of Trier and Cologne for a mention
of Caesarius . For Heisterbach , see Ferdinand Schmitz , Urkundenbuch der Abtei
Heisterbach (Urkundenbücher der Geistlichen Stiftungen des Niederrheins II : Bonn ,
1908 ) .
Modern references to Caesarius as prior refer to Chrysostomo Henriquez ' s

Menologium Cistertiense ( Antwerp , 1629), where under 25 September ( p . 324 ) there
is the notation : In Germania beatus Caesarius prior Heisterbacensis , vir pietate
et doctrina celeberrimus qui sanctorum Patrum gesta pia sollicitudine colligens ,
et posteritati commendans , eorum etiam ipse vestigiis inhaerens, variis virtutibus
et miraculis claruit , et cum magna sanctitatis opinione felicem agonem in ordine
consummavit .
I have been able to check most of the works that Henriquez gives as sources .
In the earliest , Iohannis Trithemius , De scriptoribus ecclesiasticis ( Paris , 1512 ) ,
Caesarius is simply called « monachus in Heisterbach » ( fol. xcvi ) . Trithemius seems
to have known his work well , for his overall judgment of it is quite fair : « simplici
et aperto sermone nonnulla opuscula , quorum lectio devotis et simplicioribus fratri
bus non est spernenda ». He also says , quite correctly , that Caesarius' s model
is Gregory the Great .
In Jacob Fischer of Haarlem 's 1604 edition of the DM ( Illustrium Miraculorum
et Historiarum Memorabilium Lib . XII ) , published in Antwerp and dedicated to
an abbot of Himmerod , a polemical preface to the reader defends Caesarius against
the attacks of Zwingli for of miracles . Fischer reproduces the inform
his accounts
ation of Trithemius and adds the biographical data Caesarius gives about himself
in the course of the DM . So there is nothing about him as prior .
In Aubertus Miraeus , Chronicon Cisterciensis (Köln , 1614) , dedicated to an
abbot of Villers , the assertion is made that Caesarius shortly after converting to
Heisterbach was made prior at Villers (p . 127 ) . This is based on a confusion of
a prior Caesarius in the Villers Chronicle with our Caesarius, but this mistake
was taken over by Manrique (my note 11 ) , I , p . 39 in 1642 and III , p . 529 . Could it
be that Henriquez in 1629 rightly saw that Caesarius could not have been the prior
at Villers (who is mentioned in 1197 ,
two years before Caesarius joined Heisterbach )
and so assumed that if he were prior,
he had to have been so at Heisterbach ?
Thus arose a tradition which exists today . But note that Henriquez also claimed
that Caesarius was known for his miracles at Heisterbach . We have no contemporary
reference ot such . Could it be , however , that Henriquez draws on a late medieval
Heisterbach source lost to us ?
lost
Heisterbach source uszcarius himself of his own works, see his letter to
to
14 For a list made by Caesarius

Peter , prior of Marienstatt , from 1237, printed in Hilka I, pp . 2- 7 .
is indicated by the content of his works, where he combines personal

experience with theological popularization and Biblical - liturgical commen
tary . If we see the DM in the larger context of a whole life of writing
dedicated to fostering and explaining the life of the cloister , there is
not much room left for the stuctured , daily demands of offices like that
of prior .
Herman may have been a key figure in making it possible for Caes
arius to devote his time to being a monastic writer whose works were
read not only at Heisterbach but also at many other Cistercian houses . 15
Herman came from « high blood » , apparently Caesarius 's phrase
for a high noble family , and became a canon at Bonn . 16 In the 1180 ' s he
joined Himmerod together with a number of distinguished young men
from good backgrounds . 17 Under Abbot Eustace I of Himmerod he be
came prior and was chosen as abbot to lead the twelve monks and lay
brothers who founded Heisterbach on 17 March 1189 . Here he remained
until about 1196 . From then until 1198 he had a short term as abbot of
Himmerod , after which he became a simple monk . At some time during
these years he again held the post of prior . In 1215 he was chosen to
head a new abbey , Marienstatt , where he remained until 1223 when he
returned to Himmerod , where he died . 18 Caesarius gives no indication
why Herman gave up his position in Himmerod , but one of his stories
indirectly hints at a certain hostility on Herman 's part to his successor
and an admiration for Heisterbach ' s abbot Henry . 19
15 See the various prefaces to Caesarius ' s works contained in Hilka I. On a
later occasion I hope to deal more fully with the fascinating subject of Caesarius ' s
relationship to his reading — and listening — public .
16 St . I , p . 281 : Dominus Hermannus nunc Abbas Loci sanctae Mariae , quantae
sit vir religiositatis , quantaeve gravitatis , bene nosti . Iste ante conversionem eccle .
siae Bonnensis erat canonicus,
vir
de
nobilis alto sanguine natus

et
of as .
places
of
one where Caesarius speaks the novice he were

to
This the
if
is
living person point that will be explored further this paper

at
the end
,
,
a
a
the Vita Caroli Gesta Sanctorum Villariensium Monumenta

17
Mentioned
in
ed
SS
Germaniae Historica Scriptores abbreviated MGH Vol XXV

as
Waitz
G
),
),
,
.
.
(
.
(
pp
222
-3
.
my note well as
as
For the sources see Wellstein

18
these statements
to
),
,
7
(
Jahrhundert Beiträge zur

13
und
12
im
Carl Wilkes Zisterzienserabtei Himmerode

,
(
.
Westf
12
Geschichte des alten Mönchtums und des Benediktinerordens Münster

in
.
:
38
, 40
1924
19 ),
-
.
by
VIII Strange the lay

96
Vol 162 which concerns wanderer met

II,
,
-3
a
–
prior
, at
Henry
of
brother Hart who told his experiences Herman then his

to
,
,
Heisterbach Mentionem etiam viator habuit domini Eustachii abbatis Claustri

)
, (
:
illo aliqua corripiens isto plura com

et
domini Henrici abbatis nostri

et
in
in
mendans
.
be distinguished from
of
to
Abbot Eustace Himmerod

II
This 1198 1219

),
is
-
.
(
Eustace under whom Herman joined Himmerod the 1180 See Wilkes
in
the
's
.
I
41
my
40
pp
18
note
),
.
-
.
(
Herman 's life was eventful and even tumultuous at times . Both in
the early days of Heisterbach and in the start at Marienstatt , he had to
deal with a dissatisfied party in the convent that wanted to abandon
the new foundation and return to the mother house . 20 Both times Her
man remained steadfast and refused to back down to pressure from
within and threats from without coming from the local nobility , which
resented the new foundations as potential intrusions on their rights and
property ( IV ,64 ; VI1, 7 ) . Herman ' s strength of character became legendary ,
but he lacks Henry 's solidity . His visions point to a restless person con
stantly seeking the confirmation of immediate experience of devils or
angels . A visionary and a strong personality , he fascinated Caesarius , who
never betrays any doubts about the genuineness of his stories .
Caesarius could not afford to be without Herman . As the first abbot
of Heisterbach and the founder of Marienstatt , Herman guaranteed the
vitality of the Cistercians in the Rhineland . Caesarius describes in detail
a vision Herman had when he was still at Himmerod , prior to the found
ing of Heisterbach (VIII ,91). He saw a stream of clear water flowing
through the church from the choir to the door and saw himself getting
into a boat that was being swept along by the fast current . He had to
manoeuvre it skillfully keep it from colliding with a column . Finally the
boat arrived at a place which Herman later identified as being next to
what became the infirmary of Heisterbach . Men in white were with him .
The new convent stood between the mountain of Stromberg and this
place , and among the members stood Christ , who harshly removed one
of the monks, while another he more gently ordered to go back . 21
All of this more in the vision receives due explanation from

and much
Caesarius : one of the early monks of Heisterbach left the Order , while
another was allowed to return to Himmerod . The image of the river is
obvious : it prefigures the trip down Mosel and Rhine from Himmerod
to the site of Heisterbach . But Caesarius also interprets the river ' s flowing
with such force to represent the discipline of the house ; the purity of
the water is the purity of its traditions . The column into which the boat
almost collided is explained by the fact that when the monks arrived
at Stromberg and were in need of many things , some wanted to leave .
20 For Herman and the founding of Heisterbach , DM VIII , 91. For his courage
at Marienstatt Caesarius has no information , but there is a fourteenth century
legend in which Mary appears to the sick Herman and tells him not to despair .
She will be with him if he does not give up the fight to maintain the new abbey .
Here we may well have a Cistercian literary source that has been partly shaped
by a reading of Caesarius ' s account of Herman ' s perseverance earlier at Heisterbach .
H . Beyer , L . Eltester , A . Goerz , Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der mittelrheinischen
Territorien III (Koblenz 1874 , reprinted Hildesheim -New York , 1974) , nr. 34 .
21 Strange II , 158: Stante conventu inter montem Stromberg et iam dictum
locum , Salvator qui inter eos stare visus est, unum ex monachis dure satis retraxit ,
alium modestius amovens seorsum statuit .
But Herman insisted that they stay , saying: « Cessate, state , nullus
vestrum revertetur ».
Caesarius attributes the foundation of Heisterbach in 1189 and its

success to Herman ' s unshakeable courage . Whether or not this is the
whole truth , we cannot know , but Herman ' s achievement was recognized
at Himmerod in the monks ' choice of him as their abbot in 1196 . What
ever occasioned his leaving the abbot 's office a few years later , he would
still hold important offices . He can be seen as the incarnation of the best
Cistercian impulses in the Order 's first century . He is active , restless ,
and ready to go anywhere to spread the Order , but at the same time is
caught up with his own spiritual life and is trying to live in harmony
with the demands of monasticism as reformed into the Cistercian mould .
Herman plays a role here which I would call that of myth -maker .
He creates in his own mind some of the essential Cistercian myths on
which Caesarius draws, but he also makes these myths part of his own
experience . 22 Caesarius is interested not just in the inner reality of vision
and miracles but also in their outer effects . Both make up a wholeness
which allows Caesarius as myth -recorder to accept, interpret , and inte
grate the content of the myth into his materials .
Herman can also function as myth -maker when he conveys to Caes
arius experiences from his own life that have been important in his spi
ritual formation . Thus in narrating the life of Everhard , priest of St.
James in Cologne (IV ,98 ) , Caesarius can describe how Herman as a
young man sought out the famous man , known for the chastity of his
life and asked him for his advice : « Father , I am gravely tempted in my
flesh . Pray God to free me » . Everhard was getting ready for the mass
and merely shouted back , « I suffer likewise , what then can I do for
you ? » . Herman told Caesarius that it helped him greatly to learn that a
man like Everhard had the same problems he did . 23
Far more numerous than such intimate tales of sexual tempation
are the stories of Herman 's visions of the devil ( 1 , 5 ) . Here we can see
how he shares with the other monks at Himmerod an interest in exper
iencing the presence of the devil at first -hand . He was drawn by the
22 By the word « myth » , I by no means indicate a false story based on wishful

thinking . I use the word in the sense of Mircea Eliade as a central story , often
concerned with origins , by which a group explains how it has come to be as it is .
The foundation myths of Cistercian houses deserve further study , for they have
common themes based on hardship , discouragement , divine help , and the aid of
Mary .
23 Strange I , 267 : Pater , graviter patior stimulum carnis ; orate Deum , ut liberet
me. Quem cum ille respexisset , quasi ex abrupto clamosa voce respondit : Certe
ego simile patior ; quid ergo pro vobis orare potero ? Et sicut mihi retulit idem
Hermannus , ex hoc ipso aedificatus recessit , quod hominem sanctum et senem
sibi similia pati cognoverat .
stories he heard from Henry , a lay brother and master of the Himmerod
grange at Hart . When Henry time and again came to Herman with stories
of devils he had seen , Herman prayed that this « gift » also be given
him . He was endowed vision that became so common that it
with a
began to disturb him . In the end he had to ask God that it be taken away
from him . 24 In the meantime he saw devils as stocky peasants , calf
tails , women , Ethiopians , or a huge eye . He experienced how the devils
sprang from one side of the choir to the other in order to disturb the
brothers' singing of the psalms, or else would make fun of lazy or com
plaining monks. Devils are especially active on the deaths of people
attached to the monastery , such as the Countess of Freusburg who had
founded Marienstatt . Some of these stories are light-hearted , for devils
can be playful . But the point remains that Herman had contact with the
forces of evil and experienced their activities in the choir , the very centre
of the monastery ' s life of prayer .
Herman was a major informant for Caesarius in three related areas :
activities of the devil , temptations by monks, especially
experienced
those of a sexual nature , and the visions of the lay brother Henry of
Hart. One of the very best devil-hell stories is that of the conversion of
a man who ended as abbot of Morimund ( 1,32 ) . He is supposed to have
died before 1200 and cannot be identified , but Herman told Caesarius
that he knew him and heard him speaking about his trip through the
depths of hell. Herman may have heard his story at the General Chapter ,
as so many other stories that reached Caesarius come from that milieu .
Both here and in other devil stories , Caesarius could benefit from Her
man 's penchant for providing horrifying details . Thus Herman told him
about Alice , once concubine of a Bonn priest who hung himself . She
became nun at a house in Langwaden , a village in the diocese of
. III
Cologne ( One day the dormitory she saw the devil through
13
in
,
).
he
let
the window Later become her hus

to
tried convince her

to
him
he
her dress The snot

on
band When she refused blew his nose descri

,
is
.
.
as
bed being like the blackest pitch and stinking terribly Trials and
.
get
the creature by
rid
tribulations followed for her She tried

to
of
.
following screaming his face But

an
older sister advice and the Ave

in
.
's
the best help came from suggestion that she make general confes
a
the prior her convent The power confession the subject

of
of
sion
to
placed made impossible for the

of
the distinctio which the story

it
is
in
devil continue plague Alice

to
to
at
Caesarius adds here how Herman the time canon Bonn heard
of
,
Langwaden
of
these events and himself went speak Alice and have

to
to
to
Strange Sentiens aspectum illorum

24
285 daemonum oculis esse nocivum

p
I,
,
.
)
:
nec ignorans nequitiam

de
illorum die quadam missa dicta Spiritu sancto oravit

,
,
ut
ab
huiusmodi visionibus liberaret

se
Deum
,
.
her describe her experience . « He heard from her mouth everything in the
order it has been told » . 25 Thus we have Herman , who later himself
would see so many devils , at an earlier stage seeking out the activity of
the devil in the life of a woman and trying to substantiate the rumours
he had heard . Elsewhere in the course of the DM we are told of other
churchmen who hear fantastic tales and make a special point of going
to their source to find out the truth for themselves. 26 This is accepted as
normal and natural by Caesarius . He does the same himself . It is legiti
mate to question and to prod . Because of a desire not to succumb to
pride or vanity , the source can hide some details , but a good questioner
like Herman or Caesarius could usually get the whole story . At one point
we are shown Caesarius questioning Herman himself , concerning the
after -effects of the vision of hell on the abbot of Morimund :
. . . when I asked the said abbot Herman if he ever saw him laughing ,
since it is said of those who rise again that they don ' t laugh , he answered :
« Know that I considered this in him , and I couldn ' t see in his gestures the
slightest levity , for so great was his seriousness and his gravity, I never even
saw him smiling or making one light -hearted remark . 27
Here the story by itself is insufficient. Caesarius individualizes and

concretizes the events described by adding such vivid details . He wants
to make quite clear how such an experience of the afterlife could alter
a person physically as well as spiritually . Herman is obviously interested
in the same effect . Between the two of them , they register the trauma
tic of countless people .
experiences
In his position as abbot or prior , Herman had a right to question
the spiritual condition of his monks. One lay brother at Himmerod came
from a good family but was set to taking care of pigs (IV ,4 ) . One day
he felt revolted by what had happened to him . « What is it that I do ? I
am a well -born man , but because of this low position I am despised by
all my friends . » 28 He decided to leave the next morning , but the same
night he had
led
a vision in which he was into the monastery cemetery

's
Strange cognovisset
se de
fama divulgante praefata

25
127 Cum talia femina

.p
I,
, ,
,
:
esset Bonnae canonicus optime nota

ad
sibi cum locum per ipsum accessit

,
ordine quo dicta sunt

eo
et
ab
illius ore cuncta audivit

,
As where Philip Otterberg

of
of
. 26
19
Cistercian abbot hears crucifix

,
,
,
X
a
it at
Goar from which blood supposed come and travels there

St
so
to
to
see
is
for himself
.
Strange 39 De quo interrogassem praedictum

27
cum Hermannum abba

p
I,
.
viderit illum aliquando ridentem resurgentibus dicitur

de
quod ridere
si
tem quia
,
, ,
non soleant respondit Scias me hoc ipsum illo considerasse nec potui
in
;
deprehendere gestibus eius nutum quidem levitatis tantae erat gravitatis tantae
in
longanimitatis nunquam illum vidi nec quidem subridentem necque verba levita
;
tis proferentem
I, .
Strange est quod ago Homo propter

28
175 Quid sum bene natus sed

.p
,
?
:
hoc vile officium omnibus amicis meis despectus

,
.
the graves being opened Terrified by this experience
all
and saw he
,
.
remained the next morning his monastery
in
.
of
All this was reported Herman who was abbot the time As
at
to
.
prior he got even closer his monks was normal practice for example
to
It
,
.
that novice who had completed the year probation and was
, of
to
a
become monk had his hair cut One novice however suddenly refu
29
,
a
.
be
51
let
prior could
IV
sed done Herman reaction shows how
to
it
,
(
).
's
a
have genuine undestanding for those his care
in
a
:
pretending the whole thing was joke
he
went the novice
to
him
),
a
..
.
(
took the youth neck his arms and telling him that his depression was
in
,
's
sent by the devil quickly transformed his hesitancy
of
state When
to
calm
,
.
the temptation had ceased the young man face not without the admiration
,
,
's
those present soon became serene and he allowed his hair
be
of
cut As
to
,
.
Herman told me the face the novice was suddenly changed that the
of so
of
,
(
black colour his cheeks and the trembling his lips adequately showed
of
he
30
what had conceived his heart

in
us
panic For
he
on
Herman sensed that the novice was the edge
of
.
thought intimate physical
of
at
an
seems have been terrified the
to
such
as
the cutting
of
act his hair For Herman was the devil work But
it
.
.
's
the prior reaction surpasses the cultural barriers
of
language and shows
's
recognition and response human needs Herman touches the youth

to
,
a
assures and comforts him Physical contact the monastery was serious
in
a
.
matter for easily had sexual undertones But Herman seems have
so
it
to
,
known exactly what do and Caesarius applauds him for his sensitivity
to
.
The anecdotes Caesarius obtained from Herman deal great
to
a
extent with sexual temptations One youth confessed him that he had
to
.
terrible tempations and Herman advised him cry out Devil my

to
,
,
«
stop tempting me The therapeutic effect

of
confessor orders you

31
to
»
!
by
crying out the young brother would

be
such reaction clear sum

is
,
a
moning the help monastery His private

of
other brothers the dilemma

in
Phi Guignard
29
Les Monuments primitifs de règle cistercienne Analecta

,
la
.
Divionensia Dijon Capillos vero comburat sacrista

ad
1878 220 piscinam

,
.p
,
),
in
:
hoc deputatam Deinde tondeatur monachum

in
I, .
Strange
30
217 Quo viso dominus Hermannus abbas Loci sanctae Mariae

p
,
, .
tunc ibidem prior simulata quadam iocunditate accurrit collum iuvenis utroque
,
brachio strinxit quia eadem tristitia

et
ex
immissione esset diaboli docens fluctuan

,
tem ocius ad tranquillitatem perduxit Tentatione vero sedata mox adolescentis

,
.
facies non sine assistentium admiratione permisit radi

et
est serenata
se
,
Sicut mihi retulit

ita
iam dictus abbas vultus novicii multo fuerat immutatus

,
,
ut
nigredo maxillarum tremor labiorum satis ostenderent quid corde concepisset

et
.
31
IV
Strange
95
Cui cum idem iuvenis eandem

,
261 qua
I,
tentationem
,
–
nimis afficiebatur cum lacrimis confessus fuisset consolatus est eum prior
et
,
,
ait
impugnat
sic
Quando stimulus carnis

te
diabolo voce satis alta dicere debes

ut ,
:
Diabole confessor meus praecipit tibi cesses me tentare

,
.
would become a matter for public concern . Another monk who suffered
similar temptations told Herman as prior that one night he had been
so tempted that « in such a brief instant as one can turn the hand , he
,
sin
could have satisfied will
32
it if the to had been there
.»
This most probably temptation masturbate Its sexual cha
is
to
a
.
by
as
racter clarified
is connected anecdote that the same week this
lay
by
brother told Herman the latter was visited brother from
a
Himmerod grange He told him vision he had experienced his
of
in
a
.
sleep strong iron nail affixed
an
column was before him with
it
in
,
a
.
:
Hanging from the iron was beautiful crown And most beautiful
a
.
lord came and took the crown with both hands from the nail and put
on it
into my hands He told the lay brother take the monk who
it
to
to
»
.
that night had merited Herman realized that the monk was the
33
it
.
strong column the nail his harsh temptation the crown his reward
,
.
One hardly has agree with Freud the stiff column
an
see erect
to
to
in
penis the nail the pain temptation
to
of
resistance and the crown

in
in
,
,
compensatory symbol
34
.
a
What emerges from such stories not just the difficulty living
of
is
rigid regime when the expression sexuality
of
under such came
it
to
a
.
genuine human concern and understan
an
- of
There also element here

is
ding And does not travel one way from Herman his monks Herman
he to
it
.
.
or
himself can seek help Everhard simple

as
as
from does from

,
a
woman named Jutta She had lost her daughter wolf but had gotten
to
a
.
by
Mary
of
taking the image
of
back the Christ child from the statue

it
until her child was VII
45
and saying she would
not return back
it
,
)
.
(
of
Herman heard the story and himself got know Jutta Later she
to
.
prior
of
as
found out that Herman was thinking resigning his office
so
,
got permission
to
speak
of
she from the abbot Himmerod Eustace

,
I,
apparently
on
Herman was sent her Veldenz the Mosel

to
to
at
him
,
.
where she took him before the famed Mary statue and ordered him
not give up his office
to
eius confessione cognovit talis erat

ex
Strange
32
96
sicut
et
IV
264
,
, I,
,
-
...
:
status eiusdem tentationis ut tam brevi morula sicut quis manum posset vertere
in
satisfecisset voluntas peccati affuisset

ei
si
,
Et affuit quidam pulcherrimus dominus qui ambabus manibus tollens

33
Ibid
,
.:
sic
ponensque Accipe
de
clavo coronam illam manibus meis dixit coronam

in
;
,
, :
illi monacho designans eum nomine quia

ex
et
istam defer eam hac nocte

,
meruit eam
.
Sigmund The Interpretation

34
ed
Dreams trans and James Stra

of
Freud
,
.
in (
by
chey York 1965

New Representation Symbols Dreams Some Further
, ,
),
«
–
:
pp
Typical Dreams Most the dream symbols described here are far
of
95
385
»
-
.
more arcane and secondary than those the Caesarius story Could this indicate
in
of
of
that thirteenth century Cistercian monks were much more aware the effects
their sexual repression than early twentieth century Viennese citizens
?
181
Oral Sources in Caesarius of Heisterbach 's Dialogus Miraculorum
will not please God she said you should resign
if
It
.
He said you know this
do
her How
to
,
«
»
?
She answered No one revealed this me except this Lady
to
«
,
»
.
She pointed the statue
to
.
Many things were revealed the same devout woman through that holy
to
statue and she obtained many benefits through
35
it
,
.
Just the Eucharistic stories the wonders and marvels
as
we saw
in
,
of
the world Caesarius are not solely attached the cloister Both
of
to
.
Caesarius and Herman also went out among lay people speak
to
them
to
and learn from them
.
Similarly Herman was more than willing accept the validity
of
by to
lay
the spiritual revelations communicated brother Henry
to
him the
Hart Henry content for they con political
of
visions often have
,
a
«
»
.
's
firm and guarantee the position

Herman God eyes Henry 's of
for
in
,
of .
's
as
he
example sees dove above Herman head when abbot Himmerod
,
walking around the choir order make certain that the brothers to
in
is
sing with devotion VIII interpreted the blessing
as
37
of
This the
is
,
(
).
Holy Spirit When perhaps angel appears
an
wanderer viator
to
a
«
»
(
)
.
:
he
Henry when he
his grange
of
Hart says
of
alone Herman love
at
,
is
I
«
he
he
religious and discipline and because
of
him because lover

is
prays daily for the whole church and the Order Caesarius breaks
36
in
»
.
agreement
an
here unusual manner and adds his these words

to
in
:
Quod
et
verum est
.
of
Herman himself not allowed share the vision the wanderer
to
is
in
,
always ready away
at be
be
who claimshemust called God command

at
to
's
cannot put himself Herman disposal When the lay brother

so
and
.
's
Henry tries give him some presents he refuses one but accepts belt
to
which he promises he will give

of
monk Eberbach return the

In
to
,
a
wanderer gives the lay brother belt cheap wool which turns out
of
to
,
a
of
have power both heal illness and protect against temptations the
to
to
Again the theme sexuality comes the surface the narra

of
of
flesh
to
.
the major themes

of
of
the impulses
of
tion Resistance
to
sex one
is
.
provides by
he
the stories Herman and thus indicates that both and

. of
Caesarius were very much involved trying keep themselves free

in
to
aiding younger monks and novices

sin
well
as
to as
sexual the effort

in
,
have worried often about his spiritual status

as
Herman seems
,
by
had one night during matins

he
Himmerod He
at
indicated vision
a
pix the Eucharist which

of
saw container which was contained the

in
a
Strange Deo inquit non placet resignaveritis Cui cum ille diceret
si
64
35
,
,
,
,
II,
.
:
unde hoc nostis Respondit illa Nemo mihi hoc revelavit nisi Domina ista
,
,
?
digito imaginem ostendens Multa siquidem eidem devotae feminae per sacram
, .
illam imaginem revelantur plurima per illam beneficia consequitur

.
VIII Strange 162 Ego inquit diligo quod religiosus sit

36
96
eo
illum
,
II,
,
-
amator disciplinae quia quotidie orat pro omni ecclesia ordine

et
et
et
,
.
hung from it by a ,29 ) . He realized that his prayer that

golden chain (IX
God reveal to him his spiritual condition had been answered . He was
being shown the container of his heart . It was linked to Christ by a
golden chain . This search for spiritual insights and self -knowledge does
not seem to have ceased when Herman became abbot of Marienstatt.
Caesarius tells how Herman while in this office was told that the tyrant
William , Count of Juilly , had heard heavenly music . He went to the man
to get at the truth of the matter (XII ,5) .
From these stories we can see Herman as an ideal oral source for
Caesarius . He has wide contacts with both lay people and monks, inspires
their confidence and excites them by his own spiritual experiences . He
seems to have been a passionate man , fighting the desires of his flesh ,
caring deeply about his novices and lay brothers , and furthering the
spread of Cistercian ideals and foundations . For Caesarius Herman in
carnates the continuing vitality of the Cistercian Order , its links with
divine favour , and
of
indispensability the church and society his day
its
in
.
we his stories narrowly they show man credulous
at
If
look
so
,
a
that hard take him seriously But Herman visions are not the
it
to
is
's
hysterical They are
an
of
result over stimulated consciousness

or
in
.
-
harmony with the ideology day but

of
his they also deepen and enrich

,
that ideology this sense that Herman the primary myth maker
It
is
is
in
-
.
living proof
of
of
the DM He Caesarius central thesis that miracles

is
.
's
are being reproduced his own order aliqua
ex
his own times his
in
in
,
temporibus quoti :
et
quae ordine nostro nostris miraculose gesta sunt
in
die fiunt rologue

)
.
(P
The close contact that must have existed between Herman and
of
make possible the communication much

so
to
Caesarius order
in
significant personal experience also evident between Abbot Henry and

is
be
Caesarius But here would probably exaggeration speak of

as an
it
to
.
friendship Henry abbot maintains

an
close between the two elem

a
inaccessibility Stories about him with

of
an
ent emotional content come

.
either from his early days Heisterbach from his contacts with wo
or
at
men outside the cloister His experience points the most surpris
of
one
to
.
spiritual friendships
DM
ing elements the the evidence

of
between
in
monks and nuns

.
Henry his friendships with others were intra mural

early days
In
,
-
's
as
with the monk Christian whose visions and revelations are described
Henry
he
Caesarius says that

IV
detail his
at
30
revealed them
to
in
.
).
(
request special friendship Likewise Henry knew

of
because his
«
»
(
.
of
Cologne Theobald notorius for his wild ways Cologne

at
the youth
,
and Caesarius were boys and burdened Heisterbach by men

he
at
when
tal problems whose content seems
to
on
have centred some undefined

guilt told Henry about how the devil tempted him
he
IV
confession
In
,6
(
)
.
pride when did the monastery laundry

he
order overcome his

to
to
In
.
's
feeling of superiority to such menial work , he forced himself to drink

the filthy water .
Before Henry entered Heisterbach , he was canon at Bonn . There
he knew a nun from the house at Ditkirchen , Sophia ( X , 16 ) . On his
entrance to Heisterbach , she prayed for him but stopped doing so when
she learned that Henry ' s brothers had kidnapped him in order to keep
him out of the cloister ( 1,13) . Henry then appeared to her in her sleep
and ordered her to return to her prayers : « You will hear my first mass
in the Cistercian Order » , he promised her . Sophia subsequently joined
the new Cistercian house at Walberberg and became prioress There
its
.
she did hear Henry had managed
he
first mass for the meantime
in
,
's
Heisterbach and put the monastic habit before his bro
on
return
to
to
of
Sophia
get hold typical expression
of
thers could
37
him dream
is
a
.
the spiritual bonds between men and women which are frequent
's
so
in
DM
As
of
the the case Herman Marienstatt and Jutta the man of

in
,
.
gets strength and help from the woman support while the woman
,
's
an
of
has outlet for her emotions tenderness and concern
.
Another woman with whom Henry had contact and who provided
a
for
story Caesarius Hildegund from Liblar village near Cologne

is
,
a
baldly called the amica domini Henrici abbatis nostri

IX
She
36
is
,
(
)
.
.
as
Caesarius looks upon this such natural relationship that he does not
a
try explain what he means by such phrase There nothing

to
even
is
a
questionable and dubious that abbot and pious woman are friends
an
.
Likewise Henry made no attempt hide his feelings and involvement
to
when he visitation
Cistercian monasteries Friesland one
to
on
in
a
night Nazareth under Klaarkamp

as
he slept
at
house the womens

of
'
had which he first heard woman sighing XII Only

26
vision
in
,
a
).
of (
after she had told him the whole story her tragic loss chastity and
of
asked for his prayers was

he
allowed see her She was beautiful and

to
,
.
Henry the next day started investigation determine the dead nun
an
to
's
identity She had only requested his individual prayers but when Henry
,
.
he
found out who she was ordered that both the Frisian monasteries
in
,
be
well the province Cologne there

as
as
of
houses said masses

in
in
prayers and psalters for her Are we witnessing here love affair between
,
a
.
living abbot and dead nun What repressed impulses Henry could
in
a
experience have reflected and stimulated Any answer such ques

to
the
?
requires more than the sources tell clear that Henry

us
tions but
is
it
,
Strange Paucis diebus elapsis cum

37
fratribus suis carnalibus

. vi
230
II
,
a
:
fuisset reductus ante habitus susceptionem ipsa iam desperans dimisit orationem
,
ut
hoc arguens omissas orationes reinciperet

ob
ipse mox
et
Quam somnis
in
in ita
admonens adiecit Primam missam meam audies ordine Cisterciensi Quod

in
,
; .
:
ad
Dei nutu factum est Nam ipse nos rediit ipsa habitum mutavit sicque
et
,
.
Monte sanctae Walburgis ubi tunc priorissa fuit primam eius missam audivit
,
.
became totally caught up in this girl and her fate. He used all the autho
rity and prestige he had in order to help her .
In describing Henry in such a situation , Caesarius shows how close
the two of them must have been in order for him to provide such detail .
In this case Caesarius was probably together with Henry on the Frisian
trip and so could register Henry ' s reactions in a much more intimate
way than he would have been able to do in the midst of the daily life
of the cloister . Most of the time Henry is not a source for stories about
himself and his own feelings. His stories normally come to him because
his activity brings him outside the cloister . Thus in going to the General
Chapter in 1222 with the abbot of Cheminon , Henry stayed overnight
with a Hospitaller and discovered the next morning that the man had
committed suicide (X1,61 ) . Or when a crusade was being preached in
Friesland , he was present in 1217 at a memorable appearance of a great
white cross in the sky ( X , 39 ). The General Chapter provides a wealth of
stories which Henry brings back to Caesarius , such as that of a conspi
lay
racy of brothers They were jealous building made for the use
of
of
a
.
down X1
57
the monks and decided tear Just when the revolt
to
,
it
)
.
begin conspiracy
of
was about the author the fell down dead The

to
.
other lay brothers lost their courage and asked the abbot for forgiveness
.
The incident reached the General Chapter because the lay brothers sought
the abbot for permission bury the conspirator the monastery
in to
in
's
cemetery instead
of
outside field
38
a
Henry has contacts with lay people that provide him with other
knight Königswinter
he
can tell Caesarius

on of
of
stories the town
,
A
a
.
of
few kilometres west Heisterbach and the Rhine refused give the
to
,
, of
money
he he
on
of
canons Bonn the other side the river some owed

