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William of St. Thierry · 1135–1145 · Other
The Meditative Prayers emerged from William of St. Thierry's mature period as abbot and spiritual director, written between 1135 and 1145 when he had withdrawn from active leadership to pursue contemplative life…
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Bernard of Clairvaux · 1135–1153 · Sermon
Bernard of Clairvaux's Sermons on the Song of Songs represents the culmination of medieval monastic theology's approach to Scripture as a map of the soul's journey to God. Preached to his community…
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Peter Lombard · 1139–1141 · Commentary
Peter Lombard's Collectanea in Epistolas Pauli represents one of the most influential biblical commentaries of the twelfth century, composed between 1139 and 1141 during his early career as a master at the…
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Gilbert of Poitiers · 1140–1154 · Commentary
Gilbert of Poitiers composed this commentary on Boethius's brief but profound theological treatise "De Hebdomadibus" during his tenure as chancellor of Chartres and later as Bishop of Poitiers in the mid-twelfth century.…
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Gilbert of Poitiers · 1140–1154 · Commentary
Gilbert of Poitiers composed this extensive commentary on Boethius's theological treatises on the Trinity during his tenure as chancellor of the cathedral school of Chartres and later as Bishop of Poitiers. Writing…
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William of St. Thierry · 1140 · Treatise
The Disputatio adversus Petrum Abaelardum is William of St. Thierry's theological treatise attacking the doctrinal innovations of Peter Abelard, written around 1140 during the height of scholastic controversy at the University of…
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On Conversion De conversione ad clericos
Bernard of Clairvaux · 1140 · Sermon
Bernard of Clairvaux delivered this sermon to address the spiritual complacency he observed among the secular clergy of his day. Writing in 1140 during his mature period as Abbot of Clairvaux, Bernard…
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Gilbert of Poitiers · 1140–1154 · Treatise
Gilbert of Poitiers composed this theological treatise on the distinction between soul, spirit, and mind during his tenure as Bishop of Poitiers in the mid-twelfth century. Writing amid the intellectual ferment of…
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Hildegard of Bingen · 1140–1170 · Other
The Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of Celestial Revelations) is a collection of liturgical songs composed by Hildegard of Bingen over several decades in the twelfth century. As abbess…
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William of St. Thierry · 1140–1148 · Treatise
William of Saint-Thierry wrote this treatise on the nature of faith and spiritual knowledge during his final years at the hermitage of Signy, completing it between 1140 and 1148. The work emerged…
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Aelred of Rievaulx · 1142–1147 · Treatise
Aelred of Rievaulx wrote this treatise on spiritual friendship during his years as abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx in Yorkshire, completing it between 1142 and 1147. The work emerged from…
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Aelred of Rievaulx · 1142 · Treatise
Aelred of Rievaulx composed this treatise on pastoral prayer around 1142 during his tenure as abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx in Yorkshire. Written for his fellow abbots and monastic superiors,…
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Aelred of Rievaulx · 1142–1143 · Treatise
The Speculum Caritatis, or Mirror of Charity, is Aelred of Rievaulx's first major theological work, written between 1142 and 1143 at the request of Bernard of Clairvaux. Bernard had challenged the young…
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Aelred of Rievaulx · 1142–1167 · Book
Aelred of Rievaulx composed these spiritual treatises and his pastoral prayer during his tenure as abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx in Yorkshire from 1147 until his death in 1167. Writing…
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William of St. Thierry · 1144–1148 · Letter
William of St. Thierry wrote this letter to the Carthusian monks of Mont-Dieu around 1144–1148, during his final years as a Cistercian monk at Signy. Having devoted himself to the contemplative life…
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Peter Lombard · 1148–1151 · Treatise
The Four Books of Sentences stands as medieval Christianity's most influential theological textbook, composed by Peter Lombard while he taught at the cathedral school of Notre Dame in Paris. Writing between 1148…
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Bernard of Clairvaux · 1148 · Other
The Life of Saint Malachy is Bernard of Clairvaux's biographical tribute to Malachy O'Morgair, the Irish archbishop of Armagh who died at Clairvaux in 1148 while returning from a pilgrimage to Rome.…
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Bernard of Clairvaux · 1149–1152 · Treatise
Bernard of Clairvaux wrote this extended letter of spiritual counsel between 1149 and 1152 for Pope Eugenius III, his former monk at Clairvaux who had been elevated to the papacy in 1145.…
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Richard of St. Victor · 1150–1173 · Commentary
Richard of St. Victor's Allegoriae in Vetus Testamentum represents the flowering of medieval allegorical interpretation within the influential school of St. Victor in Paris. Writing in the latter half of the twelfth…
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Hildegard of Bingen · 1150–1160 · Treatise
Hildegard of Bingen's Physica represents one of the most comprehensive medieval treatises on natural medicine and the spiritual properties of creation. Written during the 1150s at her monastery of Rupertsberg, this extensive…
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Richard of St. Victor · 1150–1173 · Treatise
Richard of St. Victor's De emmanuele stands as one of the most sophisticated Christological treatises of the twelfth century, emerging from the intellectual ferment of the Abbey of St. Victor in Paris.…
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Richard of St. Victor · 1150–1173 · Treatise
Benjamin Minor stands as one of the most systematic treatments of contemplative prayer to emerge from the medieval monastery. Written by Richard of St. Victor during his tenure as prior of the…
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Richard of St. Victor · 1150–1173 · Book
Richard of St. Victor stands among the most systematic and psychologically astute writers on contemplative prayer in the medieval West. A Scottish canon who became prior of the famous Abbey of St.…
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Guigo II (Carthusian) · 1150–1188 · Treatise
The Scala Claustralium, or "Ladder of Monks," emerged from the contemplative silence of the Grande Chartreuse in the late twelfth century. Guigo II, the ninth prior of the Carthusian order, wrote this…
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