Daily Medieval

John Scotus Eriugena (c.815 - c.877) was a philosopher, theologian, poet, and master of the palace school of Aachen under the Carolingians....

After being slapped down at the Council of Pisa in 1135, Henry of Lausanne refused an invitation to join St. Bernard at Clairvaux, opting ...

When Bishop Hildebert returned to Le Mans after his visit to Rome (to ask the pope to let him resign from his position), he faced a situati...

After Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a long statement endorsing the new order at the request of his uncle André de Montbard , the Knights Temp...

When André de Montbard's new order of monks/knights intended to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land was suffering due to lack of donation...

André de Montbard (5 November c. 1097 – 17 January 1156) was the other child of Count Bernard I de Montbard (1040–1103) of Burgundy and his ...

Count Bernard I de Montbard (1040–1103) of Burgundy and his wife Humberto de Roucy had several children. Sadly, most of them died very young...

In 1107, a Burgundian woman from a noble family died. Her name was Alèthe de Montbard, and she had several children, one of whom was named B...

After Robert of Molesme returned to Molesme monastery to restore strict adherence to the Benedictine Rule, Alberic of Cîteaux was elected a...

The Rule of St. Benedict was very influential and led to the founding of many monasteries. It was also adopted by groups that started their...

In 1114, the ruler of Salles in France—Gerald de Salles, a French monastic reformer—wanted to found an abbey in the town of Sainte-Trie. He ...

King Louis VII of France had a problem. His clever and wealthy wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine , was really getting on his nerves. On the Second ...

The Second Crusade was the first to be led by European kings. It was announced by Pope Eugene III , preached widely by Bernard of Clairvaux ...

Peter of Montboissier was born to a woman who was called "Blessed Raingarde" (she was revered as saintly but not formally canonize...

Alberic started in Beauvais in France but went everywhere once he became a papal legate. Born in 1080, he entered Cluny and became a Benedic...

I mentioned yesterday that John of Salisbury was one of the medieval authors who understood  eclipses . He had a long career that I'll g...

Aelred of Rievaulx took a successful abbey and made it even more grand (although the illustration will show that its fortunes have fallen so...

Large stone buildings intended to last for centuries, such as examples of Gothic Architecture , would be exposed to ages and ages of rainwat...

After the Ostrogoths took Rome in 476 under Odoacer , the Senate continued managing affairs; after all, the "barbarians" didn'...

When Pope Honorius II died in 1130, two popes were elected by rival factions, first Innocent II by a small contingent of cardinals, and then...