He lost his voice and only when repented could
he
speak
48
IV
them
(
).
he
in
again The whole story told Abbot Henry who must have had an
,
.
up
for the knight dying

on
fluence called Caesarius ended novice

,
him
a
at
Heisterbach
.
final major source

stories for Caesarius via Abbot Henry comes
of
A
of
dying monks such that

as
of
of
from the last confessions Gottshalk

,
Such monks entrusted the abbot not only their

IX
Volmarstein
to
2,
(
).
might
As
sins but also any visions they

as
have had often not however

,
,
.
vision only emphasizes the participa

or
Henry share some miracle

in
's
many monks the same spiritual experience This

of
tion the case

is
in
when William Heisterbach monk from noble family who died

in
,
a
at
sounds very similar lay brother revolt

38
that
of
The scenario Schönau

to
by a
place before 1180 and

, of
that took described Conrad Eberbach the

in
is
ed
Magnum Cisterciense Bruno Griesser Rome 1961 be abbreviated

to
Exordium
,
,
.
(
pp
as
Donnelly The Decline

10
the Medieval Cistercian

of
EM 292
,
V
-8
S
–
.
, J.
.
)
pp
nr
Lay Brotherhood New York 1949 may

of
34
74
40
revolts
of It
the list
in
5
,
-
.
).
(
well be that Caesarius has mixed up the Schönau revolt miraculous death the
's
central conspirator with the events lay brother revolt

of
his own time

in
a
.
about , appeared to a Heisterbach monk , and told him to ask Henry

1210
to have prayers offered for him in the chapter and to say the collect of
the mass for him (XII ,37 ) . If the abbot says the collect of St. Michael ,
the dead William is sure to get out of purgatory . In the morning, when
Henry was told of this vision , he immediately celebrated the mass of
St. Michael the Archangel and ordered a psalm to be said every day for
a week . When the monk Conrad stood in the choir at the end of
for him
that week and was falling asleep while the psalm was being sung , he had
a vision of Mary holding her cloak over William who said with grati
tude , « I am wholly freed » . At the same time he appeared to the first
monk and said he only had been seven days in purgatory .
Thus Abbot Henry is a central point for the spiritual experiences of
Heisterbach . He brings in stories and vision from the outside , shares in
what happens inside the monastery , and communicates much of it to
he
all
Caesarius . Most important of applauds and even orders the

,
»
attempt experiences for the
of
of
Caesarius write down some these
to
novices and coming generations monks Like Herman Henry

of
sake of
,
.
combines practical life with spiritual one we look through the
If
a
period .
we can see Henry
at
documents Heisterbach work
of
this
in
consolidating the monastery holdings and assuring its economic inde

's
pendence During these years after 1200 the church Heisterbach was
at
39
.
built stone and Henry seems have been able cope with the
to
is to
in
expenses must have created for the abbey no division

40
There
it
in
.
Caesarius mind between the efficiency and the spiritual intensity
of
the
's
abbot Even Caesarius does not seem have been

to
as
close him
if
to
.
as
appreciates him greatly for what

he
of he
he was Herman and
to
is
,
hangs his words and tales Like Caesarius Henry detail

on
man
to
is
a
.
For him the quality .

be
the grain used matter

of
make hosts can of

to
prime
65
IX
concern
,
.
(
as of
Herman and Henry thus provide the foundation the DM Without

.
freely
he
Caesarius would not have been able

as
write
to
them did
,
His materials would have been infinitely poorer The two abbots epito
.
of
mize the confidence the early thirteenth century Cistercians that

material goals can harmonize with and stengthen spiritual aims
.
Sharp Memories Cologne Youth

of
B
.
Herman and Henry are the primary myth makers and communica
-
of
tors the DM But Caesarius own experiences are also valuable

a
.
's
the Libri Miraculorum

DM
of
element the successor the Caesarius

In
,
.
See the brief but apt portrait Henry

of
39
Schmitz introduction
to
the
in
's
pp
Heisterbach Urkundenbuch my note

13
Heinrich verstand
es
Menschen
),
,
6
-8
«
.
(
ziehen und anzuregen

an
zu
sich
»
.
Beiträge zur Geschichte

40
Schmitz Die Abtei Heisterbach des Niederrheins

,
,
. «
»
14
37
1900 124
),
(
-
does not draw on his own experience . 4 There he still uses stories he
has heard , but he is more dependent on literary suorces and spends much
less time in recording the individual experiences of those around him .
But what Caesarius tells about himself in the DM can hardly add up to
a biography . He mentions how he as a small child was cured from a
near-fatal illness by being wrapped in the still -wet baptismal gown belong
ing to a slave girl owned by his aunt ( X ,44 ) . This first miracle of his
his
life may have contributed to the phenomenon
of
interest miracles
,
in
but significantly enough many the other events remembered
of
from
,
Cologne are miraculous only
, of
the most flexible sense the word
in
A
.
by
dog baptized joke schoolboys becomes rabid Robbers
as
45
X
a
)
.
arrogant and worldly
). An
the rack outside Cologne X1
on
are seen
55
,
(
).
XII
45
Corvey seen astride his horse
of
abbot The scholar Conrad
,
is
(
born with every future prospect because his uncle position
at
of
the
's
cathedral deprived the man favour because he takes some apples
of
is
,
's
74
Caesarius does not always say that
he
IV
from his orchard was

,
(
)
.
at
youth Cologne when these things happened but many
of
the stories
,
a
up
are the type he would have picked boyhood They create moving in
a
.
life that very rarely allows any insight into his
us
horizon for Caesarius
's
feelings
.
From this time Caesarius already seems have been fascinated by

to
,
be
oral communication His earliest memory that can dated the visit
is
, of .
of
Henry cardinal Cologne
he
to
Albano 1188 and the sermon gave

in
,
,
IV
keenly
of
the cathedral Caesarius seems have been aware
79
to
in
).
(
for
or
the force the good story inside sermon lesson could have
a
a
by
its
or
listeners He repeats story told the scholasticus the
at
teacher
a
.
cathedral Rudolph concerning how man overcame his brother envy

,
by reciprocating 's
all
IV
his insults with kindness and love

26
Since
,
.
(
Rudolph was Caesarius teacher he probably heard the story first

at
,
as 's
not nearly good exemplum most

an
of
hand Caesarius own

It
as
is
.
's
for generalized
of
are told and lacks the details time

it
form
,
,
in
is
place and circumstance with which

Caesarius generous But the
is
so
,
fact that such respected and famed teacher used story this type
of
a
illustrate his teaching could have encouraged Caesarius

to
The most important influence Caesarius during these years was

on
St
Ensfrid the dean Andrew near the cathedral Here

of
of
the church
,
Caesarius went scool V1 Ensfrid usually remembered for his

is
to
of 5),
(
St
.
was beating one

he
on
at of
attack the school teacher Andrew when the

.
students Caesarius may himself have been pupil the school the
in
a
.
no
time doubt that Ensfrid mildness and belief learning

42
There
is
in
.
's
Alfons Hilka Die Wundergeschichten des Caesarius von Heister

41
Contained
in
bach III Publikationen der Gesellschaft für Rheinishche Geschichtskunde XLIII

(
Hilka III
To
as
be
Bonn referred
to
1937
,
).
For the identity the scholasticus see Greven my note

of
42
23
,
2
),
-7
.
(
through example instead of force and threat helped shape Caesarius's

own conception of how to communicate with the young . Ensfrid is also
important for Caesarius as a daring but guileless churchman who could
push the practice of Christian charity to such an extent that he became
a threat to the propertied and privileged ways of the Cologne church
hierarchy . Caesarius describes with humour and admiration how Ensfrid
stole from his own kitchen to give to the poor and hungry , how he refused
to be a guest at festivities without bringing his own friends , the poor of
Cologne , and how he could not hold a dinner party unless his guests
brought their own food . He had already given away what he had .
Ensfrid is a happy figure , a Francis of Assisi without any tragic
all
dimension . Both were fascinated with the idea of giving they had
to
poor busy growing Cologne
of
the order follow Christ
In
the the
in
to
,
.
late twelfth century with families doing their best spread their power
to
,
as
and prestige Ensfrid seems have been looked upon curious
43
to
,
a
he
he
oddity did not mind long dole out alms
as
status was able
to
so
,
a
the same The group he

do
and get others irritated the most was the

to
sermon preaching for

of
clerical establishment which resented his use
,
crusading funds request for money for the poor The theme poverty a
of
as
a
by .
as
leading
of
motif Ensfrid life Caesarius

is
the remembered
is
It
.
's
perhaps difficult understand how Caesarius could reconcile his admira

to
of
tion for the man with his acceptance the material wealth Cister
of
But Caesarius was critical monasteries that pursued
of
cian houses
.
62
too
much alacrity He thought that material

57
IV
wealth with
,
-
(
).
did
well being came most naturally and easily when the monks not seek
-
directly Ensfrid served long

as as
65
IV
life reminder that the

it
,
-8
).
as -
(
the poor well

of
church existed for the sake the rich and Caesarius

,
insisted that any religious house that forgot its obligations the poor
to
would soon lose any wealth had amassed

it
.
of
Caesarius was blessed with number positive adult influences

a
up
Cologne represented
at
growing Ensfrid extreme

of
while he was
an
.
spontaneous Christian charity while Everhard priest

, St
James was
( of
,
,
,
less congenial person but also important influence He stood

IV
an
98
).
a
up
the archbishop Cologne when the latter wanted collect money

of
to
to
for his fortifications he refused pay large fee doctor for curing
to
to
;
headache because he felt the money spent the poor

on
would be better
a
.
he
of
the noble youth Cologne

of
When felt shocked

the sexual sins
at
they during Lent God sent him the same

to
to
when came him confess

,
of
he
type temptation
of
that would understand them better Best

so
all he loved and respected the Cistercian Order and wanted become
to
,
monk But Caesarius says the abbots who knew him felt his work among
.
See Paul Strait Cologne the Twelfth Century Florida for well
43
1974
,
in
,
a
)
(
urban development and full bibliography

of
written account
a
.
lay people was too important to be neglected if he entered a monastery .

This may not be the true reason . Everhard had a strong , dominant perso
nality and could be difficult to deal with .
Everhard and Ensfrid are both seen as men caught up in the business
of pastoral care . Ensfrid is light -hearted and easygoing , unless he gets
angry , while Everhard is strict and self -assured . When Ensfrid was buried ,
Everhard gave the sermon . He was sought out by the young Herman of
Himmerod . He participated in a Eucharistic miracle right on a main
street of Cologne , stratam altam et angustam , where Caesarius says he
often walked . The brute animals blocking Everhard 's way as he carried
the sacrament to a sick man voluntarily kneeled down to let him pass
a narrow and muddy spot . Caesarius puts us in the midst of a medieval
street and shows us miracles happening right there . These events , he
adds , are known « to this day » in Cologne . 44 Folk tradition and monastic
literary production have the same themes and similar content . For Caesa
rius there is no conflict ,
his
for
the experience youth
of
consistent
is
of
with that his monastic life

.
The main link between past and present the miracle Its content
is
.
does not change even the scene shifts from city monastery Caesa
to
if
,
.
St
present
of
rius Michael
as
scholar the basilica

at
when deacon
is
a
a
.
without orders celebrates mass but stops when sees the figure he
on
the
crucifix crying
of
61 He hears from Herman dean the church
IX
of
the
,
,
.
(
Gereon about how sinking ship

of
church host swam from

( St
to
a
a
.
Perhaps taught by Rudolph

of
another one the midst lesson

IX
13
of in
,
,
a
)
.
he rushed into the courtyard the bishop together with others one day
He heard
at
whose legs the Ave

on
of
look comet
45
citizen
to
in
1198
a
a
.
Maria was written when he appeared his nephew after his death
to
X11 The niece priest Cologne told him how uncle converted
at
of
50
,
a
his .
(
he
as
of
from bad life and founded convent nuns where lived

a
a
recluse X1 He and his former concubine
27
now nun there

—
,
a
.
(
wore chains When Ensfrid heard this he forbade The woman con
of
it
,
.
When she died and her body was washed the iron chain
do
so
tinued
to
,
.
on
was found her

.
Strange portabat
44
ab
eo
268 Cernens humanum deesse auxilium quem

,
, , ,
:
inspiratus haec verba prorupit Quid est quod agitis azini Numquid non
in
,
?
:
consideratis quem manibus gestem

State descendite date honorem creatori
in
,
?
vestro eiusnomine vobis praecipio

siquidem
In
.
Mira obedientia animalium brutorum Ad vocem sacerdotis simul omnes

.
steterunt simul descenderunt Accessit miraculum miraculo Cum esset descensus

,
laboriosus non sunt lapsi sacci

de
dorsis azinorum Quorum obedientiam vir sanc

,
tus admirans Deumque glorificans sine periculo pervenit Hoc factum

ad
infirmum
,
satis celebre est usque hodie civitate Colonia

in
Strange Chronica Regia Coloniensis

45
26
237 Mentioned under 1198

in
,
II,
,
X
164 Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum

ed
Hannover 1880
In
usum scholarum
G p
),
. .
.
(
Waitz
.
There are many other Cologne stories that probably come from
Caesarius 's youth . But their general content should be clear . The daily
life of the city which Caesarius shared is permeated with the presence
of the miraculous . Caesarius mentions at one point the residence at Colo
gne in his day (temporibus meis ) of the holy virgin Aczelina (IV ,59) .
A relative of St . Bernard , she was invited to Cologne by the archbishop .
Her visions were recorded both in Caesarius and in other Cistercian
for
literature . 46 If we only had Caesarius our information about Cologne
at
the twelfth century would seem be town where
to
of
theend
it
,
a
pursuit activity
of
the the miraculous was the main We know better but
,
.
these glimpses impressions from youth help explain how Caesarius
of
up
grew His parents and family background are completely lost from
.
be
or
he
and will never clear whether was born Cologne not
it
view
in
,
.
But here he went
St
at
at
school first Andrew then the cathedral
to
,
.
for
itself He supplemented his theological studies with thirst every
a
.
story
he
the miraculous
of
could hear about the intervention the life
in
gather the materials he twenty thirty years
of
men Here he began

to
to
.
later would put work for his novices

to
Heisterbach under Abbot Gevard

C
.
of
religious tales apparent

of
on
The influence the life Caesarius
is
more Cologne
at
once his transition from secular life the monastic

to
in
of
story the appearance Mary
at
of
life Heisterbach For was the

it
to
a
.
led
he
at
harvesters sweating the sun Clairvaux that claims the

in
to
him
He was returning Cologne from journey and
on
Cistercians
17
to
,
(1
a
).
the road met Gevard abbot Heisterbach who was travell

of
1197 1209
,
),
-
(
Walberberg Cologne
of
ing from the house The abbot must have

to
immediately seen well into

fit
the youth the kind recruit that would

of
in
Heisterbach Caesarius had adequate clerical education behind him

an
.
Even he may have lacked wealthy family he compensated for this

if
,
a
by his mental agility Whatever Abbot Gevard may have been thinking
.
get Caesarius join One story thus became

he
that day did his best

to
to
,
the seed from which hundreds grew

.
retelling the story Gevard told him that day Caesarius tries
In
make seem as single conversation brought him the Cister

it
to
to
if
a
Her original Vita by Goswin

46
of
Cistercian monk Boulancourt who knew

,
a
her well lost Cistercian editors have disagreed about the worth various later
of
is
,
of on
versions that are supposed be based Augusti

to
Goswin Acta Sanctorum

IV
.
Antwerp 1739 650 cites the version Herinquez Menologium Cistertiense

,
),
,
-5
(
's
VI
IV
Mentions
59
Caesarius are
10
where he cites the now lost Liber Visio

in
,
,
Beatae Aczelinae XII and XII

25
43
Caesarius could have taken all

44
num and
,
,
,
,
)
.
. of
his references
hl
Aczelina from her book visions See Conrad Kolb

to
Die
,
P
«
.
Ascelina Cistercienser Chronik 1892 193 231

,
,
»
-
cians . We know , however , that there were many young men of Cologne
in the late twelfth century who were becoming Cistercians at Heister
bach and other houses . 47 Caesarius with his curiosity and interest in
other people could not have helped being aware of the attraction the
Cistercians had on his generation . In a few decades the Dominicans
and then the Franciscans would begin to draw to themsalves the Rhine
land 's best youth , but for now the Cistercians were still the pioneers of
reform . Heisterbach itself was only a decade old and was full of capable
monks who later would become respected abbots or priors elsewhere . 48
Caesarius never says directly who his novicemaster was after he
joined in 1199 , but he does mention one Ludolph who held the posi
tion under Abbot Gevard (XII,34 ) . Ludolph heard from his novice Syfrid
about a vision the latter had in which the dead Heisterbach monk told
him in his sleep , « Today I am freed » . Christian had died when Abbot
Gevard was absent . When he returned a week later and was presiding
over the chapter , the chanter said , as was customary after the burial
of a brother , « Lord , absolve our dead brother » . Gevard completed the
prayer with the words, « May he rest in peace » . At that instant , as
Syfrid learned that night, Christian left purgatory and went to heaven . In
up
his
death as in life spiritual well being was bound with his member
-
of
ship and participation the community Heisterbach Only the words

in
.
of
of
his abbot could give him the final remission sins
.
vision and its telling among the monks impres
of
Such Heisterbach
a
Mary and the harvesting monks

at
of
sed Caesarius Like that Clairvaux
,
.
of
showed how the meritorious activities the monks were immediately

it
by
of
favoured the powers heaven Similarly Caesarius remembers being

.
by
his own novicemaster about how Mary appeared the sleeping

to
told
canons and walked among their beds VII Some she blessed but
14
,
,
).
(
one she ignored because he was sleeping way that was incorrect
in
a
inordinate My master could not tell me whether he had taken off

«
).
(
IV
Heisterbach monks from Cologne include Richwin Renerus Scho

47
94
,
, , ,
. (
(
St
St
joined Heister
as 50
lasticus Godfred also scholas

IV
of
of
Andrew Andrew
,
,
),
.
.
(
about same time Caesarius For other instances

at
bach see Caesarius

,
I,
3
's
).
Villa
on
first distinction conversion the monastic life The Gesta Sanctorum

to
,
.
.pp
my note give fuller picture while Gilbert Wellstein

17
riensium 221
,
,
-3
P
21 .
(
33
Die ersten Mönche von Heisterbach Cistercienser Chronik 1909 129 has
),
»
,
-
(
«
useful information about the backgrounds

of
the monks who came Heisterbach

to
from Himmerod 1189

in
Cologne cathedral
48
17
One such monk was Daniel who had been canon

at
IX
,
,
(
scholasticus VI became prior

IX
60
was trained Paris Heisterbach

of at
at
,
, ),
,
),
4
(
under Abbot Henry and abbot my note

18
47
Schönau 1209 see Wellstein

,
.
(
)
-
not agree with Wellstein however that Daniel probably was one
of
do
the
,
,
I
monks who came the first party Heisterbach This more likely have been
14 to
to
is
in
the lay brother Henry who making final confession

as
described
to
in
is
,
II,
Prior Daniel and being secundum ingressum prior omnium conversorum

«
»
.
his belt , or removed his shoes , or was without his tunica . » 49 Caesarius
wanted the details , but since his master probably was repeating a popular
story used in Cistercian houses to exhort the monks to sleep fully clothed
as the Consuetudines prescribed , he was unable to satisfy the young
novice ' s curiosity . 5° Already here Caesarius reveals the passion for detai
led information that makes his stories vivid and convincing . At the same
time we see how Caesarius went through the same process as he in turn
would employ on his own novices . We can call this monastic socialization ,
the use of stories to explain and imprint on the novices the values and
practices of monastic life .
The novicemaster was not the only person in the monastery who
had a duty to convey the content of monastic life to the recruits . Caesa
rius mentions how a distinguished monk told him as novice about a
monk who sought the gift of tears . When he received it, the foolish fellow
wished that someone might be able to see him ( 11 ,22 ) . He ended up
meeting the devil dressed up as a Benedictine monk . The novice Caesa
rius , like his fellow monks , must always be on guard against pride in
spiritual achievements . Similarly , Caesarius was told by Charles , at the
time abbot of Villers, but once prior of Heisterbach « if you wish to
find peace in the Order , VI
let
simplicity be sufficient for you

its
, 1
»
).
(
reputation
In
other words don seek fame trust other men and

or
,
,
;
't
expect the best from and above all expect find the best the
to
them
in
,
context the Cistercian Order repeating Charles words Caesarius

In
of
,
.
's
uses the phrase was probation he used me con

to
say to
when
in
,
,
«
»
I
(
suevit Charles thus did not say these words Caesarius once only
to
)
as .
.
Here elsewhere the DM Caesarius emphasizes the way stories and
in
sententiae were repeated frequently

be
that they would

51
remembered
so
.
This helps explain why Caesarius would have remembered well many
so
so
stories and their details But this process also shows how the Cistercian
.
novice was trained He was constantly being reminded

of
the content
,
.
meaning and requirements

of
Cistercian life this process the novice

In
,
was shown how these elements applied personally

to
52
him
.
Strange Non mihi dicere potuit magister meus utrum cingulum

49
16
II
,
,
:
deposuerit vel caligas demiserit sive tunicam denodaverit

,
Guignard my note
50
29
Consuetudines Ecclesiastica officia Qualiter

se
(
«
)
:
of , :
agant fratres post completorium 187 Sine cuculla vero tunica caligis iacere
p
,
,
»
«
:
.
non debent Anyone who visits the reconstructed dormitories

or
Fontenay
.»
Noirlac the summertime can immediately realize what physical discomfort the
in
prohibition must have caused For similar story y note

38
24
the EM see
in
),
,
V
a
.
.
(m
saepius
of
51
Thus the monk Frederick Heisterbach told Caesarius about

Ensfrid VI Eynolph the Templar told Caesarius not once but often XII
57
and
of ,
5
,
,
).
(
Bernard Lippe referre solet

35
,
(X
).
.pp
Guignard Consuetudines
on
revealing
52
20
The section novices 219 for

in
is
,
,
-
says nothing about what the novices are taught but insists that
be
almost
to
in
it
as
all ways they are live the same life the monks
to
:
If
this socialization process appears to produce a one -way indoctri
nation , we should turn to some of the stories that reveal how novices
could converse with each other and discuss their life and its alternatives .
This is the case with Godfred , a canon of St. Andrew who was a novice
of Heisterbach at about the same time as Caesarius ( IV , 49 ) . Already an
old man , he found on his entrance that the Cistercians ' daily life was
excessively harsh : « the weight of clothes , the long vigils and silence ,
heat in summer and cold in winter , the regular fasts and the modest diet
and other similar matters ». And so Godfred said one day to Caesarius ,
as they perhaps sat in the probatorium :
« I hadn 't thought the Order was so strict . Until this time I thought that
when bled they (Cistercians ) ate meat , and that the monks slept without
their cowls . I regret having come here . I intend to take over my own church
in Herlisheim .
I am its pastor . It is in rather poor condition now . And I hope
through the grace of God that I will be able to rule the people entrusted
to me in an acceptable manner and without complaint . »
I answered him , « This is a templation of the devil , who tries to draw

you away under the appearance of good . » Then he said , « If this is not good ,
then I shall return to my prebend ( at St. Andrew ) and in the cloister I shall
choose a room for myself where I shall live in such a canonical manner that
others will be edified by my example . I shall frequent the choir , and whate
ver I can do without , I ' ll give to the poor . »
To this I again responded , « Also this is the advice of the devil . If you
should return , everyone will have ridicule for you . He who persuades you to
do this , he will cast you into your old sins . 53
In ecclesia , in labore , ad collationem ordine suo sicut monachi conventum

teneat ... Hisdem horis quibus monachi , laboret , quiescat , legat , dormiat . Hisdem
cybis vescatur , hisdem pannis induatur , excepto habitu monachili ...
Thus socialization here is also a process of active imitation .
Strange I , 215 -6 : ... pondus videlicet vestimentorum , longas vigilias et silen
53
tium , calorem in aestate et frigus in hyeme, regulare ieiunium et tenuem diaetam ,
pusillanimis effectus
ita
et cetera his similia . In quorum omnium consideratione

desperaret Et dixit mihi Non putabam ordinem
ut
de
est omnino perseverantia

,
:
.
tantae esse districtionis Usque ad hoc tempus aestimavi quod minuti carnes come
,
.
derent quod monachi sine cucullis suis dormirent Poenitet me huc venisse
et
, .
,
Propositum ut per memetipsum ecclesia mea Herlisheim

in
et in
meum est cantem

,
spero per Dei gratiam quod

cuius pastor sum quae satis male modo locata est
,
;
,
regere mihi commissam

ea
honeste sine querela plebem

et
in
debeam
.
Cui respondi Tentatio diaboli est qui vos sub specie boni eiicere conatur
,
.
Si :
ad
praebendam
ut et
revertar meam
in
Tunc ait istud non est bonum

,
,
:
claustri cameram aliquam mihi eligam ubi tam canonice vivam alii
,
ambitu
,
frequentabo quicquid mihi subtrahere

et
exemplo meo aedificentur Chorum

,
. .
potero pauperibus erogabo

,
reversus fueritis
Et
respondi diaboli
Si
hoc est
,
quod iterum consilium

.
A
omnibus eritis derisui qui haec ipse peccata pristina vos praecipitabit
et
suasit
in
,
.
,
193
Oral Sources '
in Caesarius of Heisterbach s Dialogus Miraculorum
he
Caesarius eventually got his way especially after convinced God
,
fred open codex with the Psalms where his eyes immediately fell
to
a
on
am
sit
the words the gate and the
of
the talk those who
in
,
,
«
I
Godfred interpreted this
.Ps
drunkards make songs about me 69
12
,
»
. (
)
.
meaning that his return
St
as
Andrew would invite slander and
to
scorn from his fellow canons Instead he decided Heister
at
remain
to
.
bach and there he
soon afterwards died
,
.
This exchange the one hand open and direct but
views of
on
on
is
the other strictly within the proper Cistercian spirit There tempta
By is
is
.
tion but overcome by the strength monastic stability
of
admitt
is
it
,
.
ing the alternatives however Caesarius conceding how hard could
it
,
is
be for novice accept the new life Godfred worries about his own
to
.
comfort and about what others will say about him But he also con
is
.
cerned with doing what right Caesarius takes both the practical and
is
the ideological arguments into consideration he convinces Godfred that
:
he only can live up his own demands and overcome his own fears
to
the perseveres the cloister this instance Caesarius uses the expe
In
in
if
,
.
of
show his novices that what they feel

to
rience his own life not new
is
through twenty
go
or
different from what Heisterbach novices had

years earlier to
.
similar case temptation overcome and described detail

of
is
in
A
by
of
that Richwin who joined Heisterbach but was sought out nun
,
a
St
Cologne She begged him

of
the house Cecilia

at
IV
94
from
to
,
.
.
(
of
abandon the cloister for her love and sent him

letters recall literas
«
»
which she promised him her love and (
all
revocationis her wealth

in
)
of .
Somehow the letters were smuggled Richwin despite the efforts
to
his brother the Heisterbach monk Henry keep out the nun mes
to
,
's
senger When Richwin read her passionate declarations he was seriously

,
.
, of
tempted but the prayers and exhortationsthe brothers kept him

,
from going ahead Later when was all over Caesarius asked him
it
if
.
he still suffered from thoughts about the nun and her proposal Once
.
again we see Caesarius close contact with his fellow monks sharing
in
,
no
thoughts temptations such thing private

as
their and There

is
a
.
temptation Heisterbach All experiences are shared affair matter

at
,
a
a
.
of
for community concern The absence privacy such world provides

in
a
.
greater impetus
of
the stream stories that reaches Caesarius

to
not conquered Caesarius tells knight

of
Sometimes temptation
is
a
.
named Benneco who came from the village

of
Palmersdorf near Brühl

Cologne Benneco was also with Caesarius
of
the noviciate
15
south
in
,
1
).
.
(
)
he
After battle with himself gave into his impulses went back into
,
,
a
the world and died his own home without having repented his deed
in
,
At his there were strong the roof Everyone

winds and crows
on
death
.
was terrified and deserted him except for one old lady The story
is
.
elliptical
for
Caesarius never really explains the nature

of
Benneco
,
's
sin except for the fact that led his leaving Heisterbach Thus the
it
to
,
.
Brian Patrick McGuire
terror and loneliness of his deathbed are enough proof for Caesarius that
in leaving the cloister , Benneco had left God .
As with Abbot Henry later on , Caesarius seems to have obtained a

number of stories through Abbot Gevard , as that of a toad found on an
altar used by Jews in Königswinter. It was told to Abbot Gevard ,, who in
turn told Caesarius ( X ,69 ) . The same Gevard is responsible for perhaps
the most celebrated story in the DM . When the monks fell asleep during
an assumedly boring ) sermon in the chapter house , Gevard revived
them by saying , “ There once was a king named Arthur » (IV , 36 ) . This
is an invaluable indication of the permeation of Arthurian tales into a
German Cistercian milieu in the first years of the thirteenth century .

