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The Medieval Church · c. 1119–1153
The Letters
Bernard of Clairvaux · 1090–1153
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What it is
Over five hundred letters running the affairs of Europe from a monastery — preaching a crusade, hounding Abelard, defending Jews against a preacher inciting massacre, and reproaching kings.
Why it lasted
The most powerful man in twelfth-century Christendom held no office higher than abbot, and these letters show how he did it.
Where to read it
Public domain and free to read in full, though not held here. The archives below have it.
These open a search on each archive rather than a direct link, which is the honest way to point at an edition nobody here has checked line by line.
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