Gevard wanted to point out to his monks that when they heard fables ,
they sharpened ,
their ears but they fell asleep during God ' s word . 54
It is dangerous to generalize about the first few years of Caesarius at
Heisterbach , for so few of
his
be
stories can securely dated this period
to
.
But the Arthurian reference Gevard and his Clairvaux story which
of
helped Caesarius joining the Order point the two central impulses
in
to
of
behind the DM the mass secular stories written and oral forms circu
in
,
:
lating throughout Europe and the specialized category
of
this time
at
55
,
emphasizing the special position
of
Cistercian story the Order and
,
reflecting
its
its
belief mission Caesarius tried exclude the former
to
56
in
, .
.
type the latter but popular tales still often made their
of
the benefit
to
way into his collection Just Cologne his noviciate

as
at
at
his youth
,
.
Heisterbach and his early years these were saturated with edifing stories
the miraculous But there difference The Cologne tales
of
and tales
is
,
a
.
except for the biographies Ensfrid and Everhard are mainly accounts
of
,
of
wonders The Heisterbach stories are also miraculous but concentrate

.
the monks and their attempts live up

on
the inner battles

of
also
to to
to
the highest Cistercian standards The closer Caesarius gets people the ,
.
less he deals with the superficial miracle and the more he goes into perso
nal detail
.
clear distinction detween fabula and exemplum

54
For Caesarius there

is
a
The first gives delight but does not edify Quidquid enim tantum delectat
et
non
«
:
edificat fabula dici potest Rumores regnorum provinciarum quibus

et
civitatum
in
,
,
,
nulla est utilitas sed levitas loquacitas quid aliud sunt nisi fabulaciones
et
»
,
?
on
Hilka
22
This remark contained Caesarius sermons the 118th Psalm

in
is
(
's
on
The work has many interesting comments the monastic life but has
28
1,
9
).
-
never been published and deserves further attention

.
Shepherd The Emancipation Story the Twelfth Century

55
of
See
in
,
,
»
G
«
T
.
.
Medieval Narrative Symposium Odense University Denmark 1979

,
A
.
)
:
(
:
my Structure and Consciousness the Exordium Magnum Cistercien

56
See
in
de «
du
33
90
grec Copenhagen
30
Cahiers Institut Moyen Age latin

et
1979
,
),
se
,
-
.
(
-
l'
»
D . Heisterbach under Abbot Henry and the Writing of the DM :

1209 -1223
personal element becomes even more marked for the decade

This
1209 - 1218that immediately precedes the writing of the DM and coincides
with the first years of Henry 's abbacy at Heisterbach . We find Caesarius
probably as novicemaster when he questions a novice about his temptation
to blaspheme (IV ,52 ) . Caesarius is somewhat vague in describing exactly
in what this temptation consisted , but it involved doubting the worth of

Christ's offering of himself for mankind. One day in choir the novice
saw the image of the crucified coming towards him through the air , « as
if it said : Why do you doubt ? Look at me. I am he who was born and
suffered for you » . Caesarius asked the novice if he knew why he had been
able to see the Christ figure only from the navel and above . The novice
replied , « The Lord gave me that grace so that I could think nothing
impure of him which could offend my sense of shame. » 57 The surprising
sexual overthones of this vision coincide with a similar account in the
almost contemporary Exordium Magnum Cisterciense , where Christ is
said to have embraced a monk dignanter : thus without anything that
might indicate physical passion . 58 Here we find Caesarius at work with
his usual attention for details . The story is not enough . He has to under
stand the meaning of the vision 's content .
Caesarius may also have been novicemaster in dealing with an
under -age youth who wanted to join Heisterbach . His brother became a
monk but had to leave him « in the world » ( 1,20 ). The brothers worried
about the youth 's state until the abbot decided to make an exception for
him , even though he could only do so « with danger to his office » . This
practice was strictly prohibited by the Cistercians . 59 To relieve the pres
sure on the abbot , it happened that the same night the youth put on his
monastic garb , a priest of Heisterbach had a vision of a beautiful woman
standing before the monastery gate with an attractive boy in her arms .
« This is the son of that monk » , she said , pointing to the monk who
had wanted his brother admitted . This was Mary , telling the monks that
57 Strange I , 218 : Interrogatus a me, si sciret quid hoc significaret , respondit :

Dominus mihi contulit gratiam illam , ut nihil impudicum , et quod laedere possit
verecundiam meam , cogitare possim de illo .
58 EM III , 18 — p . 191 : ... de cruce descendit veniensque ad eum expansis ulnis
dignanter amplexata est eum tenere sibimet astringendo ac deosculando eum .
59 Strange I , 27 : Attendens pius Dominus pium monachi circa germanum
studium , cordi abbatis immisit , ut puerum susciperet , quem infra annos sine
officii sui periculo suscipere non potuit .
See Joseph H . Lynch , « The Cistercians and Underage Novices », Citeaux : Com
mentarii Cistercienses 24 ( 1973 ) , 283- 97. For the General Chapter ' s punishment
of an abbot who allowed an underage novice into his monastery , see J. M . Canivez ,
Statuta Capitulorum Generalium Ordinis Cisterciensis ( Bibliothèque de la Revue
d 'Histoire ecclésiastique 9 : Louvain , 1933 ) . I , for the year 1214, nr. 23.
in seeking admission of his brother , the monk had become the boy 's
the
spiritual father . The vision legitimized what the abbot already had done.
Because of the monk ' s prayers , Mary had excused the Heisterbach abbot
from the potential wrath of the Cistercian General Chapter for break
ing the rules .
With Mary and her help , anything was possible . Caesarius felt confi
dent that his monastery , like
all
other Cistercian houses was under her
,
special protection He tells knight who was miraculously released
of
a
.
from prison by Mary He immediately went Heisterbach order
to
to
in
.
of
St
Mary Heisterbach Caesarius convinced that was
60
thank
it
is
«
»
.
.
Mary herself who punished the evil nobles who impeded the new foun
VII
at
dation Marienstatt
,7
.
(
)
impossible
As
with Caesarius first years Heisterbach
at
is
it
to
,
's
arrange chronological order the various experiences which Caesarius

in
mentions But we never lose sight his personal involvement with
of
.
many bring
be
of
the Heisterbach men who stories This seems
to
him
.
the case with lay brothers who were almost
as
especially valuable
,
jour
on
the monks There was the Heisterbach lay brother
as
sources
a
.
up
ney who was tempted by girl making her bed
IX
100 She ended

,
a
.
(
his feet but she did not succeed seducing him

at
There was also

in
,
a
.
IV
lay brother who committed suicide 41 Here Caesarius reserves

,
).
(
his strictures and expresses his amazement what had happened He

at
.
praiseworthy
he
knew the brother well and had lived good and life
,
't :
He spoke rarely and rarely used the comforts conceded him don
«
I
.
know by what judgment
of
God he became depressed and lost his

so
of
his salvation and despite the attempt

he
courage But despaired
, , of
,
»
.
by
by
or
brothers give him hope quotations from scripture examples
to
was useless When the brothers asked him why he had lost his faith
he it
cannot say my prayers fear hell

as
so
answered used and

to
,
,
«
»
I
He was put into the infirmary and one morning went .

of
the master
to
longer fight against God

no
the lay brothers and said can Then

,
«
»
I
.
he
went out the pond next the monastery and drowned himself
61
to
to
VII Strange
60
28
37
Nocte quadam cum esset dormiens inter sex satel

II
,
,
–
lites tam reliquos captivos custodientes

et
se
quam Dominam nostram nec non

et
,
obdormivit Et ecce
se
alios sanctos solito invocasset somnis vidit transpositum

in
,
monasterium nostrum De quo cum vellet egredi sedens equo more femineo
in
in
,
.
necessitate vinculorum dixerunt duo monachis nostris Manegoldus scilicet

ex
ei
,
Henricus cognati eius secundum Nolite egredi sed revertimini quia

et
carnem
,
,
:
sancta Maria de Hesterbach liberavit vos

.
Notice that the knight

so
related Heisterbach monks and the family

to
is
link provides basis for the spiritual revelation

a
Strange Raro loquebatur raro indultis consolationibus utebatur

61
-41
I,
,
2
:
pusillanimis effectus est

ita
ut
quo Dei iudicio tristis tantum de peccatis

et
Nescio
,
omnino vita aeterna desperaret Non quidem dubitavit fide

et
suis timeret
in
et
, ,
,
desperavit auctoritatibus poterat erigi

de
sed tantum salute Nullis scripturarum

.
nullis exemplis spem veniae reduci Modicum tamen creditur peccasse Cui cum
ad
.
.
Oral Sources in Caesarius of Heisterbach ' s Dialogus Miraculorum 197
Once again we are given an immediate monastic experience , and

here the exemplary content is reduced to a bare minimum , for the event
remains something hardly explicable for Caesarius. He can only ascribe
his suicide to the tristitia which overcame him and which seems to be
a kind of depression . In another case he tells of a lay brother of Villers ,
Henry , who also was tempted to despair ( IV ,31 ) . He was unhappy
because of his illegitimate birth . A vision convinced him , however , that
he had more hope of salvation than thousands of others who were born
of « legitimate stock » . Such dramatic episodes are outnumbered by the
experiences in which visions enforce the daily regulations of the mo
lay
nastery . A brother Conrad notices the choir that there snake
is
in
a
of up
of
another lay brother William
32
IV
on
curled the back This
is
,
,
(
).
William surrender sleepiness the hot summer morning
to
sign
in
a
's
while lauds are being sung Conrad told Richard what
he
saw who
in
,
.
turn told Caesarius

.
The arrangement such episodes their appropriate distinctiones

of
in
precludes any clear chronological scheme And yet Caesarius gives
a
.
his stories took place The
of
of
number indications about when some
.
major stumbling block far using these notations for dating
so
of
in
events has been the view that Caesarius wrote each story independently
the datings included bearing
no
on
and the individual tale have the
so
of in
DM
chronology the writing my article

on
of
the written sources

26
In
.
have already indicated disagreement with this interpretation

DM
the
in
,
I
more careful study

DM
of
and now the internal evidence the con

in
a
vinces me that the distinctiones were written more less the order
or
in
that we have them We can review the places which there signifi
at
is
.
cant dating evidence

:
says
27
was two years since the death

of
Caesarius the landgrave

it
I,
63 –
Herman happened
this was written
so
This 1217 1219

in
in
,
.
. .
was four years since the death Innocent III This was
of
11
in
it
II,
Caesarius wrote this

so
1216 1220
in
,
the twenty second year

or
he says this more less from the

20
II
,
,
»
is
«
-
–
.
at
we begin counting the first year

as
time he came
If
the Order 1199

to
,
.
an
then 1220 the twenty second year Notice that this notation with ordinal
is
.
-
twenty second different from the way Caesarius usually expresses lapse
is
-
)
(
four years ago ante hoc quadren

of
time when he uses the notation

,
»
«
nium etc
),
..
fratres dicerent quid habetis unde timetis quare desperatis respondit Non
,
, ,
sicut consuevi orationes meas ideo timeo gehennam Positus

et
possum dicere
,
, ,
.
..
.
praeparatus
ad
ad
infirmitorio quodam mane mortem magistrum suum venit

in
dicens Non possum diutius contra Deum pugnare

.
:
expressed by Fritz Wagner my note Diffe

12
88
As
Diese zeitlichen
62
p
),
«
:
.
(
renzen lassen sich nur die einzelnen Mirakel zunächst ohne

er
so
erklären dass
,
thematische Konzeption spontan aufzeichnete und die jetzt vorliegende stoffliche

Koordination erst nach Abschluss der Sammlung herbeiführte
.
Chron Reg Colon my note

63
45
195
p
),
.
.
(
III , 22 – he speaks of five years ago under Pope Innocent . This could
indicate 1215 if he was writing in 1220 . Or if he wrote 1221 , it could refer
to 1216 . Here exact dating is impossible .
IV , 15 – he says that the Emperor Otto died two years ago . This was
1218 , so he writes this in 1220 . 64
VII , 46 — he mentions a visit to Friesland as taking place three years

ago . Exact dating is impossible here , but if this was in 1218 at the time of the
flooding mentioned in VII , 3, when Abbot Henry was in Friesland ( a date
confirmed by the Cronica S. Bertini , MGH SS XXV p. 833 ), then Caesarius
would have been writing in 1221 .
IX , 33 - William of Brussels , now abbot in Villers , was prior two years
ago . William became abbot in 1221 65, so Caesarius could have been writing
this in the same year . But he also could have written in 1222 , and the state
ment would still make sense .
X , 48 — speaks of 1222 as annus praesens . So this written in 1222.
There be no doubt at all that the early distinctions were written

can
in 1219 and 1220 and that the tenth distinction belongs to 1222 . The
,
48
for
problem
IV
is with the middle distinctions
15
between and
,
,
X
there are no certain dates Nevertheless chronological progression
is
,
a
.
evident significant number chapters the early distinctions

of
in
A
a
.
prior
of
were written significant number chapters the later ones
to
in
a
.
Caesarius gives the passing time his writ
of
of
of
sense the course
in
a
of
ing the DM when

he
the midst the ninth distinction has second

in
he
52
thoughts about what wrote
IX
on
the fifth heretics Some

in
,
(
) .
by
might
be
he
of
scandalized he says some the details gave there he

,
(
may be thinking anecdotes he provided about obscene activities by
of
the heretics But he hopes what he wrote will be understood properly

).
.
clearly looking back
at
he
Here he what wrote earlier stage

on
an
is
the DM
in
one anomaly here the historian attempt
to
as
There often
so
in
,
is
's
be precise Caesarius report the Parisian heretics where

22
on
is
in
It
,
,
,
V
.
's
he
mentions their predictions that were supposed come true the

to
in
of
course few years and says that now thirteen years have passed
,
a
two possi
, of
and nothing prophesied has come about Here we have one

.
bilities Either this chapter was inserted later more likely the nota
or
,
,
.
DM
tion thirteen was supplied when Caesarius finished writing the

«
was important for him the falsity the prophecies

It
to
of
1223 show
in
up
issued would have been natural bring the number

so
1210
to
in
it
date
to
generally accepted that the DM was written between 1219 and

, It
is
its
1223 and seems more than likely that chapters were inserted more
it
or
less the order that we have them We can see the tenth distinc
in
in
.
tion miracles for example Caesarius takes events that are

on
how
,
,
65 64
Ibid 246
p
.,
SS .
, .
MGH XV 200 Cronica Villariensis Monasterii

p
.
.
(
)
happening at the same time as he writes or just a few months before

( X ,47-51 ) . These accounts of earthquakes at Cologne and elsewhere pro
vide just the material he needs . Likevise he can tell how a monk from
Loccum abbey in Lower Saxony « lately » came to Heisterbach with a
stock of good stories ( VII,17 ) . Some of them which are relevant to the
distinction on Mary he tells immediately , while « others I shall reserve
for their appropriate places . » 66 We can thus see Caesarius as a writer
continually taking in new information and reproducing it when he reaches
the right place . Caesarius may have had an outline in his head and a pile
of notes when he began the DM , but he was always ready to include
materials which he had not expected . He is a spontaneous man , stopp
ing in the midst of one of his works and expressing his grief , for he has
just heard the news that the Archbishop of Cologne had been murdered . 67
With this view of the progressive writing of the DM , we can provide
a suggestion , in very rough form , for the chronology of its writing :
Distinction
I was written in 1219 ;
II- V in 1220 ;
VI- IX probably in 1221 ;
X- XII in 1222 ,
while in 1223 Caesarius went over the whole work ,
made a number of internal references and final alterations
( as in V , 22) .
There are many problems here , and this division must necessarily be
a preliminary one . Such an outline , however , makes possible an indica
tion of when the various trips of Caesarius outside of Heisterbach may
have taken place:
1218 — 1) Caesarius interviews the recluse Richmud of Walberberg . He says

she died three years before he wrote VIII, 7.
2 ) Floods in Friesland – Abbot Henry and Caesarius on a visit there
to Aduard and Jesse convent by Groningen – VII , 3 and VII , 45 -6 .
1219 — 1) visited Burtscheid near Aachen with Abbot Henry ( perhaps in

view of reorganizing it as a Cistercian house for women ) — V
, 11 .
2 ) visited the Cologne area — VIII , 73 .
3) may have ben in Friesland a second time. Saw arm of John the
Baptist in Groningen – VIII, 53 . May have visited Jesse -
66 Strange II , 23 : Nuper monachus quidam ordinis nostri , Adam nomine , per

nos transiens , inter cetera , mirifica quaedam de Domina nostra nobis recitavit ,
quae in suo monasterio veraciter contigisse testabatur , ex quibus duo statim profe
ram , reliqua locis competentibus reservabo .
67 Hilka I , 153 : Sed dum ista scribimus , materiam nobis scribendi auget heu !
miserabilis casus archpresulis nostri Engelberti . Ipse enim « incidit in latrones »
(Luc . 10, 30), ymmo latronibus universis crudeliores , utpote sanguine proximos
et plurimis beneficiis sibi obligatos , a quibus opinate , insidiose et sine omni
misericordia trucidabatur .
IV , 25. Perhaps another indication of the same visit is in XI, 30 ,

where Caesarius says that four years ago Guido was made abbot
of Klaarkamp in his presence . But this could have happened on
the 1218 trip as well.
1220 — 1) visited Stuben on the Mosel with the prior of Heisterbach
this year and talked magistra Irmingard VIII
its
14
50
to
;
,
,
,
,
V
IX
,
9
.
of
of
visited Hademar grange Eberbach the diocese Trier with
in
,
2
IX a
) Abbot Henry Perhaps the same trip went
, 54
on
to
Eberbach
,
.
itself According
he
this was two years ago Here spoke
to
,
X
5
.
.
VII
a 54
with Abbot Theobald who died 1221 and mentioned
in
in
is
,
of ,
.
visited Klaarkamp with Abbot Henry The latter had vision
3
a
.
)
XII where he says this
26
Nazareth convent
at
dead nun
, ,
,
–
happened three years ago Also Caesarius says that last
55
on IX
in
,
.
year priest Friesland stepped the Eucharist
in
a
.
of
near Aachen and saw the tooth Bartho
St
visited Burtscheid
4
.
)
VII says this happened last year

he
60
lomew
In
,
,
.
.
of
However many problems with
the chronology these trips there
might point
be
this review
of
least out how much Cae

at
them should
,
sarius moved about during the first years was writing the
he
DM
It
.
might seem that such way life would have made difficult for him
of
it
a
collect and write down his stories But actuality

to
such ventures in
.
out into the world must have been invaluable providing new contacts
in
with lay people other monks and especially nuns Almost all Caesa
of
,
.
rius trips took him houses for women the Premonstratensian house
to
:
's
of
the Mosel the daughter house

on
Heisterbach Hoven and

at
Stuben
,
Walberberg the new Cistercian house Burtscheid just outside
of
Aachen
,
,
monasteries like Jesse and Nazareth Friesland that were under houses
in
the Clairvaux line which the Heisterbach abbot regularly visited

in
.
Here Caesarius met and conversed with the women who gave him some
of
his collection
of
the best stories the whole

in
We can thus see the DM

as
written two stages the first hectic

In
in
phase Caesarius was out gathering stories from male and female houses
,
and granges all over the Rhine Mosel areas

, At
Friesland the same

in
-
was writing down the first distinctions After 1220 his travels
he
time
.
the comple
he
apparently became less frequent and

on
concentrated more
,
By
reputation great
of
of
tion the work now the the collection had

.
probably become widespread that Caesarius hardly needed leave

so
to
Heisterbach obtain new materials He mentions

to
written account sent

a
). .
by
41
he
IX
Himmerod monk Several times tells how abbots

to
him
,
a
monks who were passing through provided

or
Heisterbach him with

«
DM
XI1
six
exempla
11
of
and The last distinctions deal much

36
the
,
(
).
as
six
more with miracles wonders than the first which concentrate more
,
the interior experience VI Caesarius could

of
the cloister For

on
to
a
I-
.
great extent draw

he on
of
the life Heisterbach and other Cistercian houses

,
while for VII XII made greater use tales and marvels originating
of
-
non monastic circles This rough division but emphasized

it
in
is
is
,
a
-
.
by the fact that Johannes Hartlieb 's fifteenth century translation of the
DM into German for the citizens of Mainz only included the last six
distinctions . 68 Their stories of Mary , visions , miracles , the Eucharist , the
dying , and the afterlife were more immediately useful than the more
monastic tales of conversion to the cloister , confession , contrition , temp
tation , and simplicity . The only division in the first half that could as
well belong to the second is that concerning devils ( V ) , but here we
find a marriage of popular and monastic stories that combine the two
types of sources . 69
E . The Feudal -Aristocratic Element at Heisterbach
who surrounded Caesarius at Heisterbach came for the

The men
most part « good » backgrounds . Many of them , even
from the lay bro
thers were from noble families . Of the 57 names of Heisterbach monks
and lay brothers given in the DM , Caesarius specifies that six of them
came from knightly or noble families . Nine more are designated as
having first been canons , and since this type of preferment usually requi
red family connections , it is likely that many of these also came from
the feudal aristocracy . Five other monks are said to have been scholastici
or to have studied at Paris , yet another indication of wealthy families
(even if there could have been some who came from middle class or
even peasant backgrounds , but here Caesarius provides no information ).
The DM cannot take us very far in determining the social back
ground of the monks , for Caesarius is rarely specific . His work can ,
however , reveal a great deal about how the feudal class managed to
mesh ideals and practices with the monastic way life has long
its
of
It
.
the feudal
to
of
been conceded that the Cistercians owed much the values

aristocracy Clairvaux and his circle saw
of
Bernard that the new

it
to
.
Order became the darling the minor nobility Here Caesarius pro
of
7°
.
vides superb information about the way feudal values were continuing
to
Karl Drescher Johann Hartliebs Ubersetzung des Dialogus Miraculorum von

68
Caesarius von Heisterbach Deutsche Texte des Mittelalters Berlin 1929 See his
,
).
(
:
18
on
remarks Hartlieb selection

.p
,
's
.
Ph
Schmidt Der Teufels und Daemonenglaube den Erzählungen

69
des Caesa
in
,
.
rius von Heisterbach Basel 1926 Schmidt however goes too far speaking
to of
the
,
,
).
(
Laienreligion and Volksdogmatik that Caesarius reflects

33
contrast the
in
(p
),
.
as
as
Schultheologie Thomas Aquinas The latter just the devil

of
interested
in
is
.
incubus and succubus as Caesarius see my God Man and the Devil Medieval
in
«
-
(
Moyen Age
du
de
Theology and Culture Copenhagen

18
Cahiers Institut 1976

,
,
»
-
l'
for Aquinas this subject

on
as
The scholastic does not tell exempla Caesarius

,
).
up
but there direct continuity from the lay stories that Caesarius picks about
is
a
devils the dogmas explained Aquinas involving the devil activity among men
to
in
's
Popular and learned culture complement and strengthen each other here
as
,
many other areas medieval life and belief

70 so
of
in
Best expressed Southern Western Society and the Church the

W
in
65 in
,
R
.
.
Ages Pelican History

of
Middle the Church Harmondsworth 1970 250

,
),
2
(
-
.
202
of
influence Cistercian behaviour Some his best stories come from
.
men who first had been knights and then chose the Cistercian Order
.
For them was transfer from worldly knighthood spiritual
to
it
a
knighthood
.
The prime example Walter
of
of
Birbech monk Himmerod
is
,
a
he
well that provided
be of
whom Caesarius knew detailed account
so
a
on
his life Caesarius concentrates Walter devotion Mary for
to
,
.
's
places the mini iography Mary VII
on
his distinction From his
38
in
,
.
(
)
is -b
youth Walter supposed have done all he could honour her and
to
to
,
,
his way
he
on
one time tournament stopped church hear

to
to
in
,
a
a
mass for her while his companions went
at
on
When he arrived the
.
he
he
already day
of
tournament found that was the hero the turned
It
,
.
out that Mary had taken his place and fought for him winning more
of ,
the knights This identification Mary with the
of
men than any other
.
tournament causes violent protest from Caesarius novice Tourna
a
.
's
participant he insists But Caesarius answers
sin
ments are mortal for

,
a
.
Walter
of
that because the service the mass could merit eternal life for
,
was done out for Mary
." of
and because his act free love she was
to
,
by
him
no
provide with temporal reward This response means ans
a
wers the moral question but does reveal flexible attitude by Caes
it
,
arius towards knights and their way long
as
So
of
life their behaviour

.
religious devotion
as
tempered with Walter case Caesarius

is
in
,
,
accepts 's
it
.
knight
as
Walter position emphasized even when he tries
to
is
a
's
As
humiliate himself and express his servitude Mary layman he
to
a
.
went into church dedicated placed his neck rope He
72
her and
in
to
a
.
thus made himself into her serf and thereby committed himself payng to
Mary yearly
do
head money Here Walter

as
serfs their masters

to
73
,
.
»
a
making himself spiritual serf more than ever becomes the knight
in
Strange Et cognovit gratia virginis

71
in 50
statim hoc actum fuisse beatae

II,
,
:
quam honoraverat missa

.
Novicius Cum
sit
mortale peccatum ire exercere tornamenta quomodo

et
,
,
:
beatae virgini placere potuerunt oratio oblatio Walteri

et
Monachus Duo ibi committuntur peccata mortalia superbia scilicet

et
inobe
,
:
fit
Superbia quia intuitu laudis humanae inobedientia quia

fit
dientia contra
,
;
.
prohibitionem ecclesiae Unde tornamentis occisi extra cimiteria fidelium

in
,
.
sepeliuntur Cum autem obsequium praedictae missae Waltero potuisset esse

.
meritorium vitae aeternae factum fuisset caritate nunc transivit mercedem

si
in
in
,
temporaliter remune
de
temporalem Opera enim bona est genere bonorum

id
,
,
.
rantur
.
saeculo positus tanta circa

51
Strange
72
Considerans Walterus adhuc

in
II,
,
:
beatae Dei Genitricis beneficia illius amore accensus est

ut
se
tantum
in
in
in
,
quadam paupere ecclesia eius honore dedicata conscio sacerdote fune collo
in
,
,
,
illi
suo iniecta servum glebae super altare offerret solvens singulis annis
se
,
servi originarii solvere consueverunt

de
censum capito suo qualem

,
, .
For this ceremony medieval documents The Making

73
see Southern
W
in
R
,
.
.
the Middle Ages London

98
of
1953 101
,
),
-
.
(
who voluntarily chooses to submit . We also hear how when he comes to

Himmerod to become a monk , he does not come alone. He takes his
servant Arnold with him . The entrance of Walter calls to mind the
knight Walewan , who joined Himmerod by walking through the church
his arms and placing them Our Lady
on
all
the altar
37
it, of
with
,
(1
)
.
acceptable and
of
This new form conversion Caesarius calls
as
is
,
«
of
even laudable even though the idea taking one arms into Cister
,
a
's
cian church must have been rather foreign But the link with Mary and
.
the feudal military ethic made acceptable highly aristocratic Him
in
it
merod
74
.
Walter fame knight and his contacts with the feudal aristo
as
a
's
cracy were appreciated and cultivated after his conversion
at
Himmerod
.
he
Caesarius tells how was made the guestmaster natural position for
,
a
for
man known his affability and who would have had many good
a
of
stories tell the guests He was also sent out for the business the
to
.
as
monastery because Caesarius says was known the nobility he
to
,
of »
of
and because his own noble blood His sanctity life was also
«
a
.
factor but this mentioned after the other two reasons Caesarius
75
is
,
.
tells how Walter was sailing down the Rhine with Himmerod ship
a
carrying wine When reached Zealand there was terrible storm and
it
a
.
pirates tried Walter took out ivory image Mary
of
an
attack them
to
always kept prostrated

he
which with him and himself before The
it
.
pirates were drowned Here we see the nobleman made trader the Cister
in
.
no
cian interest conflict

There Caesarius mind and such anec
is
in
,
.
's
dotes should undermine rigid divisions and assertions about the exclusi
vity Here they are
of
monastic commercial and aristocratic values

,
all combined the same person Caesarius accepts this syncretism

in
because Mary gives her blessing and support He tells elsewhere how
a
.
youth Cologne who formerly had admired the Cistercians began

of
to
,
hate the Order when he heard that the Cistercian fleet which had sailed
down the Rhine had been plundered Some said This done justly
is
',
,
«
.
for the monks are greedy they are merchants God cannot stand their
;
Mary
he
greediness But punished the boy order show him had

in
to
'»
.
no right criticize the Order

76
to
See Wilkes my note

.pp
for the backgrounds

of
74
18
-47
Himmerod monks
,
.
(
Note Wilkes mistakenly thought Walter have been lay brother Caesarius
to
.
III
as
he
clearly says
33
was monk
in
,
: a
Strange
52
aspectu
75
Quia non solum verbis imo etiam odore famae

et
II,
eius multi aedificabantur magister hospitum creatus est

,
propter sanguinis
53
ab
Quia notus erat nobilibus terrae

et
Ibid eis tum

.,
,
:
nobilitatem tum propter vitae sanctitatem venerabatur saepe pro monasterii

,
necessitatibus contra voluntatem suam emittebatur

.
VII Et dixerunt quidam Juste

St
76
41
60
est cum monachi

—
actum eis
,
II,
,
.
avari sunt mercatores sunt Deus illorum avaritiam sustinere non potest The
,
.
by
de
story was used Arbois Jubainville preface passionate

to
attack
M
a
.
.
'
Walter is the perfect knight who becomes perfect monk . In every

a
thing he does , he reminds the reader of his origins. When he meets a
barefoot scholar , he gives him his own shoes . But Caesarius adds that
he had an extra pair in his bag ! He is a Martin of Tours , but in the Cister
cian mould , with a penchant for practicality . Caesarius seems to have
been close to him , for he tells how once when he spoke to Walter about
his temptations of the flesh , Walter drew him aside and said that he
too was prone to « great temptations » . Caesarius admires him for admitt
ing his own weaknesses , as Everhard had done to Herman . The author
does not seem to mind that Walter was poorly educated . Herman once
asked him what he thought about at table because he did not understand
the reading . Walter answered , « I have my own reading » . He haid he
meditated on the life of Christ and the mysteries of the faith . This
indicates that Walter did not understand Latin when it was read aloud .
His remark shows that Cistercian houses sometimes accepted semi- lite
rate men as monks , especially when they came from aristocratic back
grounds . 7
Even after his death , Walter was a monk for knights . A rich knight
who was a paralytic asked that Walter 's boots be sent to him . They
brought about a cure , and so he had a chapel built in his castle for the
boots . Another knight had a dangerous growth on his chest but recove
red after he applied one of the boots to it . The boots are the symbol of
the rider , the knight-made -monk -now -made -saint , who cares for the ills
of other knights . It is all a natural process for Caesarius and requires no
special explanation or rationalization .
We can look more analytically at the tales that make up the Vita
of Walter and see how the oral tradition of the Cistercians could provide
him with his materials . There are thirteen separate incidents contained
in this chapter of the DM . In the first three , tales about Walter as a lay
man and knight and how he was devoted to Mary , no sources are given ,
but the stories probably circulated at Himmerod and Heisterbach among
the monks themselves. The fourth story concerns how water was turned
into wine for Walter , and this comes from his servant Arnold , who
became a lay brother and was a member of the founding party at Heister
on the Cistercians ' loss of their original idealism : Etudes sur l'état intérieur des
abbayes cisterciennes ( Paris , 1858 ) , 323-5. See Southern (note 70 ) for an attempt
to understand why the Cistercians became subject to the charge of greed . Also
Louis J . Lekai, The Cistercians , Ideals and Reality (Ohio , 1977) is excellent.
77 Walter 's inability to understand Latin may have convinced Wilkes he was
a lay brother (note 74 ). Further evidence that some monks had trouble in reading
Latin or understanding it when read to them is given in the procedure for ente
ring the monastic life . The novice is allowed , if he is unable to read out his own
profession before the community , to have his master read it for him : ... statim
post evangelium accedens ad gradum presbiterii legat professionem si legere scit .
Sin autem , magister suus pro eo legat (Guignard , p . 220 ) .

bach . He died at Stromberg , thus before the monastery site was moved in
1192 . The fifth story concerns the cure of a man obsessed by the devil
when Walter was guestmaster at Himmerod , and this was told to Caes
lay
arius by an unnamed Himmerod brother Caesarius may have been
.
visiting Himmerod the time The sixth story the recovery foal
at
of
,
a
. .
that had run off anonymus The seventh the storm off Zealand and
,
,
is
the pirates comes from Herman enquiry
an
Marienstatt who made
of
,
,
about the incident and questioned Arnold this must have been prior
so
(
founding and ninth episodes con
of of
Heisterbach The
to
the eighth
,
)
.
cerning instances Walter charity and kindness were experienced by
,
Caesarius himself the tenth 's
Herman again who asked Walter
is
it
In
he ,
.
at
about his thoughts mealtime
at
the eleventh Villers with
is
In
,
.
of
Abbot Eustace Himmerod who told Caesarius about vision that

,
a
of
French monk had Walter the twelfth story the first post mortem
In
-
.
one Abbot Henry Heisterbach was present
at
of
of
the dedication the
,
chapel made for Walter boots There source given for the thir
no
is
.
's
teenth story the second miracle boots

of
,
Thus we have what by now familiar crowd contacts for
of
is
a
lay Henry
of
Caesarius Eustace abbot Himmerod two brothers abbot

,
,
:
of
of
Heisterbach and Herman Marienstatt Then there Caesarius
is
,
himself whose devotion Walter seems reflect personal relation

to
to
,
pos
as
ship and friendship that inspired him many stories
as
gather
to
leading knight
of
sible Walter Christian monk
of
the the DM and

is
-
.
Caesarius life There seems have been no prior written account con
to
, .
's
cerning Walter only the experiences

of
Caesarius and his contemporaries

which he collected
.
DM
knight monks
There are many other the perhaps not well
so
in
,
-
Walter but just revealing

as
they tell Caes

as
sketched the stories

in
,
of
of
arius Dietrich who had been count Wied became monk Heister
,
a
.
by
bach and provided Caesarius with the story knight who

of
virtue
a
holy communion was able triumph

of
Here we again
IX
duel
to
48
in
,
a
).
(
by
are theologically dubious area the physical strength given com

in
a
act that was just

of
mortal sin the tourna

as
as
munion for
an
much
a
ment But Caesarius excuse that the knight victory can prove the
is
.
's
's
not willing
of
power communion He distance himself from the

to
is
.
many stories
he
of
receives about how the host can work wonders

a
IX
purely type He contributes significantly

to
the folk
16
secular
,
,
7
,
(
)
.
the host magical properties

of
literature But here he also shows how

78
.
's
the knightly class could incorporate the church sacramental powers into
's
tournaments and knights came

of
to its
own scale values Another story

of
Mönch Neuburg whom Caes

of
Caesarius from the Benedictine abbot

,
-
78
als
Browe Eucharistie für

im
Die Zaubermittel Mittelalter Archiv

,
P
,
.
Kulturgeschichte
XX
54
1930 134
,
(
-
.
arius says had « recently passed through » Heisterbach ( X ,11 ) . He told

about the knight Albert Scothart who took the devil to a tournament and
gave him a wonderful time! Albert had no fears of having the devil as a
companion for a while and seems to have kept him quite well under
control until the day he no longer desired his company . The physical
prowess of the knight is here complemented by his spiritual power over
a demon .
Time and again in the DM Caesarius merges knightly myths with
monastic ones . There is the story of Gerard , a noblemann who became a
novice in the Cistercian house of Aulne in Flanders ( IV ,54 ). He got a
terrible headache when he listened to the singing of the monks in choir ,
and his head felt as if it would split , especially when the « Alleluia » was
sung . He told the prior of his problem but received little comfort . Finally
he had a vision in which he was surrounded by his enemies but an
army of white men was coming from the distance to aid him . The stan
dard -bearer in front of them was crying out « Alleluia » , and just his
shouting alone so terrified the enemy that they dispersed into flight and
left the novice behind :
Inthe morning , going to the prior , he said to him quite cheerfully : « I

beseech you , lord Prior , that you sing the Alleluia all the more loudly and
strongly over my head . The sound of divine praise will no longer
disturb me. » 79
Here we have an account illustrating the therapeutic effect of dreams

on someone in trouble , as so many monastic dreams. But we also find
that the crucial transformation from pain in noise to pleasure in it is
able to take place because the dream figures take on a feudal-military
identity with which the novice could identify . And , quite appropriately ,
it was Walter of Birbech himself who told Caesarius about this incident .
It took one knight to know another . But Caesarius who probably was
not from a knightly family himself , 80 could appreciate the worth of his
story both because of his respect for Walter and because of his eagerness
to include any anecdotes that showed how novices could become good
monks and accept the ways of the cloister . Gerard of Aulne went in
79 Strange I , 221 : Mane accedens ad priorem , dixit ei satis hilariter : Rogo

vos , domine prior , ut adhuc altius et fortius cantetis Alleluia super caput meum .
Non me amodo turbabit clamor divinae laudis ; et recitavit ei visionem per
ordinem .
80 Caesarius's enthusiastic and even naive admiration for the knightly ethic
of
practitioners like Walter Birbech would indicate that he saw this class
its
and
of
no
from the outside but here we have hard evidence The mention his aunt
,
's
.
having slave girl indicates his family was

44
least middle class and the

at
,
,
(X
a
attachment Cologne indicates Caesarius was there from very early age But
to
proof that Cologne bourgeois family except for the

to he
no
there was born into

is
,
a
fact that he was sent Cologne city church be educated

to
a
.
waking life from noble to monk , but the transition was impossible for
him until he could do the same in his dream life . Once this process was
complete , he found peace .
Caesarius is not always willing to accept knights as individuals who
naturally fit into the monastic life . Thanks to grisly stories about nobles
who were tyrants told to him by the old monk Conrad of Thuringia , who
had been a knight, Caesarius could give vent to hostility and even con
tempt for the type of nobles that did not accept the Cistercians and what
they stood for (1, 34 ) . He tells of the knight who was too much of a coward
to join the Cistercians because of the lice in the monks ' cowls and on
their bodies (IV ,48 ). Such big brave men who cannot stand the thought
of such tiny creatures become ridiculous in the eyes of Caesarius . More
over he tells of tournaments engaged in by dead knights , continuing after
death the vile entertainments of their lives. 81
Sometimes it seems as if Caesarius is merely taking over the miscell
aneous stories he has obtained from diverse sources and is not being
critical or trying to arrange them with some consistency . But there is a
clear pattern . When knights are good Christians , they are acceptable
and even praiseworthy (even if they do not become Cistercians ! ) . Such
is the case of a knight to whom a crucifix bowed because he had spared
his enemies for Christ 's love (VIII ,21) . If such men integrate their knightly
by
courage , with monasticism , it is even better , as Walter
did
leading
commercial expeditions for Himmerod and being valuable contact with
a
leading families But knights dedicate themselves tournaments and

if
to
.
no
for
plunder and they show respect monasteries and make miserable

if
,
peasants the they are classified tyrants and bound for hell
of
the lives
as
,
.
Some the most bloodcurdling stories the whole DM contained
of
in
in
,
the first part

of
the twelfth distinction are reserved for this type of

,
knight
.
thus receptive generosity service and

of
Caesarius noble ideals

to
,
is
Mary
finds easily integrated into the monastic life
he
All
to
devotion
.
Abbot Henry Heisterbach himself reflects this tendency story he

of
in
a
told Caesarius about knight who was sexually the wife

to
attracted
a
pray Mary for help VII

At
of
his lord hermit advised him

to
32
to
,
A
of .
).
(
met Mary
he
this period the guise beautiful woman

of
the end
in
XII whose macabre representation descrip

81
16
of 17
and recalls Orderic Vitalis

,
's
.
of
all
tion parade
the dead But society are represented
of
Orderic classes
in
, a
next followed great army of knights which no colour was visible

in
Behold
,
a
«
save blackness and flickering fire All rode upon huge horses fully armed as they
if
,
.
of jet
carrying Marjorie
ed
were galloping battle and black standards Chibnall

,
to
.
, .
and trans The Ecclesiastical History Orderic Vitalis Vol Oxford 1973
IV
.,
),
.
242
-3
.
of
Notice that Caesarius here much more definitive about the evil tourna
is
of
describing the exploits Strange

he
of
ments than was Walter Birbech 328

in
II,
, :
(
De his vero qui tornamentis cadunt nulla quaestio est quin vadant
ad
inferos
in
non fuerint adiuti beneficio contritionis

si
.
who asked him to be her husband . She even told him to give her a kiss !
In a true knightly gesture , she took the stirrup of his horse and ordered
him to get on it. From that moment his temptation ceased . Soon after ,
the knight ,
died as Mary had predicted , and so his nuptials with her were
celebrated in heaven . Here we are on the threshhold of the international
cult of courtly love . Whatever this ethos may have involved in practice
loyalty betrayal
all
( if anything at was grounded
of
feudal ideas
it
of ),
in
/
as
and new surge romance contemporary literature Just Abbot
in
a
.
Abbot Henry betrays
so
Gevard bears withess the Arthurian romance
to
as
the penetration courtly love into the monastery But what begins
of
82
.
, , as
feudal ends appropriately
story monastic one with chastity
,
a
a
triumphant the midst there Mary delicately balanced between sen
In
is
.
as
no
suality and spirituality For Caesarius usual there problem
is
,
,
.
us
but for there meeting worlds that medieval historians usually

of of
is
a
keep apart the knight love women and the devotion Mary
to
the
in
:
's
cloister Caesarius one world can merge into another Feudal love and
In
.
.
Marian love are united the image Mary leading the horse
of
of
the
in
love struck knight

-
Other Heisterbach Sources Life before and after entrance

If F.
the other monks and lay brothers
of of
we turn Heisterbach and
to
for
us
hope their stories tell about the problems daily life the
in
to
, of
cloister we will be disappointed There much material but many
,
,
is
.
the stories concern experiences the brothers had outside the cloister
either before they joined trips Nevertheless
on
or
when they were
,
a
.
material from visionary experiences and miracles

of
certain amount
in
Heisterbach itself included Caesarius takes what he can find but
is
,
.
more than thirty years old and did not have the
no
Heisterbach was
so
rich tradition that older houses like Himmerod and Villers possessed
.
This mixture pre and post entrance experiences typified
of
is
-
by
of
by
the seven stories provided Caesarius the monk Gottschalk

to
Volmarstein He told Caesarius about the necromancer Philip whom

83
.
he had persuaded tell him his exploits with devils

to
at
of
Toledo
,
V
4
(
)
.
Gottschalk had first been canon Cologne cathedral before joining

of
Heisterbach and may have met Philip there According

so
source
to
, ,
a
.
from Villers Gottschalk hardly seemed like good material for the Cister
he
cians When his brother Everhard met prophetess Westphalia

in
,
a
.
Jean Leclercq Twelfth entury France Psycho

82
See now Monks and Love

in
's
:
-C
Historical Essays Cxford 1979 much needed contribution this vexed subject
to
,
),
,
a
(
especially after Etienne Gilson statement that there no link between courtly
is
on 's
love La Théologie mystique

de
love and Bernard teaching Saint Bernard

's
Paris 1947 would like thank Jean Leclercq for his guidance and encourage
to
,
I
).
ment dealing with this and associated topics

in
For bibliography
68
of
Gottschalk and his family Hilka

83
.p
,
I,
.
refused to believe he would ever become a monk , for he insisted that

Gottschalk « only lives to satisfy his own curiosity » . 84 This ties in well
with Gottschalk ' s ability to pump Philip for his devil stories and reveals
him as a man with the same thirst for stories as Caesarius himself .
In the early 1180 's Gottschalk and Everhard were at Verona where
there was a meeting between Pope Lucius and Frederick I ( V ,24 ). Everhard
got involved with subterranean meetings of heretics but insisted to his
brother that he only went there for the sake of the women who were
available when the lights were out . This is the same type of story that we
find in many other sources and which goes back to Justin Martyr ' s
description of false charges of sexual promiscuity made against the early
Christians . 85 Caesarius reports merely what he hears from Gottschalk
and does not comment on the question of veracity . But he does indicate
that Gottschalk could have been gullible . He emphasizes his naive trust
of other people and thus his proneness to being fooled . He ate a meat
contents while his prior Daniel
its
pie at Siegburg without recognizing
VI
on
looked
4
,
(
).
SS
84
de
Gesta Sanctorum Villariensium MGH XXV 222 Frater Godescalcus
.p
,
Volmontsteyn canonicus Sancti Petri :

mundo miro modo deditus dominus
et
et
,
Albertus cellerarius canonicus sancte Coloniensis ecclesie simul contulerunt

et
se
Stroeberg nulli hominum
de
manus abbatis votum suum indicando Accidit

in
.
quod Evrardus Sancti Gereonis canonicus Godescalci frater uterinus
et
in
,
,
diverteret que
ad
pergeret quamdam rupe

et
Westfaliam via reclusam

in
in
,
labebat quem illa cum magna alacritate suscepit post edificationum colloquia
,
;
dicens Domine fratri vestro domino Godescalco quod lumen

ei
dicite suum
,
,
«
:
Domino clare rutilat Ille ad verba ista stupens dixit

ei
et
accensum est coram

»
:
.
Soror vide quid dicas non est fratri meo similis luxu seculari tota Colonia
in
in
;
,
,
«
ut
huiusmodi vide quid

ad
nec tendit aliud quam sue satisficiat curiositati

in
,
,
;
dicas
»
I .
its
have quoted the story because content style theme conver

so
of
much
,
surprise dialogue and setting all are close what we

to
so
of
sion element
),
find the DM There no literary borrowing here but the similarities point out
is
in
how Caesarius only one author among many the early thirteenth century
in
is
collecting Cistercian experiences and turning them into moral stories

pp .
The Origins European Dissent London 1977

85
27
Moore
of
and
,
),
R
8
-
. .
It .
.
(
I
by
common today reject charges sexual orgies made

of
38
churchmen
to
is
303
,
n
.
as
against heretics pure fabrication For Norman Cohn they are the result
of
an
.
imagined conspiracy urope Inner Demons London 1975 One wonders there
,
,
's
).
(E
exaggerating what the Caesarius story Everhard remark his

to
fore who
in
is
,
's
.
brother Gottschalk Sciatis frater me non frequentare conventicula haereticorum

,
,
«
propter haereses sed propter puellas sounds thoroughly human and understand
,
,
able One wonders modern researchers have not gone overboard their rejection
if
in
all .
stories which associate heretics with practices sexual promiscuity

of
of
think
I
.
something sexual may have happened but Caesarius getting

at
the conventicle
it
is
,
many decades Also the language used

of
third hand and

at
at
distance
to
a
-
describe the couplings nullam habentes differentiam inter legitimam

et
absolutam
, ,
(
quod horribilius erat

et et
virginem
et
et
inter viduam inter dominam ancillam

,
,
,
very close Strange pointed out his notes

as
to
inter sororem filiam

in
,
. ,
is
)
that which Caesarius employs XII Here he tells about the tyrant emperor
in
,
5
Other stories concerning Gottschalk include the one in which he

saw Christ in the host (IX , 2 ) . Another Eucharistic tale concerns a corpo
ral he broke while he was polishing it but which was miraculously repa.
ired (IX ,67 ). Probably when still a canon at Cologne , he met by chance
the cellarer of a Cistercian house in Westphalia who told him he was going
to redeem his monastery ' s valuables . They had been pawned during the
great famine of 1197 ( IV ,67 ) . Now the monastery had been rewarded for
to by
generosity the poor generous donation Also Gottschalk told
its
to
of
Caesarius about hermit whom the devil appeared the form
in
a
a
He away until
87
brought put
of
man fish The hermit
IV
him dish
it
,
a
).
.
(
he
later When he returned found the food transformed into horse
to
it,
.
by
of
manure Some these stories could have been acquired Gottschalk

.
either before after he became monk They are minor incidents with
or
.
or
the naive type
of
element the miraculous the curious Gottschalk

an
is
.
informant for Caesarius whose stories are brief and self xplanatory
of
.
-e
Bernard also Heisterbach monk more sophisticated He helped
is
,
,
a
.
Cologne preaching
of
Oliver scholasticus crusade Flanders and

in
,
in
a
Holland many events which he
as
and there experienced
17
1214
in
a
monk conveyed Caesarius He met priest who wanted help
86
to
to
in
a
.
IV
the work but went mad and died soon after Another time he
10
,
).
(
heard about usurer who bought himself off from crusade promise
a
off
for trifling sum and then made fun the poor who were going
of
into
a
the unknown God punished by handing the devil

11
him him over
to
7,
.
(
's
power He showed him fiery seat hell prepared for him Brabant
In
in
a
.
.
religious girl from Nivelles whom the devil desired
of
Bernard heard
a
. .
He took the form man but she recognized his true identity III
of
6,
a
)
put impurities
he
her plate and plague her

to
to
on
Still was able other

in
ways
.
Gott
of
stories are more complex and detailed than those
Bernard
's
lay
schalk Bernard also deals more immediately with conceptions of

.
fate punishment and the devil power He had link with parish life
,
a
.
's
that Gottschalk lacked Bernard brother John was parish priest

a
.
.
's
John told him about colleague Bertolph about whom was disco
it
,
,
a
cronicis Strange
he
Maxentius and says got his information 321 nullam

in
II,
(
habens differentiam inter legitimam This

et
et
inter matrem filiam absolutam

,
).
the phrase Caesarius uses for Count William Juilly the modern counterpart
of
is
,
of
Maxentius
.
by phrase which probably did pick up from

he
Caesarius magnetized
is
Martyr
of
As
written source that faint echo Justin usual his stories emerge
is
a
oral context but this reject

us
no reason for
of
an
out both written and

to
is
,
a
totally the core the oral report story about the Verona
of
think Caesarius
's
.
I
heretics and their meetings does have not just

an
element truth and

of
is
literary clichés
of
rehash
.
Hoogeweg Die Schriften des Kölner Domscholasters Oliverus

86
For Oliver
,
,
H
.
..
.) .
Bibliothek des litterarischen Vereins Stuttgart CCII Tübingen 1894

in
,
(
:
vered that he had never been properly ordained (11 ,6 ) . But he managed
to repent , and subsequently became a Cistercian at Harthausen in the
bishopric of Paderborn . Likewise John told him about the scholar Hert
wig , who helped him in his parish church at Rijssen in Drenthe ( IX ,20 ) .
One time after the communion John poured wine into the chalice , and
Hertwig saw the form of blood in it. John could not see it , and Caes
arius interprets this vision as a sign of Hertwig ' s future . He gave up his
clerical education , became a knight, and « to this day » spends his time
in shedding Christ 's blood
he plunders and afflicts many . » 87
« since
Such stories take Bernard from the grand stage of the crusade
preaching , with thousands of listeners and dramatic miracles , to the
content of parish life : priests who were not priests , and promising scho
lars who turned out bad . Bernard also told Caesarius a personal anec
dote . One time, before he became a monk , he was carrying relics of the
martyrs John and Paul in a capsule at his side (VIII ,67 ) . When he began
to become sexually stimulated , he felt the capsule irritating him . A few
hours later , when the same feelings returned , so did the pain from the
prick of the relics . This sexual arousal would have been a highly rele
vant tale for young novices . Bernard thus could contribute many diffe
rent types of stories to Caesarius 's collection .
More stories from before conversion to Heisterbach were supplied
to Caesarius by Allard , who once had been canon in Oldenzaal in the
district of Overijssel , Holland . He told about a fellow canon who when
go
he was too choir saw from his bed men entering the church
ill
to
to
VIII
him
singing the hours for story arising

97
and Here milieu

in
,
a
(
. )
secular canons highly relevant for Cistercians who were even more
of
is
emphatic about choir duties Allard also told Caesarius about his maternal
.
aunt Jutta She was chaste her ways but still enjoyed the
55
in
,
,
(X
).
good life for she was very attractive and apparently had many men
,
, ,
flint would
of
after her One day her brother cleric said that piece
,
a
a
.
break before she ever became nun This just what happened for she
is
,
a
.
up
ended Premonstratensian nun near Cleves

a
The most fascinating story from Allard concerns his nurse who
,
pregnancy was supposed have swallowed serpent while she slept

in
to
72
and then have ejected when her child was born Such
it
to
,
(X
a
)
.
as
as
as
story from the nursery were comes close the folk tale
it
to
,
his
DM
we can get the Caesarius accepted miscellaneous distinc

88
in
in
it
.
et et
Strange
87
180 Idem adolescens clericatum deserens factus est miles

II,
,
:
usque hodie Christi sanguinem quia multos depraedatur

se
fundere ostendit
,
affligit
.
For this subject Lebendige Volkssage Dialogus Miracu

88
Mathilde Hain
in
,
,
«
lorum des Caesarius Heisterbach Archiv für Mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte

's ,
»
v
.
Many
of
Caesarius stories especially those

II
40
1950 130 which the devil

in
),
,
, -
.
(
prominent mind similar tales

to
call Grimm
is
in
.
tion ten on miracles ,

with similar wonders . It is a curiosity to
together
which he does not give much thought or analysis , but through it we
can see how his oral sources sometimes delivered up to him experiences
and stories that went back to their childhoods . There are not many
such tales in the DM , but the few there are provide momentary flashes
of insight into the world of imagination and fantasy experienced by the
lay population .
Another Heisterbach monk who earlier had been a parish priest
was Gerlac , who was subprior at the time Caesarius wrote the later
his
as
as
distinctions of the DM . One of stories just incredible that
is
priest heard about the appearance
he
of of
As
of
Allard
nurse Frechen
,
.
's
woman killed the family
of
of
monster which the form two
in
a
a
knights X163 happened just downriver from Cologne
at
Stamheim
,
It
,
.
(
why afflic
no
and Caesarius gives reason the families would have been

manner
89
ted such
in
punishment
of
clearer indication
God sinner comes from
of
A
a
's
XI
as
40
pastor parishioners
of
Gerlac experiences One his was
,
a
).
's
usuress whom he often reproached for her fault She promised mend
to
.
her ways but never did When she was dead she kept moving her hands ,
.
and arms she were still counting money Gerlac came exorcise
as
if
to
.
the devil from her body While he was saying the prayers
of
exorcism
,
.
he
the spasm stopped but

the movements began again
when paused
,
.
and put
of
Finally Gerlac took dropped holy water

an
on
ear grain
it
,
into the woman mouth She began chewing eagerly Placing his
it
it
's
stole around her neck he finally secured the devil exit The dipping .
,
.
's
of
grain into holy water and its placement the mouth seem have
in
been Gerlac homemade sacramental remedy The story conveys the to

.
's
pastoral life Despite the extraordinary nature

of
of
content the events
,
.
they become immediate and human through the way Caesarius under
lines the priest long standing attempt better the woman spiri
to
-
's
's
tual life
.
Gerlac had many contacts with women both before and after
he
,
Heisterbach He talked lay woman about which

to
entered vision
in
a
a
.
on
she saw Christ the cross with blood flowing from his wounds
VIII The recluse Richmud Walberberg told him about Eucha
, of
10
,
a
).
(
He spoke
33
ristic vision she had received woman

IX
whom
to
to
a
a
(
).
priest denied communion but who was able sense its sweetness
to
her
in
als
classifies this story under the heading

89
88
Hain note Der Tote Wieder

,
«
. (
Volksglauben Here
of
contrast
as
expression
an
gänger and
in
sees
it
134
p
.
»
(
y note
69
Hain makes precise exactly what types

, of
Schmidt stories Cae

to
in
) ,
(m
point popular background

be
sarius should added however that Caesarius

to
It
,
a
totally itegrates this lay story into monastic context For him the ghost story
is
a
reshaped according the requirements

be
of
of
piece raw material that can his

to
a
purpose istructing novices

in
.
213
its
good odour
46
IX
throat and also smell from distance This
to
,
a
).
type story abounds early the Beguine movement
of
of
the literature
in
.”
Through men like Gerlac and their willingness speak
to
women such
to
,
experiences reached the ear
of
Caesarius
.
only
the more than fifty monks and lay
of
This review
of
few
a
brothers Caesarius names can point
Heisterbach whom
of
the abun
to
of
dance his oral sources We have no idea what he excluded from the
.
he
DM but from what included he seems have been willing accept
to
,
to
,
or
almost any story that directly indirectly revealed the intervention
of
divine power
of
the lives men and women Caesarius who
of
Prüm
in
,
.
had been abbot the Benedictine house there and joined Heisterbach
of
life enlarged his repertoire stories about holy women by telling
. of
late
in
43
about his sister Irmentrude XI1 She was abbess the Bonn Bene
in
,
(
dictine house Ditkirchen and was known for her fairness and for )
of
improving the discipline the convent After her death she appeared
of
to
.
of
of
Aczelina Bernard Clairvaux relative Caesarius Prüm told Caes
,
.
's
Innocent III when the pope saw

of
arius how he had been the court

at
to
unlettered priest was able occupied
he
that keep the church
an
it
to
A
.
deprive but Innocent would not tolerate
of
clever cleric wanted

to
it,
him
the latter pluralism and favoured the guileless man VI
29
innocence
,
(
)
.
's
's
Another priest was not fortunate He confessed
so
the Benedictine to
.
be beyond salvation for

he
abbot that he felt himself had slept with
to
another man wife and the next day had celebrated there masses
11
,
's
4
, ).
(
From the papal curia parish priest and his moral problem
to
many circles His own abbey

to
of
Caesarius Prüm seems have moved

in
.
, of
or
was rich and aristocratic One his officials his pincerna cup bearer
,
,
.
knight
of
the Henry Falkinstein used Philip the Toledo necromancer

,
who perhaps was Cologne see demons The devil told Henry
at
to
,
,
(V
.
he 2)
all
about his past including where and when had lost his virginity
,
and the experience cost him his life The steward dapifer
of
Caesarius
(
)
.
night
on
of
as
witchcraft the custom for some that They pursued

is
.9
«
»
St
Eve they were walking

on
who turn told Caesarius that John

in
's
along the river near the monastery after sunset They saw
30
,
1
a
(
).
on
woman the other bank and thought she was performing some act
of
on
witchcraft the custom for some that nigth They pursued

as
91
is
«
»
.
her but their horses could not overtake her they finally realized
so
it
,
had be devil The experience made very men

ill
the one
to
them
is
It
a
Jacques de Vitry
of
Mary
of
90
See Vita Oignies written shortly after her

,
's
death Acta Junii

66
IV
Sanctorum
in
1213 esp
,
1707 636 638

),
,
(
.
-
Strange altera parte rivuli quasi speciem

91
ex
315 Videntes
I,
muliebrem
:
putantes quia maleficia exerceret

ut
linea quibusdam mos est nocte

in
veste
,
in
,
caperent eam aquam transierunt rare thirteenth century

ut
illa This
is
,
a
.
of
John Eve with witchcraft Russell

St
reference the association

to
See
,
B
's
.
J.
.
Witchcraft the Middle Ages

in
Cornell 1972
,
(
).
tion of witchcraft in the DM and once again brings us close to the world
of lay imagination and superstition . And yet again we find a Cistercian
mon accepting it and including it .
One more monk of Heisterbach who provides significant information
about life outside the cloister is Renerus , whom Caesarius identifies
as scholasticus of St . Andrew at Cologne and so a person whom Caes
arius well could have known there. Renerus told Caesarius about his
fellow canon there who used every year to send his servant to collect
the tithe from the church where he had his prebend ( VI ,24 ). One time
he saw a man hanging from a gallows , cut him down and revived him .
Evil was returned for good , however . The thief tried to have his liberator
hung and almost succeeded . A less adventurous and more intimate story
is that of a woman whom Renerus knew who was supposed to be able
to live on the communion host alone (IX ,47) . 92 She had received permis
sion to have daily communion from her priest, and she ate nothing else .
The bishop , perhaps a little worried about this arrangement ( for several
stories in Caesarius indicate the reluctance with which the official church
fulfilled the desires of such devout women ), suggested that an uncon
secrated host one day be given her. She could not tell the difference
when communion , but later in the day she had violent hunger
she took
pangs . When she told the priest, he revealed the experiment and gave
her a consecrated host .
Renerus we have a single anecdote from Heisterbach which
With
actually tells us more about Abbot Gevard (IV ,50 ) . Caesarius describes
how Renerus was tempted to leave the monastery and confided in Abbot
Gevard . The abbot jokingly threatened to cut off his feet if he tried to
leave « our house » .93 Gevard did not want the shame of
and confound
the loss ofprominent recruit , and his remanrk seems to have had
such a
the desired effect. Otherwise we concentrate on Renerus as he was at

St. Andrew , a man caught up in the decoration of his church , who offers
money to two merchants sailing to Norway (VII1 ,57 ) . He wanted them to
bring back a bear skin which he could use as a rug in front of the altar
of St. Andrew . In a storm on the way back , the youth held up the rug to
the elements , called on St . Andrew , and
. On their the storm subsided
return , they the church . Such a
gave the skin free to story conveys
something of the commercial vitality and religious belief of Cologne
of
citizens at the end of the twelfth century .

go
Its
merchants the ends

to
Again parallel the early Beguines Mary Oignies supposed

92
of
there
to
is
is
a
y note
on
days
35
90
have lived the host alone for

to
642
.p
,
).
(m
Strange mihi magis sine pedibus semper pascere

93
217 Credite volo vos

I,
,
:
ait
confundere Tunc ille subridens

et
quam vos sinam abire domum nostram

,
Melius est ut maneam Sicque per verba iocosa cessavit tentatio satis dura
.
threat and joke brings forth aspect

of
of
monastic life that

an
The mixture
seldom evident medieval sources humour
in
is
.
:
's
215
Oral Sources in Caesarius of Heisterbach Dialogus Miraculorum
pursue their trading activities but
at
the known world time
to
the same
,
they are just dependent the workings the supernatural any
as
as
of of
on
scared novice half asleep choir and afraid seeing the devil
in
.
the supernatural essential not just
of
The intervention that
is
so
Cologne but also
of
merchants return that the cellarer Heisterbach
so
to
,
Richwin can return Heisterbach from trip One day during
30
to
,
,
(X
a
).
of
the anarchy experienced the Cologne region because the dissension
in
between Philip Richwin just
of
of of
Swabia and Otto Brunswick 1198
),
.
(c
Cologne saw armed men sitting by the side
of
outside number
of
a horse but
of
the road One their leaders decided steal Richwin
to
,
.
's
of
scarcely had he given the order his men than there was clap
to
a
At
all
thunder this the men fled They were not about argue with
to
.
.
divine displeasure and Richwin returned safely home After his death
so
,
.
he appeared one night the choir the monk Lambert X1 He
33
to
,
in
to ).
together
go
stretched out his hand and said Come we shall the
,
,
«
go
Rhine Lambert refused Believe me with you
94
shan Then
,
,
»
»
I
.
.
.
't
:
Richwin went the opposite choir and summoned the old monk Conrad
to
,
who had been monk for about fifty years The next day when the prior
a
the monks including Caesarius Lambert said

of
some
to
summoned
,
,
die
the news with equan

he
Conrad that soon would Conrad accepted

.
imity
he
ill
The next day became
95
don care wish die now

to
«
»
I
I
.
.
't
:
few
and died within days

a
its
For Caesarius the vision and sequel are one more manifestation
living and the dead community
of
the link between the Heisterbach

of
.
One brother leads another away fascinating how the Rhine almost
It
is
.
plays the pagan role the Styx the river leading

of
the afterlife Its

to
,
.
. . of
size and length perhaps represented the idea eternity the Heister
to
bach community living not far from its banks Another surprising detail
the way Lambert could refuse be taken Death
to
choice and
is
is
,
a
Conrad old and tired takes willingly

it
,
be clear by
of
should now that Caesarius used his fellow monks

It
Heisterbach mainly order tell him about their experiences from

to
in
before their conversion the monastic life Post conversion revela

to
-
.
tions were often too personal and private be written down long
to
so
,
was alive But there are enough

as
subject this latter type give

to
of
the
.
of
us some sense the monks with each other about their

of
the talk
spiritual experiences the thirteenth century the General Chapter
In
,
.
296
ad
Strange Frater Lamberte veni simul ibimus Rhenum ille sciens

94
;
,
,
II,
:
ait Credite mihi non ibo vobiscum

renuit
et
eum mortuum
,
,
.
:
die post coenam prior quosdam

ex
nobis vocasset
et
95
Ibid Eadem cum

.:
Conradus praesens esset ait me audiente iam dictus Lambertus Vere

. ei
,
idem
:
domine Conrade vos cito moriemini hac enim cuculla vidi vos hac nocte
In
,
sequentem per Cui ille respondit Non

ei
Richwinum referens visionem ordinem

,
:
.
curo modo vellem esse mortuus

,
.
216
of
set aside time for the exchange and edifying experien such exempla
have taken full advantage this possibility
of
ces Caesarius seems
to
.%
, .
Idung Prüfening Dialogue between
of
Cistercian and Cluniac
In
a
's
he criticizes sharply the Cluniacs for misusing similar period
of
rela
a
tively free conversation order gossip and engage foolish talk
to
97
in
in
.
But Caesarius lived and wrote more than half century later when the
,
a
earlier strictness was tempered by strong desire share spiritual
to
a
experience Inevitably brash miracle stories found their way him such
to
,
,
.
by
as
aising episodes
of
hair from the town Soest told Heisterbach
a
-r
11
monk who came from there 111 But Caesarius
as
as
29
and far
).
(
was concerned everything was welcome and he was only happy for
,
,
of
as
of
tales the earlier lives men who adults had chosen Heisterbach
.
He says already early the first distinction that much better for
is
it
in
youths the ways the world before they enter the monas
of
be tried
to
in
life Otherwise they can easily fall when they are tempted He him
tic
98
.
.
self was his late teens early twenties He valued what could be
or
in
. .
learned from experience his own and others
,
of
prize piece
experience comes from William
of
once chamberlain
,
A
Heisterbach and before his conversion Utrecht
at
15
IV
canon
,
,
a
).
Caesarius tells how William sailed the East and when his ship docked
to
Acre found that town already had been taken by the Saracens Accord
at
.
ing William their leaders are gentlemanly knights who follow strict
to
a
by
of
moral code and feel revolted the sexual excesses Christians the
in
Canivez my note for the year 1232 nr
96
59
,
(
5
)
.
, :
ut
Propter collationes illicitas

de
medio tollendas statuitur quando monachi
sit
colloquium ordinis custode vocantur illud colloquium
de
ad
ab
causa solatii
,
his quae pertinent

de
de
ad
miraculis verbis aedificatoriis

et
sanctorum salutem
,
exclusis detractionibus contentionibus aliis vanitatibus Hoc ipsum

et
animarum
,
abbates convenerint nisi de suis necessitatibus loquantur

..
.
This statute indicates that edificatory conversations the type Caesarius

of
reports were daily experience many Cistercian house The problem was not
in
a
being allowed indulge but keeping turning

of
of
that
to
them them from

in
into gossip sessions

.
by
as
97
Trans Jeremiah Sullivan Cistercians and Cluniacs The Case for

O
F
.
.
'
at
Kalamazoo Michigan 1977 But

33
36
Citeaux Cistercian Fathers Series

p
,
),
.
(
those times after chapter they the Cluniacs eagerly gossip and chatter back
(
of )
)
by
permission
of
and forth the Order indeed the order and not more
it
is
if
-
of
drawn out and extended that

sit
the disorder They time

so
because the
is
he -
.
they cannot stand and each chatters chooses with anybody

on
about whatever
,
he chooses
.
Strange Dicere solitus erat dominus Johannes Archiepiscopus

98
10
—
I,
I,
3
, –
Treverensis vir prudens cui

satis erant nota ordinis secreta rarum esse quod
et
pueri vel iuvenes pondus peccati non

ad
ordinem venientes quorum conscientias

,
gravat ferventes sint Imo quod miserabile est vel ordine tepide minus
et
in
,
,
.
ordine prorsus recedunt quia non est

ab
eis
bene vivunt vel timor accusatricis

in
, ,
, :
praesumunt
de
conscientiae virtutibus suis sicque subortis tentationibus minus

resistunt
.
East. Thus the enemy itself reveals why they could defeat the Christians .
The latter did not live up to their own religion . Caesarius is curious
about the ways of the Saracens , as he is about all exotic peoples , but their
main purpose in the story is to emphasize the Christian crusaders ' bad
behaviour .
Another canon who became a Heisterbach monk is Gevard , who
came from Ratisbonne . He told Caesarius of a Bavarian who appeared
her alms and prayers for
all
to his wife after her death and said that
his soul were useless XII He was damned Caesarius uses string
19
,
a
(
)
.
.
of
arrogance tyranny
to
of
such stories attack the and the rich and
powerful how helpless they become when confronted with
an
show
justice XII
It . of
God During life they may get their way because
19
,2
-
).
's
as
as
their positions but after death they are naked everyone else
,
Gevard told Caesarius that this was celebrated story Bavaria
in
a
.
borders the pure exemplum for the moral overshadows the historical
on
details But still important for Caesarius be able point out how
to
to
is
it
.
he obtained the story even he not interested going beyond his

is
in
if
,
immediate source
.
Himmerod and Villers Cistercian powerhouses

G
.
its
we
of
the immediate milieu Heisterbach and turn
to
leave
If
mother Himmerod and Villers Brabant which had close

to
house
in
connections with Heisterbach we find the same types stories and of

,
the complication
of
similar sources Here however there written
is
,
,
.
by
sources number the Himmerod exempla Caesarius
of
are taken
A
.
Likewise many the figures

of
miracles
of
Himmerod collection
99
from
a
who appear Caesarius from Villers are also mentioned the rich
in
in
100
Villers sources Here however have not been able find Caesarius
to
,
,
I
.
borrowing directly from written Villers materials Nevertheless the

in
,
.
Himmerod and Villers written sources are quite similar content and
in
tone the oral sources which Caesarius collects from there The central
to
themes are the same spiritual experience visions temptations and vic
,
,
:
tory over the devil

.
of
number Himmerod stories were communicated Caesarius

to
A
by elders Heisterbach monks who had begun their careers

at
of
the
,
«
mother monastery but had some point come

at
as
Heisterbach
to
37
,
1
, .
(
Secondly
at
Caesarius had contact with least two Himmerod abbots
See my article well

99
on
written sources Bruno Griesser Ein Himme

as
as
,
,
«
roder Liber Miraculorum und seine Beziehungen Caesarius von Heisterbach

zu
,
»
Archiv für Mittelrheinische Kirchengeschichte

74
1952 257
),
4
-
.
(
100
SS
These are most easily accessible the MGH XXV collection For
in
a
.
the composition dates for the various sources

on
discussion see Simone Roisin

,
hagiographie cistercienne dans XIIIe siècle Louvain

de
au
diocèse Lièges
le
L
'
(
23
32
Bruxelles 1947
,
),
-
.
Gilbert and Eustace . The latter communicated to him a story about a
woman 's vision that he had heard at the General Chapter ( VII,20 ) . Henry
the cellarer of Himmerod told Caesarius how on a journey with another
Cistercian he was told about an abbot who unwillingly went to manual
labour and was punished for it in purgatory (XII ,31). A monk named
Thomas told Caesarius about a monk who felt that his garden work
was degrading and consequently was tempted by the devil in the form of
,
a woman (1 51) . This theme of social arrogance and the questioning of
manual labour emphasize the aristocratic background of many Him

merod monks. Favoured by successive archbishops of Trier and abun
101
dantly endowed in the course of the twelfth century , was able
to
it
attract many rich and noble families sons from the Mosel region
'
.
The main oral sources for Himmerod however are Henry the lay
, ,
Bir
of
brother the Hart grange Herman Marienstatt and Walter
, of
of
,
Without these three informants the supply
of
bech stories from the
.
mother abbey would be very limited indeed One wonders Caesarius
if
.
certain rivalry with Himmerod Did
he
he
feels feel had make his
to
a
.
as
as
own collection independently possible from the Himmerod written

of
of
sources like the Vita David and the Book Miracles But both
of
?
102
used liberally usually not even indicating his debt
he
them
,
. .
turning partly
Villers there near flood stories This of
In
is
to
is
a
its
of
of
due the fact that two abbots Charles 1198 1209 and Walter
to
-
(
)
21
Utrecht 1214 were well known Caesarius Charles had first been
to
),
-
.
(
prior Heisterbach and was the Himmerod group that founded Heister
at
in
by
103
bach 1198 His life was written the thirteenth century Villers
no , in
to in
a
.
monk but its author does not seem have used Caesarius and Caesarius
,
has information that was taken from He could not have known
as it
.
Heisterbach but
at
Charles when he was abbot Charles seems have

35 to
,
his former monastery VI

on
visited more than one occasion

;
,
,
1
1
(
18
and
).
Charles joined Himmerod together with number other distin

of
a
102101
Wilkes my note
18
85
ed 93
),
-
. .
(
Ambrosius Schneider Vita Davidis Monachi Hemmenrodensis

»
,
B
«
The uses by Caesarius are

27
44
an 11
Analecta Sacris Ordinis Cisterciensis 1955

),
-
.
(
given One wonders intentional silence about other Cistercian

29
there was
if
p
.
.
houses and their achievements order not dull one own monastery brilliance
to
in
's
.
's
do
Thus the early Villers sources rarely mention Heisterbach and not even make
SS
at
clear that Abbot Charles first was prior Heisterbach MGH XXV 222
,
-3
it
, , .)
(
on
. of
Eberbach might have met Caesarius

of
Conrad one his visits Eberbach

to
but neither the EM nor the DM owe anything each other Eberbach Heisterbach
to
Schönau Himmerod and Villers exist apart from each other terms of literary
in
,
,
go
debt until the moment we behind the text and find how much unacknowledged
-
borrowing actually went

on
.
103
my note
de
47
Wellstein Die ersten Mönche von Heisterbach 131

p
,
E
,
, .
.
.
)
«
Brabant aux Xlle XIlle Siècles Bruxelles 1909

de
Abbaye
et
en
Moreau Villers
,
)
(
L
-
its -
'
invaluable especially for critical introduction

is
.
219
Oral Sources in Caesarius of Helsterbach 's Dialogus Miraculorum
by
guished knights Caesarius mentions them name Ulrik Flasse Gerard
,
:
.
IV
Waschart Marcmann and Charles His father was rich mer
78
,
a
).
(
of
Cologne gave shipment rocks for the founda
of
chant who whole
a
tions the Holy Apostles there VIII
63
of
of
the Church His reason was
,
(
).
he
his fear that when was judged his good works would be found insuf
,
the scale Since rocks are heavy they would
be
ficient able add
to
,
in
a
significant weight his favour Here again we glimpse through Cister
to
a
!
of
cian monk lay ideas about religion We can see how the conception
of of
soul weighing death has become part the imagery As
of
at
salvation
-
.
dying monk
at
novice Himmerod Charles was called into the room

,
a
a
together with Marcmann and Gerard XI This brother Mengoz had
11
,
,
(
. )
died but revived when Abbot Gilbert returned from the General Chapter
order receive his final blessing
to
in
Villers Charles brought visionary monk .

As
on
, of
abbot visit
to
,
a
St
Godfred originally from Cologne
at
35
Heisterbach Pantaleon
,
,
(1
).
.
had sought entrance Heisterbach but the abbot did not believe
in
to
the genuineness his intention This valuable indication how Heister

of
of
.
choosy about recruits points monastery that had

be
its
bach could
to
a
more applicants than really needed perhaps had room for Godfred
or
—
it
.
instead went Villers and became well known for his devout tears and
to
-
At
of
accurate prophecies Heisterbach he gave counsel some the
to
.
should pray by meditating

of he
. of
monks and told Dietrich Lureke how
on
DM
the events Christ Godfred life the
of
life The sketch in
104 is
's
's
of
independent
of
the written account him that we have from Villers
.
be
For once we can check his

on
Caesarius and find him accurate

in
to
he
assertion that uses oral sources for his information about monk
a
. .
Many Charles activities brought him into contact with lay people
of
's
as
he
Cologne helped leave the city disguised

of
rich widow lay

to
A
a
41
brother she could enter the convent Walberberg He spoke

to
so
of
,
(1
)
.
by
of
parish priest who was plagued temptations the devil and who
a
finally became Cistercian monk noblewoman confession

14
in
1 11
,
A
).
a
told Charles that she was

to
love with him and tried seduce him

in
III poor and insigni

43
Charles told her he was monk

an
old man
,
,
«
a
(
)
.
us
courageous thing
do
ficant Caesarius assures that this was

to
»
105 a
.
because the woman was extremely powerful

.
104
Moreau my note 103

SS
For the Vita Godefridi see MGH

, -30
XXV 227
,
un ),
.
sont indépendants
de
au
ils
xxvi Quant récit Césaire celui des Gestes

et
p
a
.
l'
:
qu
on
de autre Sans doute moine Heisterbach raconte certains faits

le
retrouve
d
.
l'
'
'
dit
première recension les avoir appris

un
de
dans mais moine Villers

la
il
d
'
rien dans son récit ne trahit une copie Bien au contraire

et
les anecdotes
,
.
présentent plusieurs variantes dans les deux morceaux

.
105
Strange Ille sicut sacerdos iustus timens Deum signavit

ac
163 cor suum

I,
, ,
:
quibus potuit avertit dicens

ad
male
se
se
conversam verbis monachum esse

,
Et sicut ipse dixit cuidam monacho qui mihi

ac
pannosum neglectum
, ,
senem
,
ut
recitavit femina eadem tam praeclara fuit potens inquit

et
si
tam essem
in
,
,
Charles is a talented man whose services are in demand in the

Cistercian world . After being abbot of Villers for more than a decade ,
he retired for a time to Himmerod , where he still felt his home to be
(VIII , 13 ) . But he was called away to administer Val Dieu , which was
having problems . 10 The account of Caesarius and that of Villers contain
different materials , but both contribute to the impression of a charming ,
able spiritual leader for the monks. But it is only in Caesarius that we
also see Walter as a consummate story teller describing his naive father ,
the division of the sun into three parts ( X ,23 ) , a priest whom the devil
tried to deceive , and an abbot who tried to rig his own election (VI ,18 ) .
Walter of Villers is an even more intriguing figure than his prede
cessor . Caesarius provides a number of stories about how he sought the
or
for
grace of tears himself and managed obtain through women
to
it
Why those Beguins
do
fellow monks you want
11
19
21
seek
to
,
«
(
).
-
?
Quid quaeritis videre istas begginas devout woman Brabant asks
in
»
a
(
his spiritual need )

of
. . of
when he tells her She takes care
11
20
him
,
.
).
(
him by presenting him
of he
recluse who gives him the help needs
to
a
Both here and Beguine literature itself there are floods tears
,
in
107
of
Unlike priest who was suspicious Mary Oignies and her tears
of
,
a
Walter both accepts tears others and seeks them for himself
in
.
contemporary Villers Walter combines spiri
of
Like other abbots

,
tuality with practical results He does his utmost defend Catherine to
,
.
at
of
11
25
converted Jewess the Cistercian house Parc aux Dames
,
a
).
-
He fights with the bishop Liège and even threatens her father lawyer -
of
's
de
sicut aliquando fui nunquam illi minimo facere

re
saeculo tale nec verbo

in
,
auderem mentionem Fuerat enim idem abbas ante conversionem miles armis
in
..
.
strenuus pulcher satisque nominatus Karolus scire ipse erat dominus

si
et
vis
,
,
;
abbas Vilariensis
.
Here the end we once again see Caesarius admiration for the handsome
at
,
's
courageous knight who becomes the faithful devout monk

,
.
106
describing the Clairvaux abbot

SS
MGH XXV response

to
225
In
.p
,
's
.
Charles application resign his post the Villers author summarizes the qualities
to
,
's
be
he
an
no
found ideal abbot Caesarius has similar passage but

to
would
in
of ,
.
certainly have agreed with this typically Cistercian mixture wordly ability
and spiritual fire
:
Homo iste summis principibus honoratur terre qua habitat acceptus

et
in
a
profecit plurimum
eo
dilectus conventui suo carus necessarius Domus

et
sua sub
,
edificiis construendis possessionibus acquirendis quod amplius vigor

et
et
in
et
religionis sub non deferbuit magnas honoratas personas per Dei

eo
et
et
sed
;
gratiam conventui aggregavit Attamen devicto me nec diutius abbatis

in
suo
,
,
.
offico ipsum possum detinere

.
107
by
Junii The priest the noisiness

IV
Acta Sanctorum offended

is
640
.p
,
Mary crying and forbids her weep She obeys but while the
to
of
church
in
,
's
priest celebrates the mass too begins

he
he
no
cry and thus sees that had

to
,
try
right control this spontaneous spiritual gift Mary Quid ageret ille
to
to
in
improvidus ille ancillae Christi increpator per experientiam cum rubore didicit
?
quod prius per humilitatem compassionem cognoscere non voluit

et
.
if he dares to defend « Know the man 's interests .

for sure that if you
speak one more word against the girl, I shall make certain that the lord
108
pope imposes perpetual silence on you in all cases » . Walter apparently
of
gets involved
21
sees that the abbot Clairvaux himself William 1217
),
I
-
(
the bishop Liège challenges
of
the case When his intervention he
in
,
.
reports that the girl his affair because her house the Clairvaux
is
in
is
line Heisterbach abbot Henry contributed the effort keep the
to
to
.
's
girl the monastery for he brought back letters from the General Chap
to in
prior keep ,
the bishop from abducting her
of
ter the the house
to
he
Walter had first secular master VII Subsequently
22
been
,
a
).
point
At
entered the Clairvaux line house Vaucelles some he came
of
to
-
.
he
he
Villers where 1214 became abbot Like Charles full good
of
is
in
, ,
,
.
one about Arras and his sister who killed
of
stories such
as
cleric
a
a
jeweller but were discovered 111 the mystic
of of
He confidant
15
is
,
a
).
at (
Aulne II1
33
of
Simon and the same time defender the interests

,
),
a
(
of
just the type

of
the Order the case Catherine He Cistercian
of
in
is
.
Caesarius He accepts the

of
who could win the admiration and interest
.
requirements posed by being part of society and the same time
at
is
the search for intense personal spiritual experience
up
caught
in
.
Like Abbot Charles who participated
the Villers monk Ulrik
,
in
a
Eucharistic miracle came from the Cologne Here yet IX
31
area
,
is
(
.
)
another reason for close association with Heisterbach The two mona
a
.
common geographical base for recruitment
on
steries seem draw

to
.
no hint
as of
There Caesarius resentment that such good men did not

is
in
up
at
end Heisterbach He usual only glad for the contacts these

is
,
,
.
An
monks can give him anonymous monk from Villers informed him
.
of
his blas
of
about the death Count Fulk Southern France because

in
51
phemy X1 This monk had been there together with Conrad abbot
,
,
(
).
of
of
of
Villers from 1209 then abbot

14
Clairvaux abbot Citeaux

,
in
-
1217 and from 1219 cardinal Porto and

of
the crusade
of
leader
in
a
109
the south
.
108
Strange Cumque adhuc instaret advocatus Judaei commotus dominus

97
I,
,
:
Walterus abbas Vilariensis ait illi Magister vos loquimini contra Deum
et
contra
,
,
:
honorem Sciatis pro certo

vestrum adhuc unum verbum locutus fueritis contra
si
,
.
ut
puellam laborabo apud dominum

ego papam perpetuum vobis omnibus
in
,
causis imponat silentium

.
this affair see Roisin my note 100

pp
65
For Caesarius
as
. of
source
,
7
a
-
.
.
(
)
109
Moreau my note 103 III was very proud

of
51
33
Caesarius the career

),
,
-4
(
Conrad had had the church and indicated that he might become the next pope
in
Strange 153 Quam sublimis persona factus sit postea non solum ordine
in
I,
,
:
novimus omnes Primo prior factus est

et
et
sed ecclesia Vilario deinde

in
in
,
,
.
ibidem electus est abbatem postea abbatem Claraevallis deinde promotus

in
in
in
;
abbatem Cisterciensem Nec illo gradu stare potuit sed domino Honorio Papa
in
a
.
de
sit
vocatus est episcopum Quid adhuc

et
cardinalem Portuensem illo futurum

in
,
.
ignoramus
.
One of the most significant aspects of the contact with Villers is

the opening it gave Caesarius to the female religious movement which
a decade before had started the Beguins in Brabant and Flanders and
110
now was opening up one new Cistercian house after another . Caes
arius spoke the Villers monk Wiger who had known the nun Cle
to
,
mentia XI
St
neighbour
of
, of
The abbot Lambert Villers was
28
,
,
a
of .
.
(
29
of
the confessor recluse from the city Liège Osilia X1
,
a
).
(
Himmerod was the traditional spiritual powerhouse which had
If
saints like David and
as
as
generated Heisterbach and Marienstatt well
venerable elders Caesarius own time then Villers was the abbey
in
,
's
around which spiritual revolution was taking place This for the most
a
.
part involved the Beguins who become the prose
us
immediate
to
so
in
,
de
Jacques Vitry But Cistercian nuns rivalled these women

of
their
in
.
111
pursuit mystical experience
of
female mysticism
it of
This new wave
is
.
important event European history because new com
an
heralds
in
a
the part
on
admitting and supporting the involvement

to
of
mittment men
direct spiritual experience
of
women Sometimes this enthusiasm

in
.
spills over into heresy Caesarius only perceives this whole development
.
the efforts made by Villers abbots like

, he
vaguely But
, of
aware
is
, .
of
Charles Conrad and William involve themselves some the new
in
to
female mysticism currents

.
's
competition here Heisterbach and Villers

no
There indication
of
is
.
of
are both daughters Clairvaux and thus involved spreading variety

in
a
spirituality directly
of
Cistercian goes back Bernard Clairvaux
of
that
to
.
While Bernard centred his attention mostly men his successors
on
the
in
,
take more seriously the spiritual

of
first decades the 1200s began

to
own Henry
of
of
needs women Men like William Villers and Caesarius

's
.
logical consequence
at
of
Heisterbach thus followed Bernard devotion

a
's
110
199 praises Abbot Walter for his

SS
Chronicle MGH
The Villers XXV
.p
,
(
concern for womens houses nil aliud mundo desiderabat nisi homines
in
,
(.
..
'
but also points out

ad
religionem monasteria virginum

et
adducere fundare
it
),
could not shoulder all the responsibilities that these houses created
he
that
for him and his monks cumque plurimas domos monialium nostri ordinis
in
«
..
.
:
plantasset tandem perpendit satis fore onustum regi

se
of in
diocesim Leodiensem
,
,
eight
of
mine proprii monasterii Finally he had hand over the rule these
to
»
.
by
, of
houses the abbot The danger that spreading the elders

to
of
Citeaux
is
.
hear their confessions and give them guidance

Villers out these women
to
to
discipline
of
of
Walter had neglect the younger monks Villers Thus the standard
to
There were probably also financial burdens involved but the

,
was threatened
.
point history
at
at
explanation least shows that this Cistercian

in
it
chronicler
's
of
was considered natural and right look after the needs womens houses
to
.
'
Thus the concept anti feminism not applicable these years

to
of
Cistercian
is
-
after 1200
.
111
Here Roisin book deserves much more attention than has received for
,
it
's
participated holy female Cistercians

of
she shows how male Cistercians the lives

in
and ended writing their biographies my note 100

in
).
(
to . They began to direct some of their emotions outwards towards

Mary
women . The intense spiritual friendships between men that existed in
the days of Anselm of Canterbury or Aelred of Rievaulx have given way
spiritual friendships between men and women .
112
to This new expression
of
oral monastic culture Caesarius
of
the first notice and
to
one
is
record
.
Other Cistercian Sources Clairvaux Family and beyond

H
.
's
The preceding analysis should by now have made clear that
it
Caesarius large extent came from Cistercian houses the
to
sources
in
a
's
Clairvaux line There movement from Heisterbach out towards these

is
a
.
houses Himmerod Villers Val Dieu Cheminon Foigny and beyond
to
,
,
:
Clairvaux itself From the motherhouse comes powerful current back
a
. .
Heisterbach Stories that originate with Clairvaux monks and even

to
tually reach Caesarius include how the prayers the brothers made
of
:
53
confession possible for
IV
Clairvaux monk how monk was freed
,
),
a
a
temptation by being made spiritual eunuch (
IV
of
his sleep
( 96
and
in
,
IV ),
a
(
cleric was given bread dipped
80
how the wound Christ side
,
in
in
).
a
's
of
Here we can often compare with similar stories Herbert Clair
in
or
vaux the Exordium Magnum Cisterciense and see literary variants

in
clearly basing many

on of
the same theme But Caesarius his stories
of
is
.
he
what has heard from Clairvaux monks and their intermediaries
,
excerpts from written sources Sometimes
he
he
on
and not what gives

.
precise details about how Siger the prior

us
story reached him
of
,
a
Clairvaux told the prior

of
Himmerod who turn told Caesarius about

in
,
,
the special devotion Clairvaux monk for John the Baptist VIII
of
49
,
a
)
.
But telling about John the cripple Clairvaux monk who saw Christ
in
,
a
all VII He does

no
asleep his breast Caesarius gives source

at
30
on
,
).
(
remind the reader however that he already mentioned Henry

16
in
,
1
,
.
Here we find the story Henry Clairvaux and the infor

to
of
conversion
's
among
he
of
mation that was friend lord Gevard our abbot whom

to
,
«
113
other things
he
told the whole story The words

of
his conversion
»
.
. of
inter cetera leave room for the later story Henry and make unneces
it
sary for Caesarius repeat his source there But likely that Gevard
it
is
to
heard about this vision from Henry

.
112
sex
See my article Love friendship and the eleventh century The

in
,
«
experience theologica This whote sùbject de

of
27
52
Anselm Studia 1973 111

, ,
),
»
-
.
serves further attention and hope return See also The some later date
to
to
it
«
I
monastic Friendship The case Bury

of
I of
Collapse and Sanson Journal

of
Jocelin
,
a
»
:
Medieval History that monastic friendships

of
97
1978 369 There concluded

),
4
-
.
(
disappear after 1200 but here we find them new form See my The Cistercians
in
,
«
!
and the Transformation Monastic Friendships forthcoming

of
Analecta
in
»
,
.
113
Strange Huic familiaris erat dominus Gevardus abbas noster cui

22
I,
,
:
inter cetera narravit totum ordinem conversionis suae

.
The Clairvaux stories often resemble those brought from the General
Chapter at Citeaux in emphasizing the spiritual power of the Cistercian
Order and the special favours it receives from heaven . There is a youth
who comes to Clairvaux and is made a lay brother . He is of noble fami
ly but wants to humble himself by choosing this status . One day with
his sheep in a field , he has a vision of a friend who had died in his
youth ( XII ,33 ) . He asks the lay brother to have three masses said by
all
the Cistercian . This is necessary for him
be
to
that freed from
is
purgatory brother permission
of
The lay with the his master the
,
«
of .
»
(
master the grange goes Clairvaux secures the saying
to
the masses
of
),
,
by
the prior and two other priests and subsequently hears from his
,
friend that they have had the desired effect
.
story calls
no
There source mind the

given here but such
to
,
is
a
much more dramatic anedote which Caesarius says was told this
«
year the General Chapter how the angel the Apocalypse blew
at
of
,
»
the first blast the horn for judgment day but was stopped from the
of
by
His mother had begged
58
fatal second blast Christ himself X11
,
, ).
(
. of
to
delay the execution
of
of
him because the merits the Cistercians
,
the day wrath for mankind Another clear case Cistercian ideology
of
of
vision which Bertram monk Lombardy and
of
Cerreto had
is
in
,
of ,
,
a
which was told the General Chapter

at
the abbots the time

to
»
XI1 He saw golden colour which Mary told him
37
of
fountain
,
a
(
. )
represented the Cistercian Order which gold excels the other me

as
,
«
outranks the other orders dignity and

so
tals the church both

. it
in
in
in
,
114
sanctity
us
Caesarius stories thus allow see the General Chapter more

as
to
's
than legislative and disciplinary body great yearly exchange

is
It
.
a
the whole assembly

as
of
centre for stories some which were recited

to
,
,
one about confession between two monks who had sinned with each other
III while some were probably whispered
or
24
on
the corners told
of in
,
),
(
at
the long journey back and forth The abbot Michaelstein stopped
.
Himmerod his way the General Chapter and left behind story
on
to
that was conveyed Perhaps his way home from

on
Caesarius
to
,
X
4
(
)
.
Riddagshausen
of
France the Abbot the diocese Halberstadt told

of
in
,
how monk was kept from entering paradise because he was not wear
a
ing his cowl when he died X1 This familiar Cistercian theme

36
is
,
,
a
).
(
but the abbot claims happened monk the Champagne house

at
it
to
a
of
Sellières This would indicate that the abbot had stopped there after
.
leaving Citeaux was told the story and then transmitted Cistercians
it
to
,
his long trip home

at
other houses
on
.
114
Strange Fons iste aurei coloris ordo Cisterciensis est qui sicut
48
II,
,
, :
aurum reliqua metalla ita ceteros ordines tam dignitate quam sanctitate praecellit
ecclesia
in
.
It have been a general practice for the assembled abbots

seems to
to share with each other edifying stories concerning monks in their own
of
houses . The abbot of
Ile
Dieu told the General Chapter about one
-
his lay brothers who because he owned something was not able
to
of 64
swallow the Eucharist Abbot Henry brought back
IX
Heister
to
,
(
).
story about lay brothers X1
57
bach revolt and our abbots
,
),
a
»
(
also provided Caesarius with monk who was too
an
anecdote about
a
XII
29
himself and thereby disobeyed the abbot
on
harsh orders
,
(
of ).
's
This supposed the French house Preuilly
to
have happened
is
in
(d
.
Sens Henry may have heard while staying there may have
or
it
it
,
).
Chapter
at
been common tale the itself

a
.
usually
of
Although difficult because Caesarius vagueness
it
is
's
telling precise time and place
of
trace the such stories one can

to
to
,
a
full
as
justly speak
of
of
the road and from Citeaux stories Caesarius
to
.
merely had novicemaster he had special permis
As
keep his ears open
to
,
.
115
speak with monastic guest who came
on
sion travels As confidant
to
.
Henry among
he
of of
Abbot would have been the first get the news
to
,
his journeys There anonymous Cistercian abbots who

of
is
stream
a
.
as
appear informants and many were probably
on
of
the DM
in
them
,
or
their way from one abbot another the General Chapter itself
to
to
,
of .
of
us
as
work
Caesarius gives vivid impression the statutes
as
an
The
the General Chapter itself how important this meeting was for safe
guarding and perpetuating Cistercian practices and
of
common set
a
its
its
ideals expressed
; In
laws we find the norm ideal

or
the
in
in
.
violation the stories we find similar themes but this time with more
,
in
individuality that makes the Cistercians into

an
detail and often with

living medieval people
.
lay
abbots were invaluable sources were brothers whose

so
If
commercial activities and travels often brought Heisterbach

to
them
.
unnamed monastery told Caesarius

an
of
The master the grange from

115
the meaning the cryptic

on be
of
of
at
This seems sentence the the

to
end
Consuetudines section the novicemaster Deinde per duos menses auditorio
in
:
iuxta capitulum sicut peregrinis monachis cum loqui The novicemaster

eo
et
cum
.
has permission speak with the newly professed monks the auditorium for
to
in
two months after they have made their profession well with monks from
is as
as
,
outside the monastery Guignard 233 There surprisingly little written

p
,
.
).
(
might
as
of
about the duties and functions the novicemaster The Consuetudines

,
.
be expected deal mostly with the ceremonies involved making novice into
in
,
monk and the master participation them But there are few general
in
a
a
's
.
he
prescriptions which indicate that when felt necessary the novicemaster could
it
speak with the novices especially when they were together the probatorium
in
,
, :
Magister novitiorum debet novicios ordinem suum docere ecclesia excitare

in
,
ubicunque negligenter habuerint verbo vel signo quantum potuerit emendare

In et
se
labore tamen nisi tunc prior conventus fuerit non loquatur cum
eis
nec etiam
,
alibi extra probationem nisi prius accepta licentia

.
and other Heisterbach monks how one summer day when the lay bro
thers were taking a noonday nap , the devil in the form of a Benedictine
monk circulated among their beds ( V ,33 ) . Taking one of them into
its
began plant kisses
on
arms his mouth When the lay brother who
it
to
,
.
had watched this happening went over his comrade bed he found
to
,
's
him asleep but lying improperly unchastely and without his clothes
,
«
»
sed incomposite impudice nudatumque iacentem invenit When the
et
.
(
)
signal for nones was given this brother felt
at
and vespers was taken
ill
,
the infirmary where he
to
died after three days
.
story belongs
of
the common theme sleeping with one
to
Such
a
's
interesting the way the
of
cowl summer What
on
the heat
even
is
is
in
,
.
lay brothers reflect and strengthen themonastic prescription The Heister
.
he
bach visitor confides the brothers not what saw but what lay
to
a
brother had told him Likewise when the lay brothers Heisterbach
of
.
of up
were out travelling they could pick stories and bring them back
,
priest from the village
of
Caesarius Polch the diocese Trier
to
in
A
.
he
told lay brother who was his guest how loved the Cistercian Order
a
the hymn Salve regina mise

of
because the monks had given him copy
a
ricordiae This had helped him during terrible thunderstorm

a
.
:
all my hours One day when was crossing small
at
used say
to
it
a
.
I
I
visit recluse who lived alone next violent
to
field the church such

to
,
a
a
thunderstorm began that one flash followed another and lost the power ,
, I
walk But coming with great effort and fear the church entered and
to
to
of it,
I
.
prostrating myself before the altar prayed Our Lady because that
to
,
I
storm
.
great beauty came

of
virgin and
of
woman with the face

And behold
a
me from the altar When wondered who she was she first spoke me
to
to
,
.
saying Because you sing the antiphon Salve regina misericordiae gladly ,
,
«
:
and frequently never will thunder and lightning you often are
of
which
,
returning my eyes
So
afraid you the altar she disappeared

to
harm from
,
,
I .
. .
And immediately understood that this was the mild good and sweet Mary
,
that hour until today

of
From have been freed from that fear storms which

I
116
afflict me greatly VII

29
to
used
,
)
.
(
116
Ad
Strange
38
omnes
illam horas meas
dicere consuevi Cum die
II,
9
.
:
-
quadam campum brevem visitare inclusam

transirem quandamiuxta ecclesiam
,
,
ut
solitariam habitantem orta sunt tonitrua tam valida ictus ictui succedens vires
,
ambulandi mihi adimerent Veniens tandem cum multo labore simul timore
ac
, .
altari me prosternens pro ipsa tempestate

ad
ecclesiam ipsam intravi

et
coram
,
Dominam nostram interpellavi Et ecce matrona virginei vultus magnique decoris

.
me veniens cum admirarer quaenam esset illa prior me allocuta

est
de
ad
altari
,
ac
dicens Quia antiphonam Salve regina misericordiae libenter frequenter de

,
,
, :
cantas nunquam tonitrua necue fulmina quorum timore saepius affligeris

te
,
Sicque disparuit Et statim

ad
laedent altare rediens oculis meis intellexi

in
ac ,
,
.
.
Ab
quia ipsa esset clemens illa pia dulcis Maria illa enim hora usque hodie
,
timore praedicto tempestatum quo nimis afficiebar meritis beatae Virginis

,
,
a
liberatus sum
.
This story is essentially one more variant in the endless miracles of

the Virgin . "17 But it is grounded in a Cistercian context , for the monk 's
special devotion to Mary is due to Cistercian inspiration . Moreover , it is
integrated into Cistercian literature via a Cistercian lay brother' s hear
ing of it and reporting it to Caesarius .
It should be apparent by now that Caesarius was willing to listen
to anyone who had a good story , but that his Cistercian connections
meant that many of his best and most vivid stories came from this
milieu . Considering the international structure of the Cistercian Order ,
it could hardly have been any other way . What is revealing , however ,
is how well this structure functions in making stories available to Caes
arius . There are stories from the university milieu at Paris , probably
supplied to Caesarius because many Cistercians first went to school
there before joining the Order (as 1, 38 ). There are descriptions of heretical
movements , the result of the frustrating involvement of Cistercians in
118
the fight against Albigensians after 1170 . Caesarius has several stories
from the papal court Here number different channels may have
of
a
.
brought the General Chapter about papal acti

reports
at
him
to
them
:
stories told by monks visiting the curia probably

32
vities I11 order
in
,
,
(
obtain provileges for their houses and the information gained

to
11
11
,
),
(
because Innocent confessor III

Rainier was Cistercian monk
,
a
's
119
VI1 The far flung origins stories brought Caesarius are indica
to
of
6,
-
by ).
(
ted
story about how Mary obtained the grace

of
confession for
a
a
VII
La
Trappe Normandy
of
monk the Cistercian house The

in
in
, 9
(
)
.
this house told the story Henry abbot
he
of
of
abbot Cheminon and

to
,
turn told Caesarius Thus we see story originating the extreme
it
to
in
in
a
.
France being conveyed

of
west eastern France and from there the

to
to
,
,
of
purgatory
St
Rhineland Other stories arise Ireland the Patrick

—
in
, (
.
XII England Thomas Becket VII and reach Caesarius through

or
38
—
,
5
)
)
120
no
Cistercian informants Sometimes Caesarius gives information but

,
.
117
Albert Poncelet Miraculorum Virginis Mariae quae saec VI XV latine

,
b
«
-
.
conscripta sunt index Analecta Bollandiana XXI 1902 241 360

,
),
»
-
.
(
21 118
As Caesarius frankly admits the Albigensians

of
the opening his chapter

on
at
Strange 300 Missi sunt abbates ordinis nostri cum quibusdam episcopis
,
I,
,
V
–
(
):
quia zizania rastro catholica praedicationis eradicarent Sed obsistente homine

.
inimico qui illa seminaverat modicum ibi profecerunt

,
.
119
Here Mary Rainier assures that the Cistercians are partly

to
of
vision
a
exempted special crusading tax that Innocent III had planned levy
to
from
a
on
For more
of
on
them Rainier the activities the Cistercians Southern France

in
,
,
.
and the church general Christine Thouzellier Catharisme Valdéisme

et
situation
in
,
's
Languedoc
en
Paris 1966
,
).
(
120
priest called before the archbishop

an
The Becket story about unlettered

,
Mary Caesarius says

of
but keep his office because his devotion

to
allowed
to
is
,
not the saint biography have been unable discover there but the story
to
in
it
,
's
.
I
be
upon terms similar miracles the Virgin As for the

of
of
should looked
in
purgatory compared Caesarius story

of
of
Patrick with that

St
have Thomas
,
's
I
.
the Cistercian background is clear , as a story about how King Richard on

the sea and in a bad storm asked how long it was until matins , when
the Cistercians would get up and pray for him ( X ,46 ) . He was confident
that their prayers for him would deliver his ship from the elements .
In such a story we are moving towards the traditional exemplum ,
where the moral message takes over completely and the source infor
mation is erased . There are many such stories in Caesarius , such as
that of the devil who put all the false notes in monks ' chant into a
sack ( IV ,9 ) , or the tale of Date and Dabitur , who are necessary guests
at every Cistercian monastery ( IV ,69) . Caesarius does not seem to mind
such generalized tales . He is specific when he can be , but a clearly defined
source not
is a for him . In one set of stories , however , he is
necessity
able to point informant who makes his repertoire much richer .
to an
This is Adam of Loccum , who visited Heisterbach and apparently stayed
long enough to leave behind with Caesarius a number of good stories
about Mary , a few anecdotes about himself , and one grand vision about
the death of a monk . Here we notice the German connections Heister
bach had . Loccum , like so many other German houses east of the Rhine
land , was in the line of Morimund . But this seems to have made no diffe
rence to Caesarius when it was a question of collecting stories . Adam
told him about a sacristan at his house who one night saw Mary sitting
above the altar (VII , 17 ) . Another monk saw her going about the choir
during the hours and looking into the faces of monks, except for two
of (VII , 18 ). One of these became an apostate (left the Order ), while
them
the other ' s future was still uncertain . Another Loccum monk saw Mary
on the altar amid an assembly of saints ( VII, 19 ) . There is nothing unusual
well with others about the special rela

fit
about these stories . They

in
tionship between Mary and Cistercian monks her concern that they
,
maintain discipline and attention their liturgy But this precisely why
is
in
.
its
Caesarius includes them Loccum and tradition reflect and confirm

.
Heisterbach Marian devotion

.
's
Adam also told Caesarius about knight named Allard who was
a
famed warrior and who joined Loccum X1 He became that

ill
so
to 19
ill
,
,
.
(
his stench made impossible for anyone be near him The abbot
it
sought Adam advice He replied that by changing the bandages frequen

.
's
tly
swelling might This was done but Allard was still

be
the reduced
,
,
.
He
clearly dying was placed the mat The gong was sounded
on
to
.
.
for
summon the convent The litany was said him Allard then told the
.
brothers how Christ and Mary with angels and saints were coming
in
of
Saltry Migne Patrologia Latina 180 975 1004 and clear that Caesarius did
is
,
it
),
(
-
as
not use this account the descriptions

of
source even both authors the

in
if
,
a
location and general organization this purgatory agree Notice however that
,
,
.
Saltry Cistercian monastery the Clairvaux line Here may be the oral
is
in
a
. .
link between Thomas account and Caesarius version

's
's
order to take his soul. This declaration of faith and hope underlines
the Cistercian belief that the death of a devout monk summons not just
the armies of the devil but also the hosts of heaven . Adam , like Herman
and so many other of Caesarius 's Cistercian informants , is a myth -maker ,
a link between the literary world of Caesarius and the oral world of
vision and prophecy .
But Adam — like Caesarius himself — reveals in his tales an element
of individual personality . He told Caesarius how when he went to school
at a conventual church in Saxony , Bocke , on the river Lippe , there were
many tiles collected in the cemetery for the church 's fabric (VII1 ,74 ).
Adam began to one. When his master discovered him , he threa
write on
tened him by saying , « You are excommunicated » . Adam believed he
really had been thrown out of the church . A subsequent illness which
nearly brought his death is associated with the fright he got. A candle
was put into his hand , and he saw the two bishops of the church , Nicho
las and Paternianus , standing before him . The one said to the other ,
« Do you wish that we take that boy with us ? » Paternianus answered ,
121
« No he is to die in another order » .

, Adam revived and told his master
of he
what had seen telling the story Caesarius Adam made into
it
In
to
,
.
us
his life The incident gives
of
one the decisive moments some

.
limited insight into the guilt that children could feel monastic milieu in
a
when their superiors threatened them with supernatural revenge We
.
for
Eskil
of
of
have similar accounts traumatic childhood visions Lund
122
of
Canterbury They are obviously told
at
de
of
and Anselm distance

a
.
cades but guilt

terror the vision are vividly remembered
and and
in
,
turning point
as
interpreted young life

in
a
of
Loccum we can close our review Cistercian infor

of
With Adam
many least deserve being named
at
mants There are more however who

,
,
.
:
Philip abbot Otterberg
of
53
IV
the Clairvaux line and Bernard

55
in
),
(
Lippe once abbot

de
Mariencamp and later bishop

37
IX
of
Latvia
in
,
,
),
(
of
VIII the abbot Camp Adolph

50
38
in IV
of
Abbot Arnold Citeaux

,
),
,
),
(
(
St
lay brother Agatha Lieges

.V of
of
the diocese which 1216 became

in
.
a
(
of 29
Val Dieu and Siger Neuburg near Strasbourg who

of
monk
),
,
-
ofa
told Caesarius the death his friends from Bonn and fellow Cister
XII Once again we see how Heisterbach
52
cians Dietrich and Gunter

,
.
(
)
121
Strange Stabant autem habitu pontificali claritate magna

ut et
143
in
in
II,
.
:
Dixitque beatus Nycholaus

ad
sanctum Paternianum Vis tollamus puerum

:
istum nobiscum Respondit ille Non quia alio ordine morietur Sicque dispa
in
,
?
.
:
ruerunt Eadem hora puer convalescens surrexit

.
...
122
EM
En
For Eskil see the and also Lauritz Weibull samtida berättelse
,
,
«
Also my article
om
Ärkebiskop Eskil
, of av
90
Lund Scandia 1931 270 Clairvaux

,
),
,
9
»
«
.
(
and the Cistercians the North the twelfth century Lögumkloster Studier
in
1
»
with English summary See my forthcoming The

11
29
1978 Danish 158

in
p
),
,
.
).
(
(
-
Danish Cistercians Roles Attitudes and Functions Medieval Society Cistercian

in
, ,
(
:
Kalamazoo Michigan
ed
Publications For Anselm Southern The Life

), W
, ,
,
R
).
-5 .
.
:
by Eadmer Oxford Medieval Texts 1972

of
St
Anselm
4
.
.
(
by no means recruited all the local sons who wanted to be Cistercians .

They spread out over Germany and often brought back their stories to
Caesarius . Finally there is Daniel of Schönau , who was prior of Heister
bach before his election and thus provided a link with a Clairvaux line
monastery which in Caesarius 's own time had started the cult of a new
saint , Hildegund ( IV ,48 ; VI,4 ; VII ,31 ; IX , 17 ) .
Most of these stories reached Caesarius when he was home at Heister
bach , but a minority came to him when he was out travelling . At Klaar
kamp in Friesland , for example , he was probably told about a man who
had died without the sacraments , despite the warning of his son , who was
a monk there ( X1 ,21). Another Frisian was killed but did manage to
receive the last sacraments ( X1, 22 ) . Sometimes the story was so unflat
tering for the monastery involved that Caesarius deliberately withheld
its
perhaps the greatest surprise
of
name Here we find what the
is
.
DM Unlike most other Cistercian exemplum collections brings unfa
it
,
.
vourable reports Caesarius mentions the abbot monastery well
of
«
a
.
known me who was known for certain fault Through

to
30
I11
,
,
a
).
(
he
the monks monastery

of
confession realized that one his was aware
in
he began
of
of
and fear he would be accused
to
123 so
in
it
it
,
of
visitation We can see here the functioning the internal regulatory
,
»
system the Order Visitation Caesarius day still implies careful

of
in
a
.
's
complaints even
when they involve the abbot
of
examination this
In
,
.
case the abbot tried send the monk away but he refused leave
to
to
,
where he could make his report

he
unless was sent the mother abbey

to
, ).
(
he
Otherwise said shall await the visitor here He well knew

,
,
«
»
«
»
I
by
he
adds Caesarius that his abbot would not send him there lest
,
of
the story
he
chance reveal what feared The outcome left unclear

is
,
»
.
but Caesarius insists These things were told me by

on
an
his source
to
«
:
124
happened
of
the house which they Justice has be done

to
elder
in
;
»
.
truth will emerge the Cistercian network contacts which assures

of
;;
both common discipline and common stories triumphs

,
Other Monks Priests and Canons Pastoral life

,
:
I.
he
could find and whatever conformed

to
Caesarius used whatever his

purposes He did not have many contacts with members
as
of
the secular
.
with monks from other orders and with canons he did with
as
clergy
,
Cistercians But there are still many such sources the DM Sometimes
in
.
.
123
Strange
de
claustro mihi bene noto quodam

de
147 Abbas quidam vitio

I,
,
:
notatus fuit Per cuiusdam monachi confessionem cum intellexisset hoc alium
,
.
quendam diabolo instigante coepit eum occulte persequi timens

ab
eo
scire
in
,
visitatione accusari
.
124
Ibid Visitatorem hic exspectabo Bene sciebat quia illuc eum non mitteret
,
,
.
.:
quo timebat Haec mihi relata sunt

de
ne forte detegeret quodam seniore domus

a
.
illius qua contigerunt

in
.
's
231
Oral Sources in Caesarius of Heisterbach Dialogus Miraculorum
his informants Benedictine monk who was
as
visited Heisterbach
a
VIII
as
painter and worked for Heisterbach He was
24
famed
,
a
a
).
(
good painter devout our Order that he painted for free except
to
so
,
,
at
of
for his expenses crucifixes great beauty different houses different
in
,
he
or no
altars For made almost all our crucifixes asking for expenses
,
.
125
Many other informants are canons
us
Cologne
of
from Bonn
»
.
.
the latter Bernard told Caesarius when the latter visited Cologne
of
One ,
23
Cologne cathedral
of
about Eucharistic miracle Erwin canon
of IX
,
,
a
.
(
)
told Caesarius about canon Bonn who appeared his sleep
to
him
in
a
XI
45
of
of
Canons Bonn told Caesarius about one their number who
,
.
(
up
was sorely tempted by the devil and would even have put with
to
this creature attempt cover over the letters the prayer book when
to
in
's
he was reading the lesson matins 53
If
this was not distraction
at
,
(V
or ).
enough the devil would turn the page blow out the candles The
,
.
scholasticus the Bonn church Gerungus told Caesarius
or
at
teacher
by
about cleric whom prostitute pursued and who countered her
a
inviting her his bed and then lighting
on
fire He was not
34
to
it
,
X
.
(
)
harmed by the flames Gerungus says Caesarius had recently returned
,
,
.
Paris and brought the story with him

at
from studies This common
is
a
.
type story already
of
the DM Caesarius takes what has become

in
a
.
well known story which its origin But

he
he
cannot trace still
to
is
-
.
he
he
careful inform his readers how obtained the version gives
to
.
Many
of
the stories concern the pastoral life

of
the church and reveal

genuine interest part the laity and
on
of
Caesarius the condition
in
a
's
the priests who are supposed looking after its spiritual needs Caes
be
to
arius hears from parish priest about how his predecessor every Lent .
a
did not bother with hearing the individual confessions his parishion
of
general
So
II1 he had them make confession When the

45
ers
,
a
.
.
(
priest took over and insisted that

go
new man confession

to
a
before giving him communion he was shocked when the man said
,
confess have sinned adultery theft plunder homicide perjury

to
in
,
«
I
and many other crimes

»
.
these things
all
Then the priest Have you done

«
»
?
:
He answered Truly have committed none

of
lord them
,
,
«
.
:
According ancient was confessing such

to
custom
.»
I
him
he
to
And the priest could not induce confess the sins himself had
126
committed
.
125
Strange Erat pictor bonus ordini nostro tam devotus

et
ut
100 autem
II,
,
:
ad
gratis expensis tantum receptis diversis domibus diversa altaria miri decoris
in
,
crucifixos depingeret Nam nostros crucifixos ipse pene omnes fecit nullas nobis
,
a
.
requirens expensas
164.
126
Strange Confiteor me peccasse adulteriis furtis rapinis homicidiis

in
I,
,
:
periuriis aliisque multis criminibus Tunc sacerdos Fecistis haec omnia Respon
,
?
:
.
dit ille Vere domine nihil horum commisi Ex antiqua consuetudine sic confi
,
,
:
tebatur Et non poterat eum inducere ut peccata

se
commissa confiteretur
,
a
.
.
In such anecdotes we get almost as close to the daily life of the
127
church as we do in the unique Register of Archbishop Eudes of Rouen .
visitations provides more historical fact because
of
of
This account its
more than report misbe
do
precise information But Caesarius stories
's
haviour and express the attempt correct Caesarius often provides
to
it
.
the explanation Myth and history are diffi
of
the individual person
.
least compel
at
cult separate
each other such tales but they
from
in
to
,
us
deal with the way average people felt about their condition The
to
.
essential detail here the parting remark that the new priest could
is
of
not impose the orthodox system
so on
confession the old man The
.
parishioner had done things way long
he
certain for that could
in
a
or
not imagine that new system was better more correct
a
us
be
At
Caesarius may also introducing
to
of
times stories the

anecdotes told by parish priests themselves sermons and meant
to
in
the pea
of
the laity Thus Caesarius tells
of
strike fear into the hearts
.
sant Henry who when dying saw flaming rock hanging over his head
,
XI
47
He had removed the boundary markers for his land and now the
,
,
.
(
rocks returned him with vengeance One can imagine just such
to
a
.
story being told peasants Likewise there the story
of
an
audience
to
is
.
of
noble woman who became sexually aroused that she tried
to
so
a
gatekeeper
IV
seduce her own 102 The venerable man resisted her

,
,
).
(
and finally she calmed down Here the themes womens fickleness of
'
.
the great are combined single story which

of
and the humiliation
,
in
a
borders religious pornography the details Caesarius gives But

on
it
in
.
as with the peasant and his rocks no source given
is
,
There are two non Cistercian sources for Caesarius that deserve
-
of
more detailed mention They are John scholasticus Xanten and John
,
,
.
128
They have been thought
be
the same person

of
the dean Aachen

to
,
.
but think they are two different individuals the first involved with
,
I
preaching
17
of
the the crusade the Low Countries the

in
1216
in
St Trond from 1222 on

of
at
second abbot the Benedictine house

an
.
129
are well travelled churchmen who could provide

of
wards Both them

-
.
Caesarius with wealth stories about layand religious experience

of
a
preaching
of an
of
While the crusade John Xanten told his audience exem

,
plum about pilgrims sailing the East who were danger being
in
to
sunk but were saved when sinful man

aboard made his confession
a
21
II1 This contemporary Jonas story delights Caesarius for turns

it
,
(
).
127
Trans Sydney
ed
Brown and Jeremiah Sullivan Columbia Records

M
O
F
.
.
'
Civilization LXXII
of
New York and London 1964

,
:
).
129 128
Hilka III
91
p
,
,
n
. of .3
.
For more 1214 preached

on
John Xanten who also crusade the

-3 in
in
,
a
192
pp
-3.
Cologne district Chron Reg Colon For John abbot

as
of
see 192 Aachen

,
.
.
Hilka III where Capp

St
Caesarius says
18
mittens litteras
of
Trond Statim
,
,
,
,
«
.
where
ano
magistro Iohanni decano Aquen

Aquensis tunc abbatem Sancti Trudonis electo
in
,
»
.
tale of woe into one of salvation : « for as through the sin of one man
a
( Jonas) the Lord once temporarily afflicted a multitude, so because of
130
the merits of one just man he often spares many » .
John Xanten also told Caesarius about Everwach sinner who
of
,
a
of
experienced the pains hell revived and described John X11
23
it
to
,
,
).
(
He also was involved the Albigensian crusade and there heard about
in
priest whose tongue the heretics cut out VII
23
John went Cluny
to
to
,
a
).
(
up
look this man and hear how Mary had given his tongue back him
to
As
us
there John told the remaining flesh whiter still having
is
,
,
in «
a
.
131
scar the place where was cut Caesarius reveals himself by
. it
»
.
including such lurid detail Ever curious himself he applauds the curio
,
a
-
led
DM
sity make inquiries The readers
of
of
John that him the are
to
.
provided with all the evidence for the miracle that Caesarius has been
He adds his testimony from John that the whole
to
able obtain
to
.
Cluniac congregation universus Cluniacensium conventus this
is
to
«
(
)
day this miracle
to
witness
»
went
of
The other John the dean scool
at
Aachen Hillesheim
to
,
,
and dying
ill
and there experienced number miracles When he was
of
,
a
of .
strangers Tours Godehard the bishop

of he
saw vision three Martin

in
,
a
Berward VIII
St
on
They weighed him
77
Hillesheim and the

,
,
(
.
).
weighing and found him too light But then

of
scales again the image
.
(
they added beggar boy whom John had given alms and this saved
to
,
a
132
John who broke into sweat and soon recovered Again we have
,
«
a
.
boyhood sickness vision involving saints and the threats and guilt
,
a
which the boy just barely escapes be let back into the world
to
from
.
fascinating medieval childhood trauma which indicates how fear
is
It
and religious learning were linked each other school training

to
in
Hilles .
of
of
John told Caesarius about the life Herman dean

,
a
heim and how his cult began V1 From him he also heard about
,
,
6
a
.
(
the mass saw the chalice over

of
of
citizen the town who the canon

in
flowing with Christ blood He had been doubt about the

IX
19
in
,
).
's
an
of
of
transsubstantiation John reminds one Herman Marienstatt

,
.
informant who sees miracles everywhere He has contact with priest

IX a
.
Wunsdorf near Hannover who saw blood

of
18
the chalice
in
A
.
(
woman tells him about how fruit tree burned down but the area
,
a
130
Strange unius hominis peccatum aliquando Dominus

ob
137 Nam sicut

I,
multitudinem temporaliter affligit ita propter unius iusti merita frequenter multis
,
parcit
131 .
Strange sicut nobis retulit idem Johannes reliqua carne candidior

32
II,
,
-3
:
est adhuc cycatricem loco praecisionis servans

in
,
.
132
Strange 145 Cumque elevata statera inventus esset aeger minus habens
,
II,
praedicti confessores puerum parvulum mendicum sinui eius imposuerunt qui

et
simul lancem adversam mox suspendentes lignis graviores apparuerunt Statimque

, ,
Johannes qui mihi visionem hanc retulit sudorem erumpens chrisim

et
fecit
in
,
de eadem infirmitate citius convaluit

.
where a cross was tied to it remained untouched ( X ,33 ) . He also has

Cistercian tales for Caesarius . An abbot ordered a sick monk to eat
meat ( X ,8 ). When the monk refused , the abbot offered to eat together
with him . Another monk ate rancid meat when he did not want to obey
his abbot 's order , 9 ). Obedience outranks all the other forms of dis
(X
cipline in the cloister . Here a non -monastic source confirms a monastic
operation
its
ethic and shows
on
Caesarius liked reflect and comment Cistercian ideals and
to
their actuality stories which he could obtain from non Cistercian sour
in
-
ces He closes the DM with number visions concerning the glory
of
.
a
of
of
the Cistercian Order heaven One them he obtained from
in
a
.
his monastery appea
of
Benedictine abbot whom dead lay brother
to
,
red XII He told the abbot concerning the a

grey monks that
53
,
.
»
(
the king
as
Their reward the greatest and they shine the sun
is
in
,
«
133
of
Benedictine source confirms the type story
of
dom heaven Thus
»
a
.
By
that was popular the Cistercian General Chapter giving non
at
so
a
.
Cistercian for such Caesarius make all the
an
source assertion
it
, can
more powerful
move out
to
of
Caesarius can use such sources also order in
a
he
narrowly Cistercian milieu his stories about confession frequen
In
,
.
tly
of
indicates his concern for the problems
he
lay people Here turns
St
Bonn who had first been parish priest Martin
of
Herman dean
at
to
.
the Lesser Cologne Caesarius asked him was permissible
in
of if
in
it
.
certain cases that penitent betray the name the person with whom
a
be
he had sinned Herman said that this can sometimes done for the
.
of
the other party salvation He gave anecdote from his own

an
sake
.
's
experience parishioner had sinned with the wife friend The man
of
A
a
.
confession warned Herman about her and this advice came handy
in
in
the woman later point tried involve Herman her sins

at
of to
when
in
a
.
Herman stories are forerunners that will the pastoral tales
's
circulate among the friars They are centred towns and concern the
on
.
spiritual welfare the middle class laity He knew priest Cologne

of
in
a
-
or
who told two merchants confession that they did not swear
in
if
At
cheat their business they would become very rich first

37
111
in
,
.
(
everything went wrong but eventually the priest promise

for
them
's
was kept Their honesty brought them untold riches Herman himself
.
). of
experienced woman confession who told him only her good

in
a
works She had nothing sinful

46
confess she insisted 111 Herman

to
,
(
.
asked her she ever had cheated her customers She had indeed He
if
. .
said that she thereby had committed mortal sins Herman was
an
able
133
Strange interrogassent griseis monachis respon

de
357 Quem cum etiam

II,
,
:
ut
dit Praemium illorum maximum est lucent sicut sol regno coelorum Haec
in
,
.
:
mihi relata sunt quodam abbate nigri ordinis

a
.
Oral Sources in Caesarius of Heisterbach ' s Dialogus Miraculorum 235
searcher of souls : his « sweet words » managed to bring both a usurer

and murderer to penitence (I11 ,52) .
The sins described in the stories supplied by Herman are urban
phenomena , the result of bourgeois commercial life : fixing weights to
the seller 's advantage , making false promises , taking money in usury .
Here in the city of Cologne, next to Paris the most populous in Europe
in 1200 , the problems of « getting and spending » in a Christian society
poverty were beginning
of
its
with manifest themselves And
to
ideals
.
What we would call the clash between capita
of
Caesarius aware it
is
.
list and Christian ideals for him problem that can be solved the
in
is
a
confessional for individual sinners Paris Peter the Chanter few
In
a
.
decades earlier was dealing with the same conflicts and developing
a
134
moral theology that tried Not surprisingly Caesarius
to
solve them
,
.
was sensitive Peter work and told about his response usurer
to
to
a
's
sought repent The bishop Sully
de
of
who Paris Maurice
11
33
to
,
.
(
the building
he
told the man that should give his gotten money ill
to
-
fund for his new cathedral But Peter the Chanter was stricter and
,
.
Caesarius applauded him through
go
First the usurer would have
to
.
the streets dressed only his underclothes and have servant cry out
in
a
offering compensation all the man clients Only then there was
. if
to
,
.
's
anything left could the usurer Theobald give away his money The source
,
at
of
for the story Daniel abbot Schönau who had studied Paris
is
and perhaps even attended lectures given by the Chanter
or
one
IX
60
,
(
his circle Caesarius shows here how broad the range

of
of
his interests
.
be
can From intimate visions the cloister moral dilemmas caused

in
to
.
by the growth bourgeoisie Caes

of
of
towns and the formation new

,
a
all over the Europe

of
arius stories take

us
his day
.
's
Cistercian Nuns and Female Recluses new involvement

A
J.
by
of
Just the moral needs created

as
Caesarius was aware the

growth was responsive the spiritual requirements
he
of
towns too
so
to
,
women who sought out the Cistercians was only

at
the turn
of
of
the
at It
.
century after the entrance

of
Caesarius Heisterbach itself that the

,
Order began openly accept women convents and by the time Caesarius
to
,
's
finished writing the DM 1223 the Cistercians were already having

in
,
135
second thoughts
of
But for the first three decades the thirteenth

.
century
be
the women could not stopped For Caesarius they were more
,
.
134
us
of
Baldwin takes the very heart

to
of
Here the work John the debate

W
.
about property profit and sin Masters Princes and Merchants The Social Views
,
,
,
. :
:
See also Lester

of
Peter the Chanter and his Circle Princeton 1970 and

II
,
),
k
, .
I
(
Little Religions Poverty and the Profit Economy Medieval Europe London
in
's
1978
)
135 .
opening
of
The most concise description the Order women Louis

to
in
is
's
Lekai The Cistercians my note the bibliography 436

76
52
347 and
,
),
-7
-
.
(
than welcome . pointed out , he accompanied Abbot Henry on

As already
many visitations of houses in Friesland and perhaps assisted in the
setting up of a new Cistercian house outside of Aachen .
The sisters and the recluses attached loosely to their houses were
invaluable to the Cistercians because their spiritual experiences reflec
ted , confirmed and clarified the ideals that the monks were trying to
realize . Parhaps the most striking such instance is that of Christina , a
nun of Walberberg (VII ,21) . On the feast of the Assumption , she in her
monastery saw Mary sending a heavenly crown down to the assembled
monks of Heisterbach . The father abbot Eustace had come from Him
merod with several other abbots , and Christina saw heaven itself opening
above the congregation at the Sanctus . On the crown were written the
names of the monks the letters had different sizes and varieties of bright
;
136
ness . Caesarius notes that the prominence the names did not depend
of
how long the monks had been the monastery but
at
on
on
how devout
they were The vision
of
Christina summarizes the convictions Caes
of
.
arius concerning direct link between Mary and the Order between
,
a
heaven and Heisterbach and between the experience
of
Cistercian nuns
,
priests Mary my glory

of
am
and last remark was As today
so
in
,
,
137 «
's
I
.
all those will be with me eternity What more could Cistercian

in
a
.
or
any medieval Christian seek

—
-
Women were constantly telling

the monks what they wanted
to
supporting and guaran
on
hear Women role the cloister thus centred

in
.
's
by
teeing the conceptions and ideals held the men Thus Richmud lay
,
a
.
woman but resident Walberberg saw the host like crystal

at
of at
clear
,
At first she thought brilliant because

33
IX
the elevation was

so
it
,
.
(
the rays sun coming from but then she realized the sun
of
the window
,
had not yet risen Likewise woman Normandy saw ladder that
in
a
a
.
directly meeting place Chapter

of
went from the the General heaven

to
VII was not uncommon for such holy women have Cistercian
20
It
to
,
(
)
.
their spiritual advisors One should look upon this reci

as
abbots
as
a
.
procal process When Alice abbess Mainz died Florence the abbot
at
,
,
.
about her spiritual gifts

of
He had
40
Marienfeld preach
IX
could
,
).
(
136
Strange
, II
29
30
vero chorus monachorum

Cum inclinando devote cantaret
,
,
:
-
Sanctus sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth ipsa virgo beatissima devotioni

sanctus
,
congratulans coronam mirae pulchritudinis quales ecclesiis pendere

in
eorum
,
,
solent per cathenam auream super conventum demisit Loco autem nodi gemma
,
erat pretiosa nimis dulcis Maria

ac
lucida qua scriptum erat clemens pia

in
,
,
,
o
,
o
o
De ipsa gemma tria procedebant brachiola quae coronam dependentem retinebant

,
, .
Ex nomine vero Maria radii quidam exeuntes nomina monachorum singulorum

,
,
eadem hora choro existentium quae per circuitum coronae scripta videbantur
in
illuminabant
.
137
Sicut ego hodie sum gloria mea ita isti omnes mecum erunt
in
Ibid
in
,
:
aeternum
.
been close to her , and just as he had advised her (pater eius fuerat
spiritualis atque confessor ), she could have given him the same help in
his faith as Abbot Walter received from holy women of Brabant ( 11,20 ).
Caesarius knew and holy women . When Richmud
questioned such
told him how she saw Christ in the manger on the feast of the Epiphany
and heard the voice of God the Father above him , he asked her ho
the angels there looked ( VIII ,7) . She answered that they had human
height , faces like virgins , rosy cheeks , and the rest of their bodies were
whiter than snow . In visiting the Cistercian house of Hoven , also a
daughter of Heisterbach , Caesarius spoke to the abbess Elisabeth , who
« compelled » one of her nuns, Eufemia , to tell him about the devil ' s
attack on her ( V ,43 -4 ). Before her conversion , the devil had warned her
that she would always be in rags , hungry and cold , if she became a
nun . After she joined Hoven he would not leave her alone . Another
nun , Elisabeth , suffered similar attacks , but temporarily rid herself of
the devil by giving him a slap ! ( V ,45 ) . In describing these episodes ,
Caesarius tells how the nuns conferred with their abbess in order to
understand what had happened to them . The nun Elisabeth , for example ,
was shocked to see a man in the church when she was hurrying to
matins. She fainted and fell down the dormitory steps. The abbess was
convinced that her fear could only have been caused by a devil. Here we
have a similar process to that which we saw going on among the monks :
a vision or a supernatural event quickly becomes the property of the
entire house . It is talked about and endlessly interpreted so that it can
be understood correctly .
This exchange of supernatural information which eventually gets
to the ears of Caesarius also takes place at non -Cistercian convents .
Caesarius seems to have been well acquainted with Irmingard , magistra
or abbess on the island house of Stuben on the Mosel. Visiting there
with his prior , Caesarius was shown a girl who had been obsessed by
the devil but freed by the sisters' prayers and by a relic which a cleric
had secretly placed on her head (V ,14 ) . Another possessed girl at Stuben
told Irmingard about a woman who had scattered consecrated commu
nion hosts in her garden in order to guarantee its fertility . When Caes
arius visited the house , he was shown the girl and told the story by
Irmingard .
Womens 'stories are usually parallel in theme to tales told by men .

They give Caesarius the opportunity to find in Friesland , Aachen or in
Rhineland houses the same type of spiritual experiences which he
knows from Heisterbach , Himmerod , or Villers . Sometimes Caesarius
can smile patronizingly at the way the nuns try to cultivate forms of
religious devotion , as the two sisters at Fraulautern who disagreed with
each other whether John the Baptist or John the Apostle were greater
saints (VIII ,51). But another nun gains Caesarius ' s respect for writing
verses about John the Baptist and describing his annunciation and nati
138
vity . womensstories have any special characteristic Caesarius
in
If
, ,
'
the viyidness Walberberg
of
of
of
their details The vision Christina
it
is
.
for example conveys almost sensual image
an
of
of
the union heaven
,
and earth Every object precious gem heavenly person described
is
,
,
. .
with care Clothes are important
as
are colours The womens visions
'
.
thus can serve intensify and delineate similar experiences that less
to
descriptively inclined men had had
-
.
K Lay People Miracles and marvels
:
.
as
he
Lay people are not abundant sources for Caesarius but when
,
as
does use them they have the same function the nuns whose stories
,
he
uses They confirm the experiences and ideas already expressed
in
.
masculine monastic terms Here parishioner can tell him about the
,
a
.
44
of
forms confession practiced his parish and its abuses 111 in
A
(
)
.
knight informs Caesarius about another knight whom the devil dragged
through the dirt 42 knight freed from prison comes Heister
to
,
V
A
.
(
Mary VII minor official sculte
28
bach tell how liberated him
of to
at he ,
A
(
(
.
tus Königswinter describes story had heard from pilgrim
a
a
)
22
who came the church and heard mass the village He was
IV
to
,
«
(
)
irritated with the wives knights who were gossiping next dur
of
him
to
ing the mass When them by tell
on
was over he vented his irritation
it
,
.
ing them about well born girl who was irritable and contentious
so
a
that she always was starting trouble After her death she was seen burn
.
up
ing her tomb the upper part her body was

of
flames while the

in
in
,
:
lower part was intact indicate that despite everything she had been
to
,
(
The story exemplum with no historical setting

an
chaste itself
is
in
)
.
, it .
But Caesarius provides what detail telling gives
he
can The story

.
's
new setting prosaic Königswinter Here frozen into time place

is
,
it
a
and circumstance The noisy churchgoers from the knightly class with
.
whom Heisterbach had dealings thus provide story themselves for

in
a
Caesarius
.
Caesarius spoke evervone within reach As dealing

so
often
to
in
.
whether literary documentary

or
with Cistercian sources one

is
–
constantly reminded how Cistercian community had close contact

a
138
VIII mihi domina Irmingardis magistra

de
Strange
50
121 Retulit
,
II,
:
–
Insula sancti Nycholai anno praeterito sanctimonialis benemagistra

cuiusdam bene sibi notae
miram dilectionem erga praedictum Domini praecursorem Plus omnibus sanctis
.
i,
praecursoremonialis
illo cogitare illum obsequiis
de
dilexit Nec suffecit orationibus honorare

ei
, ad et
illum
,
cogitare
.
consororibus illius praerogativas praedicare quin etiam perpetuandam eius

,
:
de
memoriam versificaretur eius annunciatione nativitate gaudio parentum

et
,
versibus prosequi studuit quicquid

de
Litterata siquidem fuerat illius

et
ideo
,
sanctitate legerat
.
with the lay life around it .

The Cistercians welcomed prominent lay
139
men to their monasteries to participate in the liturgy . Caesarius knew
well knight Henry spent Lent Heisterbach and had great diffi
at
sho
a
culty keeping from falling asleep during religious services
IV
37
,
in
).
(
He even claimed that certain stone had soporific powers for every
,
a
would drop off
he
he
time was near the church sleep
it
in
to
,
!
knight Henry
us
the Forest brings
of
of
Another the border
to
,
,
folk myth His story concerned serpent who sucked
70
of
the realm
,
X
).
a
(
soldier wound and healed
it
a
:
's
Fully healed he beganmuch loved by the serpent that
he
be
its so
could
to
,
scarcely sleep anywhere without

coming his bed Abhorring its company
to
,
.
he
moved away and for almost year and half he did not see But
so
it
,
.
when he returned at last the serpent followed him and when could
it
,
,
not enter the place where he slept he found the morning outside
in
it
,
140
the door
.
Finally killed the creature The story

found together with other
he
is
.
miracles Wiger
on
of
animal wonders the distinction

at
the end
,
.
«
»
of
Villers and Allard novice Heisterbach are sources for simi

of
monk
,
lar tales unwanted symbiosis between snakes and people Caesarius ,

of
.
not willing make sharp distinction between religious experience
to
is
judgment He no
and lay marvels He records what he hears and makes
is
.
.
clearly much more interested stories temptation devils and visions
of
in
of
he
than snakes and toads But the border between these realms
is
in
experience does not have drawn too carefully

be
to
Anonymous Sources and Caesarius Novice

.
L
's
about story
toad found the cup belonging priest
to
in
In
in
a
Berg the Cologne

village diocese Caesarius says that he will not
,
in
,
a
that he still will amend his life

68
give the man name hope

, ,
X
«
»
:
I
.
's
)
he
for
Thus deprives his audience

of
source the man still alive and

is
,
a
Caesarius does not want spread scandal Such precaution seems

to
a
.
139
at
the knight
of
As indicated the story Conrad Eberbach the EM

in
in
,
V
Sane vicini fideles necnon

17
remotiores nonnulli bono odore virtutum

de et
326
p
,
.
sanctae congregationis illius attracti plenitudine eius consilii gravitatem ora

,
de
tionum suffragia periculorum tutamina quaerere abundantia sua pauperum

et
,
Christi inopiam largiter supplere praecipuas etiam sollemnitates quidam devotionis

,
intuitu illic agere consueverunt

.
Notice that this story parallel the Heisterbach one that Conrad has
to
in
is
terrible trouble keeping awake during the vigils

II, in
.
140
Strange 264 Sanissimus vero effectus tantum serpente coepit diligi

in
,
,
a
:
aliquo loco dormire posset quin

ut
veniret Cuius consortium

ad
vix eius lectum

in
homo abhorrens provinciam mutavit interimque per annum fere dimidium illum
;
,
non vidit Reversum denuo serpens sequitur cum non posset intrare ubi ille
et
;
.
cubabat mane ante ostium repertus est

,
.
240
rather useless for Berg probably only had one priest Nevertheless
,
.
cannot give names and places
he
Caesarius insists time and again that
141
because he would betray telling
of
source nun who killed her
In
a
a
.
baby and was seen walking about with
he
flames says that the
in
,
it
house was nearby but he will not name X11
21
it
,
,
).
(
Anonymity
protection for sinners meant spare institu
It
to
is
is
a
.
tions which house sinners But also keep privileged visionaries
it
is
to
: of .
from feeling too proud the gifts given them Modesty and shame
.
provoke the same reaction silence about the source This can especially
.
lay brother from Heister
of
be the case when
or
question monk is
it
72
be
he
bach Caesarius wants to
respected for the secrets keeps VII1
,
.
.
(
)
he
an
Moreover does not want cause trouble for informant cuius
to
,
of
supprimo persecutionis
of ne
50
nomen causa fiam number
ei
,
,
V
A
no (
).
the large minority Caesarius stories where source given are
is
's
or
thus deliberately made anonymous Whenever there scandal shame
to is
.
142
living participant be kept quiet
or
some divine favour
is
in
of ,
it
a
.
of
The great exception the case Herman Marienstatt whose name

is
,
its authority
of
Caesarius used because

.
But anonymity not always due spare the infor

to
the desire
is
to
as
mant Sometimes Caesarius simply forgets details honestly admits
he
,
.
.
And sometimes he hears story many places and from many
so
so
in
a
people that he makes attempt anywhere particular

no
to
set There
it
in
.
for example the story house who gave
of
of
Beatrice sacristan
upis,
a
let
her place and Mary take over while she was the world
in
it
VII her monastery

he
of
Caesarius says that does not know the name
34
,
).
.
(
He the story the stage when might have semi historical

at
gets been
on a
-
instance has become universal exemplum lives even today
It
in
a
Buñuel film La Voie Lactée where the story told very stylized
is
in
,
a
by 's
form well fed priest French inn

in
a
a
-
Despite such lapses Caesarius wants his audience believe that

to
,
he
be
telling the truth and that his sources can checked This asser
is
. .
tion seems be more than literary convention for him Otherwise

to
many instances provide

no
there would have been reason for him

so
in
to
up
by
he
information about sources Sometimes backs such facts saying

.
person
he
his novice that himself who witnessed the

to
can ask the

miracle and still alive This the case with priest William who
is
is
is
,
a
.
supposed have seen the transfer sacred relics from Godsberg

of
to
on
of
Stromberg
as
on
of
one side the Rhine the other sign the

to
a
141
Strange 263 Nolo eum nominare spero quod adhuc vitam suam debeat
II,
;
:
emendare
.
142
As with bodily sweetness holy communion

39
nun who received

IX
in
,
,
a
cuius personam supprimo quod adhuc vivat prodi non permittat Strange
eo
et
se
(
..
.
195
II,
)
.
Oral Sources in Caesarius of Heisterbach 's Dialogus Miraculoruni 241
coming of the Cistercians (VII1 ,46 ) . He assures us that even if he cannot

reveal the identity of a priest whose body was lifted up during the
canon of the mass , he interviewed him himself after he had heard about
the incident (IX , 30 ) . When the novice is sceptical that
all
the bones
St
found Cologne
at belong legion virgins Caes
of
could Ursula
to
,
.
's
prove this
of
arius tries to be the case because the miracles associa
to
VIII has
88
he
10 he
ted with the relics Elsewhere tells the novice how
,
(
).
up
blind Engelbert Cologne V1
of
of
the life
on
checked the
In
,
.
(
)
repeating Eucharistic miracle he encourages the novice speak the
to
to
,
a
priest involved
65
IX
,
).
(
conception extraordinary
no
of
Caesarius has truth matter how
,
a
his stories may can always bail himself out by his preli
us
He
he to
seem
.
he
minary caution that merely reports what has heard from others
.
Caesarius can be confident claiming he being accurate report
so
in
is
in
ing what he has heard because he had been told many the stories
of
times Thus he says that Eynolph the Templar often told
of
number
a
as
he
he
him about terrifying vision had had boy after had stolen
a
a
tiny sum money XI1 Again we have childhood trauma that
57
of
,
a
a
(
).
by
was felt the one who experienced provide point departure
of
to
in
a
for his entire life One can picture Caesarius sitting impatiently the
as
.
Knight Templar repeats the tale for the tenth time and then when
he old
,
he
of
wrote the DM being happy that had just the story for one
his distinctions
.
basically oral Our natural concentration
on
Medieval culture the
is
written sources especially dealing with monastic Latin sources can

in
,
,
primarily
us
as
delude into seeing contact among monks something

he
us
written and literary The virtue
of
Caesarius work that takes

is
.
's
into world where monks tell each other stories and influence each
a
others lives imaginations and religious experiences through the con

,
,
'of
tents such stories

.
.
Why did Caesarius try hard provide concrete information

so
to
for the background his stories many cases The obvious answer
so
of
in
that he felt they would thus become more vivid and convincing and
is
this leads us the observation that all the assurances about sources are
to
of
meant for clearly defined public the novices Heisterbach and those
a
:
of
other Cistercian houses Caesarius was also interested his stories

in
'
.
reaching women and times left out sexual details because this group
; at
III
might read them

of
X1 But his primary public Cister

58
that
is
,
, 6
. (
)
.
cian male novices

has long been assumed that the novice who appears
the DM and
in
It
of
converses with the monk not real person m erely composite all
is
,
a
the novices that Caesarius could have taught have noticed however
,
,
a
I
.
manuscript tradition going back the thirteenth century which the

to
in
two figures the dialogue are not called monachus and novicius but
in
143
Caesarius and Apollonius. unusual name seems have been This
to
fairly common Cologne the twelfth century
at
of
the rich the end
in
in
144
Cleingedank family and we may here be witnessing the appearance
so
,
at of
the real novice Whatever the possibility Cologne link the novice
of
,
.
a
real person for Caesarius and not just literary
be
least seems
to
a
of
foil number times the monk makes remark which the novice
A
a
.
up
adds something personal Thus the monk
he
takes and which
to
.
can mention another monk and point out that the novice knows him
Or the novice can describe what he heard his
23
well and 24
,
in
;
(1
1
5
)
.
VIII
73
childhood concerning Nicholas He can tell Caesarius that
St
, ,
.
.
(
)
sometimes horror overwhelms him and ask this due the
to
is
if
a
«
»
devil presence He assures Caesarius that now the taste vege
54
of
,
(V
).
's
of
tables the most delicate meats before
to
sweeter than that

is
him
, he
This year Walter
of
entred the Cistercians Villers told
10
,
(X
«
).
us with
as
you witness the monk says the novice about monk
to
,
»
145
week obtained the gift
of
who thrice tears for another monk
in
a
.
The novice volunteers information about youth who had been
a
by wolves and was found
up
brought
as
crawl about
on
hands and feet
to
do
66
wolves
,
X
(
.)
he
Why would Caesarius make the novice was
so
life like
to
if
-
merely using him mechanical part conventional dialogue
of
It
as
is
a
?
true that times especially the later distinctions the novice disappears
at
in
,
,
from sight for long stretches His major role played the first five
is
in
.
DM
books And here we might recall that

of
the the novice was real

.
if
a
by
Heisterbach person then the time Caesarius finished the fifth distinc
,
of
tion he would have completed his year probation and have become
,
monk
a
or
can
Whether not the novice be identified and singularized
is
important testing ground it
as
to
see how Caesarius uses the novices

a
for
his stories and their morals The novice not always content with
is
.
146
their messages and can demand explanation

an
such situations
In
,
.
143
Haenel Handschriftenabteilung
of
the Nieder
Dr
the kind help

of
Thanks
to
, ,
.
sächsische Statts und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen have been able consult

to
,
-
the folder Hilka 135 which contains Alfons Hilka notes for his projected new
's
edition of the DM which Fritz Wagner now has taken over The Caesarius Apollonius
-
.
century MS Louvain Univ Bibl

63
as
as
tradition goes back early thirteenth

G
a
.
.
.
(
which contains the second part the monastery

64
of
and the DM and comes from

)
145 144St
of
James Liège
in
.
Paul Strait my note pp

43
115
),
-7
(
Strange
19
88
Retulit nobis hoc anno dominus Walterus abbas

II,
I,
:
–
Vilariensis teste
te
,
88 ...
146
VIII cannot imagine how

of he
no
As
where the novice says foreign

in
,
,
the martyrs Cologne that are constantly being

of
material gets into the bones

»
up
dug stratis hortis civitatis Coloniae beatarum virginum

et
Cum undecim
in
:
reperiantur videtur mihi fieri

vix
millium passim ossa posse quin saepe aliena

,
,
156
eis ossa admisceantur Strange

II,
.
(
).
243
as
we are probably very close the conversation the probatorium
of
to
had been for Caesarius factual
as
novicemaster The DM full
to of
so
is
it
.
places
be
information names dates because the novices need con
,
vinced and encouraged that the way life they have chosen worth all
of
is
of
the problems creates By telling about the experiences other novices
it
,
.
etc
monks lay brothers priests Caesarius can show them that they
,
. .,
are not alone with their problems They are part great community
of
a
beyond Europe
of
that reaches far Heisterbach
to
the very ends The
.
of
Cistercian Order full novices that have sexual temptations cannot
,
is
stand their food and are tempted return more comfortable
to
to
,
a
as
as
existence By making his stories life like and realistic possible
,
-
.
capture young
of
Caesarius can the minds and hearts these and not so
-
young men
.
of
The idea that the novice person who be convinced the
is
to
is
a
rightness ways perhaps hardly significant

of
Cistercian sounds But behind
.
fundamental shift emphasis twelfth century Europe which
of
it
is
in
a
the Cistercian Order helped bring about new respect for the con
to
a
the individual attempt integrate individual with group :
an
to
of
science
,
experience concern for the emotions created both by mysticism and

,
a
by
of
individual hardship
sin
desire
and unite the evidence with
to
,
the rich rewards awaiting the common effort The novice expected
is
.
sophisticated critical
be
question what he told We can speak

is
to
to
,
's .
of
almost the cloister Caesarius work but

of
scholasticism
in
,
a
a
personal experience instead theological
of
on
scholasticism based on
147
of
texts are there

The texts course but they are combined with
,
,
.
of
nightmares openings the supernatural world

of
childhood unexpected
,
of
onto the natural challenges the veracity the sacraments and

to
,
,
periods depression that can lead all
of
suicide the cloister

is
It
to
in
experience
of
alive the rich web and Caesarius revels

it
in
,
Statistics Sources and places

M
:
.
chart should provide

of
The enclosed summary the information

a
about sources the DM provided the preceding pages We notice

in
in
, .
no
of
immediately that for almost third the stories the DM source

in
a
anonymous
of
all
Roughly
at
indicated about third these stories

is
a
.
147
Jean Leclercq
of
am
deeply the work Southern

to
Here
W
indebted
,
,
R
.
.
I
enfant dans monastique

la
and Pierre Riché especially for the latter société

«
L
's
'
(
du
XIIe Pierre Abélard Pierre Vénerable Colloques internationaux

zu
siècle
la
,
.
»
.
de
Centre national recherche Paris 1975 689 701

la
,
:
-
).
of
the early Cistercians and the person and times

on
I of
Bcause concentration
only now beginning appreciate the lasting effect
St
Bernard think we are

to
,
.
up
medieval Europe Caesarius opens

on
of
Cistercian attitudes had Heisterbach

.
view that previously has been bypassed the stampede the uni
to
world
to
in
a
versities
.
have sources known to Caesarius but which he deliberately does not

divulge . Another third of this group would cover the stories whose
details Caesarius simply has forgotten , while the last third in this divi
sion would be the stories which were already so devoid of concrete details
when they came to Caesarius that he felt there was no reason to mention
the immediate source .
More than a quarter of the chapters are due to Heisterbach monks,
including Caesarius himself . This shows how discrete Caesarius is about
his own cloister : many potential stories about Heisterbach were probably
kept out of the DM because they would have involved monks who were
still alive . Also Caesarius , as we have seen , was glad to have reports
from monks about experiences from before the time when they entered
Heisterbach .
Almost a quarter of the chapters have sources from Himmerod or
other Cistercian houses . Here the importance of Cistercian as opposed
to non - Cistercian sources should be quite clear . Eight percent secular
canons and priest , four percent lay people , and 4 .5 percent other monks
and nuns — all these groups taken together still fall far short of the
numbers from Cistercian houses , without even including Heisterbach
itself .
The figure for written sources is misleading , for it only includes
the chapters where Caesarius himself acknowledges a written source
as the basis for his story . Frequently there are stories which are essen
tially borrowings from a Himmerod or Clairvaux source but are not
acknowledged . The true figure for written sources is probably about
five percent , still a small number in comparison to that of oral sources .
There is no doubt that future work on Caesarius will unearth more
written sources on which he based stories , but I do not think the 5 %
figure will be significantly exceeded .
It will be noticed that the figures given are on the basis of the
total chapters dedicated to stories . Of the DM ' s 746 chapters , 52 are
given over to sententiae, theological points which are to be clarified
because of some special problem in a story or in order to introduce
a distinction . These theoretical chapters have valuable information about

Caesarius ' s theological learning and his views on contemporary problems
in the church . They deserve ,to be analysed , together with the overall
structure of the DM , in another paper .
Turning to geography , the first observation is that there are far
fewer stories which cannot be placed in some general locality than

stories where no source in given . This is because Caesarius can be vague
when he wants to be anonymous . He can speak of an incident as happen
ing « in Saxony » and leave it at that . The leading geographical division
is the archdiocese of Cologne , almost a quarter of
all
the stories and

,
here close home Caesarius names

often most specific about the names
is
to
,
,
of villages or towns . A great number of these stories naturally come

from Cologne itself but these are also a number from Bonn and Königs
,
winter . Himmerod outranks Heisterbach as a location for stories . This
is partly due to the fact that so many Heisterbach elders were from
there and had stories of their younger days , partly because Caesarius
uses written sources from Himmerod . As for neighbouring dioceses ,
the distribution is fairly even : Trier , Utrecht , and Liège are all well
represented . The trips made by Abbot Henry and by Caesarius himself ,
the activities of Villers and Himmerod monks , and the stories of relics
and wonders brought to Heisterbach by secular canons and lay people
all contributed to this group , The figures for France and « outer Ger
many » are equal . On the one hand there are Paris as a learning centre
and Clairvaux -Citeaux as Cistercian centres ; on the other hand there are
the German monasteries under Clairvaux and especially those under Mo
rimund whose monks made contact with Caesarius .
The last category « elsewhere » , is the most intriguing , for it includes
all
stories from over Europe and the Near East The stories that take
.
place Italy often happen
or
at
Cistercian houses they come from the

in
papal court Crusaders bring back stories ,

Portugal
of
battles volca
in
.
noes Sicily and miraculous transports from the Holy Land England
in
.
repu
of
its
its
has legacy
Becket stories while Spain has Toledo with
,
tation for necromancy Scandinavia does not exist except for the bear
,
.
skin brought back from Norway Cologne

to
, .
For both and story locations the totals given are more
sources
than 100 because some chapters have several stories them and
in
%
sometimes story takes place different locations The figures should ,

in
a
show that lay people and nuns however much present they are Caes
in
,
arius are only small minority when compared the male Cistercian
to
,
sources from monasteries

.
The stories whose sources remain anonymous will have provide

to
uncertainty until the DM has been more carefully

of
factor studied
a
, .
But the basic pattern

he
clear Caesarius takes the materials can get

is
when and where be can find them and fits them into his pattern He
,
flexible and optimistic about applying experience moral teaching

to
is
And he magnificent story teller

is
a
.
)
,
Caesarius
Italy
sententiae
,
story
for women
East
chapters
to
priests
Germany
including
to
given
Friesland
()
stories
Cologne
indicated
England
Sources
of
(
houses
devoted
Liège
Trier
Cistercians
nuns
canons
source
in
chapters
of
number
and
monks
of of of
nuns
people
source
given
Heisterbach
Heisterbach
himself
Himmerod
Elsewhere
Himmerod
Elsewhere
Cistercian
Cistercian
Chapters
Locations
Diocese
Diocese
Diocese
Secular
Written
Utrecht
France
Other
Total
Total
Other
Other
Total
Lay
Not
No
% % % % % %% % % % %
31 28
,5. 2 ,513 8 ,52
5
15
% %% %%
18 8 10 23
5 6499 7
%%%% % %
4 103 103
DM
Total
527
294
15 11 20
193
52 18 58 68 45 30 64 65 48
109
57
694
694
214 28 35 727
746 717 128 157
IN
59
3 56 25 15 1 7 1 04 2 3 0 58 56 12 31 213 2 4 3 6 7 9 62
XII
PLACES
1 64 31 9 4 8 1 01 3 1 7 65 64 3216 217 0 4 66 8 3
XI
65 67
1 71 25 18 2 8 0 02 6 0 71 71 14 0 3 3 20 4 5 7 2 8
ao6
AND
-
X 72 10 72
N
v
5 62 14 18 4 1 42 6 1 0 62 62 12 35 218 3 3 5 5 5 1
SOURCES
12 62
14 83 42 13 7 5 0 4 1 4 2 0 86 83 5 10 13 11 16 3 2385 8
9767
nwa coci 85
co
w
VIII
OF
59 1 58 11 15 0 00 3 1 1
14 23 58 1149 29 6 1 1 5 10 4 62
VII
9 12 3 5 2 02 6 1 0 36 9 1 1 1 10 2 3 0 5
2 2 36
SUMMARY
4068
1 36
VI
37
V 6 4 0 54 43 13 34 314 7 3 0 4 2 3 55
9 94 23 31 10 0 24 5 3 1 95 94 27 1411 016 4 6 2 4 7 3 94
|
IV
103
16
5 48 10 13 2 0 02 3 2 49 48 15 31 015 2 0 3 2 4 51
7 6
III
53 10
3 32 11 8 1 5 0 02 2 1 32 32 631 02 0 2 7 3 3 32
2 5
6 37 1 22 1 3 1 10 3 1 6 40 37 1 123 37 2 3 1 9 6 2 49
4335
) ) )% ) )%,5 ),5)% ) ) ) )% ) ))% ))% ) )% ) ) ),5 ) %)

Nuww
B
I- ( ( _7( ( 0(1 1(34(8 8( 4(9 5( ( ( (2( 2(3( 4(8 9( 2(5 ( 8( 6( (

%% % % %%% %% % % %%% %
211
23
234
IV
211
21 35 16
103 23 15 19 11 104
.
45 74 14 34 17 10
215
49 32 16
..d 40 20 23 18 12
.
226
. .. .
sour
Giv
Germany
Monk
wom
Priest
Ot Nun
Secular
Nun
Written
Utrecht
Stories
France
Elsew
Story
Liège
Himm
Himm
Total
Total
Heist
Total
Heist
Trier
Sent
Lay
Cist
Ci
No
Ci
Col
Not
Ot
CAESARIUS OF HEISTERRACH ' S
Nazereth
1191 KLAARKAMP - 116
EUROPE : ROADS , RIVERS Groningen
; Friesland
AND MONASTERIES 'Jesse 1215
BLOEMKAMP Drenthe LOCCUM
Ems
1191 1165
Osnabrück
England
Zwolle
on
MARTENFELD
Hold igaset Mlinster +1185
Laura
Xanten
CAMP ALTENKAMPUNG
Lippe
Brabant
22n Bahn
Parc - aux - Dames Neuse ) ALTEN
ALTENBERG 1133
Flanders 1215 MARTENSTATT
ein ulichko Berg
Warberberg - 142215
( Nivelle's VILLERS
4197 Bont , HEISTERBÁCH
+ 1146
stieg Buntisch ( 7189
Artois AULNE ,
1147
rank
stuben us
zu lerier
HIMMERODA R
Picardy
clunysor
E
Mdas OFERBER
144
Aisne 1 SCHONAY
K
SCHNAY
Metz Steyer
i
se ne Reins Saar
.
--
-
páríez Masel
-
--
-
-
HEMINON 1138 NEUBURG 1152
Champagne Strassburg
foartres
Troyes Aube Rhine
Yonne
ETA TRVAUX 1215
1075 MORTMOND 1115
i
MOLESMES
BONTIGNY
1114 Bases
La
Saône
Burgundy
AUX 1098
LÁ
FERTE 113
important roads
.-
..
..
..
Cistercian abbey of Geneva

+
's
Walberberg house for women

:
Lyon
ST . BERNARD 'S SPIRITUALITY AND THE BENEDICTINE RULE
IN THE STEPS OF HUMILITY *
by DENIS FARKASFALVY
In 1970 at the Trappist Abbey of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit in

Georgia ', during a symposium on the Rule of St . Benedict , two remar
kable papers were presented by internationally known scholars . Dom
Adalbert De Vogüé discussed in a frank and provocative manner a
number of questions related to our present use and appreciation of the
Rule ? . Afterwards , Dom Jean Leclercq gave an overall picture of
Bernard 's relationship to the Rule . Dom De Vogüé ' s paper manifested
a certain « inconoclastic » intent to demolish clichés and slogans that
are widely used in monastic circles and consequently stirred up a great
deal of questions and arguments . He questioned the attitude prevalent
in modern -day monasticism according to which , in spite of the 14 -century
interval , Benedict 's Rule still continues to be « our rule » , the « Rule guid
ing our life » , if not so much by containing prescriptions that direct
our daily life , at least by the fact that we lead our lives according to
spirit Let me quote his own words
its
:
.
will said that while abandoning the material element many of

be
It
in
least the spirit Benedict the spirit

of
the observance we keep

St
at
of
the
,
,
.
An
Rule easy and fallacious distinction Where the spirit not the
if
is
in
.
observance which incarnates the spirit Furthermore we would deceive

,
?
beleiving that the Prologue and the first seven chapters

of
ourselves
in
the
us
Rule remain for heritage completely intact Not

of
The doctrine
so
a
!
as
as
these treatises fact different from our real spirituality

is
in
the
,
prescriptions
of
the following chapters are from our behavior Certainly

.
we practice obedience but really the prompt obedience unconditional

is
,
is it
and without reflection which proposed Chapter Five the Rule of

of
in
,
Benedict We practice humility thanks be God but how meaningful

to
,
,
?
of
the University
of
This text was delivered the Gorman Lecture Series

in
*
on
Dallas
25
October 1980
,
by
Interdisciplinary Symposium
An
Rule and Life edited Basil Pennington

,
M
,
Cistercian Studies
12
OCSO Spencer Cistercian Publication 1971

),
(
Sub Regula vel Abbate the Theological Significance the Ancient Monastic
of
2
«
:
.op
cit
Rules Originally
21
63
Coll Cist
23
French
in
;
1971 209 241

»
-
.
.
[
.
:
-
.)
St. Bernard ' s Spirituality and the Benedictine Rule 249
for us are the last four degrees on the Benedictine ladder : those eyes cast
down to the ground , that gravity , that abstention from laughter , that
silence which is maintained until one is questioned ? 2a
At the same time, Jean Leclercq made a major effort of show

ing , that St . Bernard of Clairvaux , about 600 years after St . Benedict
and admittedly under radically new circumstances , did in fact live the
Rule , assimilated it into his own spiritual doctrine and , with relatively
minor regard for observances , customs and the practical organization
of life , reformulated in an authentic manner the spirit of St . Benedict '.
From the published minutes of the Symposium it does not appear if the
reverent audience had registered the logical contradictions between these
two major papers . Nevertheless , it is quite challenging to follow up on
this topic . Jean Leclercq says that the relationship of St . Bernard to
the Rule has been surprisingly little studied . On the other hand , he
indicates that , in his opinion , Bernard succeeded in accomplishing what
according to Dom De Vogüé is a hopeless enterprise , namely to capture
the spirit of the Rule without becoming tied up with time-bound ob
servances or obsolete externals of life.
The method to follow in the research is not difficult to determine .
In his first published work , entitled on the Steps of Humility and Pride “ ,
Bernard has given the outline of his own spiritual doctrine he taught
to his monks in Clairvaux . Although this was his first published treatise ,
it was not just a youthful work to be transcended by later efforts .
At publication Bernard was community
of
its
years old
35
the head
,
for more than ten years mature man who had assembled experience
,
a
As
leadership and spiritual guidance Etienne Gilson observed Ber

in
,
.
later works show change

or
nard very little basic outlook doctrine

in
,
's
or
much that any attempt tracing development evolution

so
of
so
in
his thought has failed far Thus whatever we might conclude from
so
of
this initial work probably characteristic Ber

of of
the examination
is
as
teaching possible
of
nard later years well fact number

to as
in
,
,
,
a
's
cross references later works seem indicate Our conclusions will

to
interestingly several De Vogüé and Dom Leclercq

of
confirm Dom
,
's
's
statements without completely validating their generalizations

In
such
.
manner we might find way eliminate the contradictions

to
between
,
their stated positions

.
Op
cit
54
2a
.
.
.
.op
cit
St
of
Bernard and the Rule Benedict

St
151 168 French

In
;
3
«
:
-
.
Règle
de
Bernard
et
Benoît Coll Cist

35
la
1973 173 185

S
«
;
S
»
.
-
.)
Sancti Bernardi Opera III

13
59
vol Rome Editiones Cistercienses

,
,
4
-
.
.
(
The treatise was written about 1124 1125 See Jean Leclercq introductory
5
's
-
.
.op
notes the critical edition cit

in
.,
3
4
-
.
Gilson himself when reconstructing synthèse doctrinale

of
St
Bernard
La la
,
, ,
6
. «
»
Cf
Humility théologie mystique

de
heavily draws The Steps

of
on
saint Bernard
.
94
98
Paris Vrin 1947

,
(
-
.
250 Denis Farkasfalvy
St . Bernard
approaches the twelve steps of humility of the Rule
in reversed order . Steps of humility when taken in the opposite direction
become steps of pride . The description of ascent in reverse order
becomes that of spiritual debasement. This idea is not alien to the
Rule . Benedict 's program is about returning to God ; as we read it
in the Prologue of the Rule , his spirituality has the purpose of return
ing us to God through obedience , from whom we have strayed in
disobedience ?. Following this idea , Bernard , when tracing the steps of
pride , gives us an understanding of mans need for salvation : he
describes the steps through which our alienation from God came and
comes about . Doing this he shows why we must make those same steps
backward , in opposite order for the sake of re -establishing our lost friend
ship with God . Consequently , what might appear in the Rule as a more
or less arbitrary sequence of ascetic practices is vindicated by Bernard 's
interpretation as a chain of necessary steps indispensable for taking us
back to God .
Thus he starts with the 12th step of the Rule, that step which
admittedly is the most controversial and least attractive in Benedict ' s
text. I do not think that there is any abbot or master of novices in
a modern community of Benedictines or Cistercians who would not
feel the need to soften , transform or qualify Benedicts statement about
what he claims to be the peak of humility – the peak of man ' s
spiritual ascent. At this step , the Rule says , the monk
not only in his heart but also in his body possesses an attitude of
humility : wherever he is found , at choir , in the church , in the monastery ,
in the garden , at travel or in the field , wherever he happens to
sit
walk
,
stand he keeps his head bowel down with his eyes fixed the ground
or
to
,
at ,
considering himself all times guilty for his sins and seeing himself
at
the terrible judgment

he
so
of
God that tells himself the tax collector

as
to
-
As
am
the gospel sinner not worthy raise my eyes the

to
to
in
,
«
a
:
I
Lk
18
13
heaven
8
.»
.
(
)
:
Vogüé rightly
an
Dom asks how

such ideal honestly incor
today
is
spiritual formation The difficulty

of
porated into program twofold

is
a
.
On
the one hand the text seems put external humility higher than
to
,
on
the humility the heart prescribes

an
of
the other hand unresolved

it
,
;
guilt that should apparently keep the monk

. of
feeling subhuman state

in
a
by
of
mind The first difficulty conventionally resolved stating that

is
the whole point telling us that we must

of
it of
the 12th step consists

obtain internal humility before we express any outward manner
in
of .
The second difficulty might be encountered

by
stating that the style

ut
per per inoboedientiae

ad
eum oboedientiae laborem redeas quo

,
7
«
desidiam recesseras Prologue

»
.
2
.
VII
62
65
,
8
-
.
St. Bernard 's Spirituality and the Benedictine Rule 251
the Rule is often hyperbolic and thus the expressions of guilt and fear
should not be considered as the heart of humility . Whatever the value
of these explanations might be , they can hardly vindicate the 12th step
as the peak of perfection in a positive manner . Rejected , regretted or
reduced , in contemporary Benedictine spirituality , the 12th step fails
to appear as a lofty goal situated at the end of a long spiritual ascent .
In a remarkable way , however , Bernard 's commentary achieves just
that by setting the words of the venerable text into a new theological
context . This context is much broader and wider than the one that
Benedict has in mind , yet it fits the words of the Rule so well that
it lends them new riches and makes them appear as the description of
the highest aim of human existence . For Bernard , the 12th step of
humility represent mans total attention to God , perfect recollection ,
that is , the fullest possible actualization of man as a spiritual being with
totally unhindered awareness of the self and of God . The eyes fixed to
the ground , the head bowed down , and man 's awareness of God ' s
pending judgement over sin and sinner are not taken on face value but
rather as statements signifying the full self-possession of the human
being , obtained when directing
all
his faculties the contemplation

at
of
God
.
as re
nterpretation humility explained by

of
of
This the 12th step

is
-i
he
its
he states opposite the first step pride which

of
Bernard calls
,
by curiosity
of
am
curiositas reluctant translate for most the

to
it
»
I
.
connotations curiosity are different from what Bernard has mind

of
in
.
Curiositas not the healthy hunger the mind for answers
of
is
A
.
theological concept which Bernard inherited from Augustine signifies
it
,
man first and basic step leading away from the Creator and turning
's
finite created good During this man turns his senses and
to
instead
to
,
,
.
through the senses the outward world this he derelicts his attention
In
to
his internal self because he wrapped the experience

to
of
the
in
is
senses and the external world Bernard also calls oblivio forgetfulness
it
,
.
own spirit and the pervading

all
, of
about both the internal realm one

-
. 's
presence the Infinite Spirit God Barton Mills the first modern
of
English translator The Steps Humility and Pride

of
of
and then later

10
,
again Gilson pointed out the importance this concept for Bernard
of of
's
Through this vision spirituals being

as
theology
of
man man
a
.
and turning
of
wandering outside his original and proper the

to
realm
senses and the material world Bernard asserts his Augustinian and
,
ultimately Platonic orientation anthropology But Bernard Platonism

in
's
as
adjusted Christianity Curiositas fatal step leading away

is
from
to
a
.
identical with original

for
the perfection contemplation

sin
of
him
is
,
.Cf
.op
Gilson cit
10 9
,
E
181
.,
.
-2
.
London 1929
.
both as an act performed by our first parents and as an attitude grow

original harmony destroyed
its
ing out of our fallen nature with Con
.
sequently degree humility not only
of
Bernard connects the 12th with
of
pride but with the
sin
the first degree and Eve and our
of
Adam
as
fallen state resulting from marks the first step
an
of
descent
It
it
.
"
pride the created world the human spirit asserts
of
act when turning
to
of ,
: autonomy with dominion over the world
itself uncontrolled claim
,
in
by
self indulgence This first step
its
tendency
an
of
and with attitude
as
be
points all moral evil and the root
as
of
such considered
to
it
can
all evil
.
the remaining eleven steps pride which are
of
of
course the
In
,
humility Bernard shows how this initial
of
reversals Benedict steps
of
,
's
curiositas unfolds and dovetails into threefold alienation from God
,
a
:
from the self from the neighbor Bernard prepares this the beginning
as at
,
.
of his book
as
triple love
he
of
outlines his program the essential
,
a
of
Christian perfection the neighbor
of
content the self love
of
love
,
:
of
love God you ask him what order he understands these three
If
in
, 2.
relationships tells you that the three cannot exist without implying
he
of
each other mutually They are three aspects the pursuit
of
Truth
.
:
we cannot perceive the truth about ourselves unless we see and accept
origin
its
our fellow men and become open
to
of
the truth the Truth
in
,
source and fullness which God The broad theological foundation
is
.
of
Bernard spirituality lies exactly synthetic vision which relates

in
a
's
the pursuit three sided pattern

of
of
truth growth love really

to
in
–
triangular pattern which no side can exist without the existence
in
a
the other two

The means truth and the virtue
of of
of
obtain the vision

to
.
humility and conversely pride escaping and

of
love means
is
is
,
obscuring truth and reverting selfishness enmity and rebellion instead

to
this theological scaffolding that Bernard builds his

of
on
It
love
is
.
understanding pride and humility

of
of
the twelve steps The result

is
.
coherent system with deep inner logic and tight connections between
a
the steps Let briefly look the remaining eleven steps with
us
at
of
each
,
,
.
their theological and psychological characteristics

.
by
The second step pride called Bernard levitas animae which

of
is
we might translate inordinate light heartedness corresponds

It
as to
as
»
-
humility
of
the 11th step which the Rule calls gravitas and describes
an
attitude seriousness that makes man tend speak little Bernard

of
to
a
.
by
the logical connection with the previous step

at an
attitude
of
states
:
pride
obtained curiositas man starts look his fellow
he to
selfish
in
,
On
man with jealousy and envy the one hand tossed back and
is
,
.
III quoting Bernard

of
Cf
The Steps
11
30
39
40
When text
of
Hum
,
,
X
's
-
.
Humility we refer the critical edition using the system

of
notation that became

to
universally accepted Jean Leclercq and

of
through the works Rochais

.M
H
III
12
16
37
IX
Hum
,
-I
-
).
'
St . Bernard s Spirituality and the Benedictine Rule 253
forth by the waves of conceit , and on the other hand by those of

insecurity . Instead of looking at himself as God 's gift , he engages in
competing for recognition in order to feed his conceit and appease
his insecurity . His lighthearted attitude , with a tendency to speak
frequently , is a direct result of the lack of inner harmony caused by
pride . He has to camouflage before others as before himself his short
comings and overemphasize his good qualities . With contemporary
words, on the second step of pride , man engages in a vigorous « P . R .
program » for building up his ego .
From this the third step of pride logically follows. Bernard calls
it inepta laetitia ; I would translate it as « compulsive happiness . » The
monk who steps down to this level manifests a tendency of constantly
laughing , cracking jokes and discovering the « lighter side » of every
issue . This is the full growth of his « P . R . job » for boosting his ego .
He celebrates his conceit and superiority over his neighbors by roaring
laughter and arrogant jokes (an indirect way of celebrating himself )
while he dismisses the seriousness of any issue in regard to which nis
performance is poor or deficient .
These two steps of pride are both masterpieces of psychology and
at the same time logical counterpoints to the 11th and 10th steps of
humility in the Rule , steps that otherwise easily appear as irrelevant
or at least illogically placed . Benedict 's gravitas is easily taken as an
attitude of withdrawal 13. His 10th step is easily accused of exalting the
lack of one ' s sense of humor as a monastic virtue 14. But Bernard prevents
such misconceptions by the way he points to the contrasting steps of
pride . In these he masterfully succeeds in presenting the steps of the
Rule as proper measures to counteract our compulsive efforts of self
exaltation which lift up our ego at the expense of our fellow men and
all
further falsify our self- image . He also shows how this flows from
the act our initial curiositas He demonstrates how the oblivio Dei
of
,
.
seeking God necessarily leads

on
of
this lack selfless concentration

to
,
knowing and seeing ourselves

of
the oblivio sui lack truth And

15
in
,
,
.
of
course our initial conflict with God and ourselves tightly

. is
,
connected with growing competition against our fellow man

In
our
a
gradus est loquitur monachus leniter

et
13
Undecimus humilitatis
si
cum
,
,
,
«
sine risu humiliter cum gravitate vel pauca verba rationabilia loquatur
et
et
non sit
clamosus VII
60
voce
in
,
»
.
..
sit
aut promptus
si
gradus
14
Decimus humilitatis est non facilis risu

in
. «
»
...
VII
59
,
of
The Steps Humility Bernard puts the emphasis

15
on
oblivio sui
In
the
, ,
in »
sui negligens Hum XI III sui oblitum ibid XII III

39
46
40
47
while
,
),
,
(
of ])
.
shows the organic connections between the knowledge

he
later works God and

the kowledge
of
the self religious

on
the literature
St
discussed Bernard
.
I
's
.
La
epistemology
di
conoscenza Dio secondo san Bernardo Studi Bernardo

su
in
«
»
:
di
Chiaravalle Rome Editiones Cistercienses

,
1975 201 214

,
(
-
.
inordinate search for self -exaltation we necessarily unleash our drive to

humiliate our neighbors .
The 4th of pride in Bernard ' s system is
step the opposite of the 9th
step of the Rule . The Rule calls it taciturnity , a proneness to silence .
The opposite is loquacity , constant speech for exalting, selling , advertising
the self . It is a full -fledged and aggressive effort to prove one's excellence
and hide one' s shortcomings . Bernard sees it as essentially the same
attitude that appeared in the previous steps but with more immediate
and direct connotations of vanity , bragging and devious manipulation
of the truth . In fact , for Bernard the first four steps of pride seem to
form a unit : one basic insight is developed from the way curiositas leads
the monk to lose his seriousness of searching the Truth , as he tries to
avoid and camouflage the truth of his fallen nature , using the means
of speech and laughter . If you reflect for a minute about our contempo
rary experience of life , you might discover how valid Bernard ' s obser
vations are . He considers the abuse of speech and laughter as the
dismissal of all serious issues under the pretext of humor. Yet what
truly happens is that we succeed in hiding the sad truth that we had
fallen away from the immediacy of God 's presence , truth and love .
The fifth degree of pride , corresponding to the eighth degree of
humility in the Rule , introduces a new point of view and manifests
once again Bernard ' s creative approach to Benedict ' s thought . In the
Rule we read that on this level of humility , the monk does not do
anything that is not commanded by the common rule of the monastery
and the example of the senior members 16. For modern readers , this
statement is startling because it seems to exalt mediocrity and discourage
personal initiative . That this is not the mentality of Benedict , we know
from other passages of the Rule , yet it is hard to see how this particular
attitude would be , in fact, a gain in humility . Bernard shows just this
by setting up the opposite step which he calls « singularitas » . It should
be translated with a contemporary expression better than « singularity » ;
maybe the best American English term would be « the ego trip . » It
signifies one 's constant effort to appear « different » by concentrating
on voluntary and individualistic performances and neglecting all those
aspects of life that are performed in community . It consists of drawing
attention to oneself by an individualistic ascetic life at the expense of
community exercises that go without recognition and reward . This step
marks fruther alienation from the truth : it creates a false image for the
sake of deceiving oneself and the others , an image that is cultivated
for the sake of burying the real state of affairs . It is a major step
toward creating a false conscience concerning our relationship to God .
The monk reaching this step of pride cuts himself from the truth but
16 Octavis humilitatis gradus est, si nihil agat monachus , nisi quod communis
monasterii regula vel maiorum cohortantur exempla . » VII , 55
St. Bernard 's Spirituality and the Benedictine Rule
also seriously severs his ties of solidarity with his fellow men . This
is the first major sign that the monk has become insensitive to his
existential ties with his fellow men and thus decided to pursue his
perfection on a solitary path . He rejects his communion and solidarity
with the others . Bernard ' s lengthy description of pride as singularity
shows how keenly sensitive he was to the upsurge of individualism that
characterized the spiritual climate of his time. It seems that his under
standing of humility includes among others the assertion of the primacy
of the community versus the individual , a topic to which we shall later
return .
Interestingly , the next three steps of pride and humility are briefly
explained by Bernard with little emphasis or attention . He calls them
arrogance (step 6 ), insolence (step 7 ) and the defence of one 's own vices
(step 8). They obviously flow from the attitude asserted by the step
of singularity , marking a process in which one 's relationship to the
neighbor deteriorates and disintegrates since the essential ties of mu
tuality and brotherhood have already been cut . The next two steps,
called « false penitence » ( step 9 ) and « rebellion » (step 10 ) harvest the
fruits of this growing alienation . In these two steps, the monk 's relation
ship to the superiors becomes vitiated first by deceit than by outright
denial of obedience . The first of the two , « false penitence » , appears
to us probably somewhat contrived . Bernard thinks that after a chain
of overt conflicts with fellow monks , there is no other way left for
boosting one 's ego within the community than to simulate penitence ,
to deceitfully declare oneself culpable and thus impress the community
by a new kind of false image , the image of a converting prodigal son .
least expected in Bernard 's system
ill
This step appears the and it is
the corresponding step humility
of
of
the reversal the Rule

as
suited
in
.
on
seems however that practical experience

It
based Bernard
to it
,
is
' s
just wanted
he
obviously insert this form pride among the psycho

of
logical portraits depicted his books capital

Step
of
10
however
is
in
,
.
as
importance and the 3rd step humility

of
of
the exact reversal we

it
is
find the Rule Benedict says that the third step humility
to St
of
it
in
.
.
consists readiness accept superior and obey him The opposite

in
"7
a
.
by
of
rejecting superior
of
of
move course that the acts rebellion

is
,
, .
knows that obedience

of
Bernard constitutive monastic life Thus

is
the step that finally liquidates the monk monastic

: of
the act rebellion

is
's
this point
at
he
existence must leave the monastery Thus according

,
,
.
understanding the first two steps humility do not belong

of
Bernard
to
's
as
monastic life since the last two steps pride are made
to
of
such
,
outside the monastery

.
ut
gradus est quis pro Dei amore omni oboedientia

17
Tertius humilitatis
se
,
«
subdat maiori imitans dominum quo dicit apostolus factus oboediens usque
de
,
ad mortem VII
34
»
,
.
.
So we might say that in the last two steps of pride , Bernard speaks
of the spiritual life which laypeople — people outside the monastery –
lead . It is typical of his fundamentally monastic outlook that he takes
care of the spirituality of the lay world in two simple steps . For him ,
a human being outside of the framework of the cloister might still be
tied in two ways : he is subject to the moral law and he is subject to God
himself . The rejection of these two controls constitutes the last two
steps of pride . The first is called « freedom to libertas peccandi
sin
,
»
(
)
rejecting Christian moral standards and replacing them with one own
'to s
such style easily leads
of
desires and inclinations Human life the
.
eclipse
sin
step acceptance habitual state total
of
of
last the with
a
:
practical atheism
of
of
the notion God We would call Bernard
it
;
«
»
.
of
contemptus Dei the scorn
of
calls God the exclusion God from
it
,
opposite God timor Dei biblical
of
one horizon the fear
to
It
),
is
a
(
.
's
Benedict see the first step
of
notion which both the Bible and the Rule
in
spiritual perfection
of
that Bernard carefully coordinates his system
, of
We have seen
spiritual life with humility described
the steps
of
the Rule However
in
: .
appear have real importance
of
only three steps the first

12
the
to
inguralitas
In
curiositas the 5th and the 10th rebellio his
),
),
(
- ).
is (s
understanding pride the dynamism our inordinate self assertion

of
,
that upsets the balance and harmony the spiritual being The step
of
of
.
curiosity our wrong choosing
of
of
attitude creatures instead the
is
consequences de
as
Creator The 2nd 3rd and 4th steps are presented
,
.
veloped from this first fatal misstep Singuralitas probably the most
,
.
witty and ironic chapter the book shows how pride turns into
in
rampant egotism and individualism The next three steps are again just
.
variations the same theme describing the growing conflict with

on
on
fellow monks Step curious interlude based mainly some

is
,
9
a
.
as
personal insights peculiarity

be
of
Bernard and should considered

a
marks the boundary between

to
with little connection the Rule Step

10
.
Finally
. of
the world the last two steps constitute only rough outline
a
.
spiritual
or
one rather collapse

the environment the world
of
descent
in
's
steepness steps one might conclude that

of
From the these last two

according Bernard the world offers only chance for
to
system slim
a
's
acceptable Christian life The last two steps fact describe one
,
,
in
.
's
journey from the threshold the monastery the bottom hell

to
of
of
profundum inferni two easy steps This may not exactly represent
in
(
.
of
Bernard thoughts about the possibility holiness the world Since

in
.
's
the treatise about monastic life and destined for monks we should
,
is
is
be
no
not surprised that the author pays little questions

or
to
attention
of
spirituality outside the monastery quick comparison with other

of
A
.
writings particular his work On Conversion De conver

of
Bernard
in
,
humility
ad
clericos shows that for him the first two steps

of
sione
,
,
)
together with the third that makes you enter monastic life are simply
St. Bernard ' s Spirituality and the Benedictine Rule 257
part of the process conversion . Therefore it would be

of monastic
correct to say that even the last two steps of pride are not so much about
life in the world as rather about the ultimate ruin of a monastic
vocation . Yet Bernard 's ideal of holiness is very tightly connected with
his own experience as a monk ; he has hardly even delivered teaching
that would not have come forth from his own personal experience .
This experiential character is probably the most typical feature of
his spiritual teaching : he draws on his own experience and makes us
see
reflect upon what we experience in ourselves . I this the ultimate
in
why humility and speak
he
of
answer reverse the steps
to
as
decided
to
pride He was fully aware how questionable

of
about the steps would
it
.
launch his own literary career with humility
on
have been work
to
,
a
how difficult was present fully personalized and thus
to
task
it
a
a
relevant teaching about humility without violating the same time the
at
humility He explains this dilemma quite clearly
of
virtue the forward
in
.
of
his book
:
fear and charity not knowing

on
There was the crossroad between

I
which was was safe take should speak any profit about humility
to
to
If
I ,
I
.
found lacking humility should keep me silent

be
feared
to
in
it;
if
I
good for nothing

be
18
would
.
Nowadays fashionable discount the whole foreword with

to
it
is
its reclutant hesitation purely literary device Curtius his history

as
in
a
.
of
medieval Latin literature calls eine affektierte Bescheidenheit

it
«
»
pretended modesty that belongs the literary genre But course of
19
to
,
(
doubt about the sincerity ancient authors also part literary

of
of
is
genre the genre contemporary historiography and must be treated

of
,
suspicion
at
with similar think that Bernard indicates the proper

I
.
he teaching about humility without the

of
place that solved his dilemma

appearance pride exactly by reversing the steps
of
Once yourself you find and recognize the steps pride

in
of
you shall
,
find no difficulty discovering the road humility

of
20
in
Thus was for the sake presenting teaching experiential

of
of
it
nature something one can recognize the self that he approached

,
in
the topic humility from its reverse side By this he gave himself
of
,
.
speaking with
of
the freedom immediacy that could come only from

an
personal observations and inner experience But the reversal

of
the
.
steps serves two more purposes which are also important

In
Bernard
.
's
III
19 18
Hum Praef
16
,
,
(
.
).
Curtius Europäische Literatur und lateinisches Mittelalter edition

,
8th
R
E
,
.
.
1973
.
concluding words before he sets out

20
Bernard
of
These are speak the

to
's
pride rather than the steps III

of
steps humility Hum

of
27
35
IX
,
,
:
).
penetration of religious psychology , irony plays a major role . When

speaking about the different forms of pride , he displays keen observation ,
refined analysis of human behavior and a subtle touch of irony that
unmasks the most sophisticated fronts which hidden pride can erect .
Let us look at one example :
(Singularity .) When that he is better than

a others , he
man brags
feels ashamed unless he can also show by action that he excels over others .
Therefore the common rule of the monastery and the example of the senior
members are not enough for him . Yet he does not want to be better but
rather to be seen to be better... One day of fasting , while the others are
taking their regular meals , gives him more satisfaction than fasting for
seven days with everyone else . One little private prayer makes
together
whole night office
all
happier than the psalms prayed
At
him meals
in
,
a
.
his eyes wander around frequently from table sees just
he
table
to
If
.
at
being outdone
he
he
one person eating less than does mortified
is
,
he cruelly deprives himself the spot
of
he
what first considered
on
so
and
his
his
food necessary hurting pride
of
for sustenance He more afraid
is
.
than suffering hunger sees anyone thinner and more pallid than he
he
If
.
he feels dejected and finds no peace Since he cannot see his own
is
,
.
appears
he
others he looks
at
face the way his hands arms pokes
to
,
that by testing how skinny
or at
his ribs feels his shoulders and his waist
so
,
he might conclude how pallid

or
rosy his cheeks appear
he
fat
is
.
He fully
dedicated his peculiar things but lazy those done
to
in
in
is
is
at
choir After dozing through the night

he
common Awake bed sleeps

in
,
.
, .
office while the others recite the psalms

he
lets the others rest the
in
cloister and stays the church alone Clearing his throat and coughing
in
,
.
producing groans and sighs

he
makes himself noticed from his little

,
by
sit
corner all those who outside Impressed his actions done out
to
,
.
singularity and vanity the more simple minded ones hold him
of
esteem
in
,
. .
do
They approve the acts they see but not see the motivation behind them
while canonizing the miserable man they promote his self deception
So
21
,
seems that Bernard employs this procedure .

of
Furthermore
it
,
reversing the steps humilty also for facilitating the fusion

of
of
his own
of
doctrine with the old and venerable text the Rule With such method
,
a
.
of
of
he able turn the twelve steps humility the Rule into coherent
is
to
and tightly knit system without deviating from the text the Rule
of
specific meaning the opposite

of
Since he gives some each step he

to
logical flow thought without ever contradicting

of
can establish
or
a
even changing the wording the Rule His many important additions
of
the Rule the specifications and even transformations the meaning

of
of to
Benedict words hardly become manifest because Bernard

St
is
.
's
dealing always with the opposite moves steps that signify the differ
,
ent degrees pride hardly ever needs

he
of
direct confrontation
So
a
.
of
with the text think that this confirms exactly what

the Rule
I
.
as
Leclercq says
he
of
Bernard handles the text Benedict would handle

:
III
21
XIV
42
Hum
48
49
,
,
(
-
).
biblical texts 22. He would not attempt to criticize or change its wording ;
yet, he still interprets it with astonishing freedom and originality on
the basis of his wide and deep acquaintance with patristic and theo
logical tradition . What he achieves is a typical product of early 12th
century : adherence to old authorities quoted and recognized verbatim ,
and also a systematization showing order , precision and numerical pat
terns . As we know from many examples , for Bernard the ideal of truth
and beauty were inseparable , both deriving from the concept of order .
The preceding reflections have probably assembled enough material
for us to return to our original question : can the Rule be a living
document , the actual source of spirituality for an age that by time ,
social , economic and ecclesial setting is very distant from the age
of Benedict ?
St. Bernard ' s example not only shows that the answer must be af
firmative but it might also indicate some important conditions under
which such a new appropriation of the Rule by a later spirituality
might take place . What are they ?
A ) The first condition is close familiarity with the whole tradition

standing behind the Rule . For Bernard , this meant extensive knowledge
of the two most important streams of traditions whose confluence
created the spirituality of the Rule: Augustine 's theology and the spiritual
doctrine of the Desert Fathers . However Bernard did not only read an
extensive selection of Augustine 's works but was quite familiar with two
of his important predecessors , St. Ambrose and Origen . So he possessed
deep understanding of Augustine ' s Neoplatonic categories and his use of
Scripture . While Bernard 's dependence on Augustine is better known ,
we must emphasize that his direct dependence on Origen ' s works in Latin
translation was equally important. It seems that during Bernard ' s
lifetime , the abbey of Clairvaux assembled a holding of the Latin texts
of Origen wich must have been rather exceptional in
its
own time Doubt

.
lessly he had great deal the specifically monastic

of
interest
in
a
comprehensive
he
of
tradition the Desert Fathers But inserted into

it
a
.
salvation history Christology and theology

of
scheme grace inherited

of
,
from the greatest classics Western patristics This assures that his
of
teaching monastic life and spiritual progress remained subordinate

on
of
theology the basic mysteries

on
Christian doctrine
to
centered
a
Incarnation redemption through Cross and resurrection and life

,
everlasting
, .
Today the criteria for interpreting ancient texts fall into the
categories philology and history We would
of
like understand
to
.
Benedict his particular historical setting we underline his

so
in
,
St
. St
An
156of
22
Bernard and the Rule Benedict Rule and Life Interdisci

,
«
»
:
plinary Symposium Spencer 1971

,
-7
limitations , the deficiencies of his concerns and interests . Recent

scholarship on the Rule has not only pointed out the Rule 's far-reaching
dependence on previous monastic rules , especially the Regula Magistri ,
its most important single source but has also emphasized the com
it
., ,
possibly semipelagian tendencies
of
posite character
its
content the
,
g
e
.
chapters synthesis
of
certain and the lack between the different
,
in
sources from which Benedict has drawn Of
all
this Bernard has seen
, ,
.
of
very little nothing the word his interpretation
In
the modern sense
or
.
of the Rule adaptation of
an
inaccurate rather the ancient text
is
is
it
;
to
great deal of
content assembled from other sources However
in
,
a
a
.
on
wider perspective appears that Bernard
it his comments the
in
,
Humility provides wide doctrinal tradition

of
Ladder which the
in
a
be
theological validity the Rule can seen with more clarity while
of
or its
re
time bound deficiencies tend disappear by being nterpreted
to
-
-i
ignored There can be little doubt that the history spirituality
of
in
.
this must happen every time earlier document becomes incorporated

an
its
into real life cannot be liberated from deficiencies and time bound
It
-
.
or
scripture and
of
obsolete features unless read the context
it
in
is
tradition general
in
the Rule suc
of
second condition that makes Bernard use
B
A
)
's
cessful his awareness the needs and concerns his own generation
of
of
is
.
Two aspects stand out
:
Bernard expands the doctrine

of
the Rule with

St
interest
an
1
.
)
up
the psychological typical
of
make the human person that
of
in
is
-
his age and not all present Benedict mind The 12th century
at
in
is
.
's
De
full explaining
at
, of
treatises about the soul anima aimed

is
of in
(
rational mostly philosophical categories the internal experiences

,
intellectual and spiritual life

As
that age new renaissance would

in
if,
,
a
.
place
of
of
take rebirth the fascination that the last centuries the

,
a
and the later phases

of
classical age Stoicism Platonism had with

(
regard man internal spiritual life

to
,
's
.
At
the same time Bernard also reacts against his age His
,
2
)
humility and pride reflects his reaction against

of
treatment new
a
of
individualism new concern for the discovery the self The famous
a
.
–
coined by Gilson
, St
expression socratisme de saint Bernard

23
le
,
,
«
thathis concern for the principle

of
Bernard Socratism Socrates

is
—
,
's
GNOTHI SEAUTON nosce teipsum know yourself must be under

—
,
,
«
stood this context Bernard accepts the best patristic tradition

it
in
in
of
as
call reflection turning toward the internal realm the soul

to
,
a
but he
as
rejects understanding
its
of
individualistic the cultivation the

of
self the emancipation one internal life from community and salvation
,
's
history Why Abelard such importance for Bernard can best

of
case
is
.
's
La
théologie mystique
Cf
23
de
saint Bernard Paris Vrin

49
,
1947
,
.
.
be understood from this point of view . It is an issue close to the heart

of his spiritual doctrine and at the same time an issue crucially
important for his contemporaries . It would be interesting to research
in detail , how much Bernard was aware that when rejecting the theolo
gical method of Abelard , he was fighting against a danger threatening
spirituality
its
his monastic at core
.
Much more explicitly than the Rule we discover the work
in
in
,
Bernard the promotion the community
an
of
of
the expense
at
of
understanding religious life Also the Rule states
of
individualistic
.
humility leads the practice charity However
of
of
that the ladder
to
,
.
m any humility unmistakably
of
the Rule the characteristics have
of
an
in
solitary nature Even the insertion community ap
of
the monk into his
.
pears motivated by the reason that he still too weak fight
to
the
in
is
as
of
desert hermit The superiority eremitic life undeniably
24
is
a
stated the Rule But Bernard has little

esteem for The fact remains
it
in
:
.
.
preparation higher spiri
of
his monasticism not for level
so
much
is
a
tuality Christian community
of
solitude but the formation the
in
–
paradisus claustralis that anticipates perfect contemplation the
,
–
point only
At
beatific vision heaven this think Bernard not reveals

in
,
I
.
his relationship the problems his age but also corrects certain
of
to
the spiritual traditions the Church by drawing from

of
of
currents
a
of
fuller and broader supply traditional teaching

Philologists historians
as
and have eough reasons Dom Vogüé

state that Bernard interpreted
the Rule with many
so
and used
to
he
emphasis perspective and details that
of
changes and modifications

,
original meaning But

or
live the Rule according

its
did not teach

to
.
theologian must observe that the continuity
of
Christian tradition
a
be
of
can reconciled with transformations this nature Otherwise the

.
be
survival Christ authentic spirit and life

as
teaching
of
would
«
»
's
question development
of
called into fact should the doctrine mean

In
,
.
anything positive then must mean that through such changes and
,
it
as
developments we much loss and discruption

do
not suffer rather

so
obtain new insight into the richness and validity implicit the doctrine
in
as
of
handed down monastic theoretician the historical brand Jean

A
.
Leclercq could always

. be
tempted say that Bernard his devotion

to
in
,
St
the Rule taught Benedict Benedict words

St
25
ideas
in
to
,
«
»
.
.
's
's
What true this statement the fact that Bernard quoted the Rule
is
in
is
frequently and never changed incorporated many

he
its
of
text its
;
expressions and phrases into his own doctrine and style But his
.
the Rule was compatible with associating

of
constant use new

to
it
According
24
the Rule hermits are those who have finished their monastic
to
training army
. of
the the brothers acies fraterna and are thus able face
to
in
»
(
solitary fight
Cf
the devil Regula Benedicti

in
I,
4
5
.
-
.
165
cit
25
Art
,
.
.
.
problems , new
attitudes and ideas , a thought more systematic in method
and more widely based on tradition than the teaching of the Rule .
Bernard 's of the Rule is a fascinating example for the use of
use
an unchanged text enriched through new interpretation and
traditional
adjusted to the needs and problems of one' s own society and age .
Bernard ' s devotion to tradition was entirely matched by his close
awareness of the religious experience of this contemporaries and of his
own , which he lived in full recognition of contemporary realities . For
every generation , also for us, such a balance between tradition and
modernity remains a task and a challenge .

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ANALECTA

ANNUS XXXVI - 1980

BRIAN PATRICK MCGUIRE

Caesarius of Heisterbach (c . 1180 — c . 1240 ) wrote his Dialogus Mira

rius with Caesa

For bibliography see my article Written Sources and Cistercian Inspiration

Caesarius Anacleta Cisterciensia 1979

used Dialogus Miraculorum a bbreviated will be that Joseph

English translations are my own References Roman numerals are the

stinctio Arabic the chapter Thus fifth distinction eighth

See Frederic Tubach indispensable Index Exemplorum Handbook

Religious Helsinki 1969 For the

Medieval Tales Communications 204

relationship other early thirteenth century exemplum writers see

Joseph Greven Kleinere Studien Cäsarius von Heisterbach

Historischen den Niederrhein Köln 1916

mother abbey Himmerod from neigh

life become important the miracles themselves asNatural and super

the name monk

distinctio the Eucharist Here he tells about Heisterbach

monk Gottschalk Volmarstein who during private mass he was

apparition Thereafter tried keep the vision himself for was

indiscrete boast about such spiritual favours But Gott

schalk did tell one

times almost something cultural ethnologist

when he tries explain why prophets rarely appear Latin

Christians their visions

videtur quod respectu iam dictorum modica pene nulla illorum

memoria apud Ecclesiam Latinorum Graeci vero nataliciis illorum sollemnizant

saepius illis apparent VIII

This process similar that which can the meticulous inquisition

records kept Jacques Fournier and now made Roy

widely known through

Jacques Fourmier deals with extraordinary phenomenon

their everyday lives The inquisition records have

and circumstances course

by the fact that there the telling

duress involved him

the form he said infant

this Winand And what happened after

form took him communion

saying that death

bed revealed the vision the abbot Heisterbach Henry

Heisterbach first pseudo then clearly linked

Gottschalk own experience But not stop here for

the following chapter Caesarius tells how Abbot Henry

Friesland for visitation Cistercian houses there met

priest Adolph Drenthe just souththe province

Mary with the infant reversing

seen the other lamb Then the host

saw the cross with his head bowed seen

through Caesarius explains the obscurity

window the Christ seen

the fact that Adolph lived

here immoral life had concu

bine All this Caesarius knows because the Heister

bach monk Bernard Bernard brother was pastor church Rijssen