Three Pseudo-Bernardine Works: (273 Cistercian Studies Series)

During the "Silver Age" of the Cistercians (the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries), pseudepigraphical compositions bearing the name Bernard flourished. Important for the history of monasticism and, more broadly, of Christian spiritual formation and practice, these little-studied writings interpret, appropriate, transform, and apply Saint Bernard of Clairvaux's authentic works, transmitting them to new audiences. Under the direction of Ann Astell and Joseph Wawrykow, with the assistance of Thomas Clemmons, a talented team of young scholars from the University of Notre Dame (the Catena Scholarium) offers here a complete translation of three of these Pseudo-Bernardine essays, providing notes that identify sources, clarify allusions, highlight rhetorical strategies, and demonstrate overall a fascinating, intertextual complexity. The Bernard who emerges from these texts speaks with many voices to herald a living, Bernardine tradition.   

Table of Contents:
Contents   Prefatory Acknowledgments Translators and Annotators Abbreviations Introduction   The Pseudo-Bernardine Works Formula honestae vitae. Instruction for the Honorable Life Instructio sacerdotalis. Instruction for a Priest: A Treatise on the Principal Mysteries of Our Religion Tractatus de statu virtutum humilitatis, obedientiae, timoris, et charitatis. A Treatise on the State of the Virtues   Bibliography Scriptural Index  

About the Author :
Ann W. Astell is professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. The author of six books on medieval literature and spirituality, she has published recently on Aelred of Rievaulx in Cistercian Studies Quarterly. She and Joseph Wawrykow directed the Catena Scholarium in its translation and annotation of the five sermons in the Lincoln Collection included in this volume. Elias Dietz has been a monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani since 1988. He has published studies on early Cistercian authors in various journals, including Cistercian Studies Quarterly,of which he was editor from 2003 to 2007. Since 2008 he has served as abbot of his community. With regard to Isaac of Stella, his main contributions have been a study of his biography (CSQ, 2006) and an edition and translation of his Letter on the Canon of the Mass (Cîteaux, 2014). He is currently collaborating with Sources Chrétiennes on a volume of Isaac’s letters.

Review :
"Why should we know about texts once wrongly attributed to St. Bernard? The fact that some of them were extremely popular, while others were not or were in vogue only regionally suggests that readers looked beyond the name Bernard to the contents of the manuscripts. Lovingly translated and beautifully annotated, these works offer new and valuable glimpses into twelfth- and thirteenth-century religious mentalities."Barbara H. Rosenwein, Professor Emerita, Loyola University Chicago "Like many great spiritual writers, Bernard of Clairvaux had a number of works pseudonymously ascribed to him after his death. In Bernard's case the total is said to be as high as 177. In modern times we rightly value authentic works over pseudonymous ones, but this should not lead us to neglect the `pseudo-Bernard,' who has much to tell us about the saint's fame and the subsequent history of his ideas. This valuable translation provides readable and well-annotated versions of three pseudo-Bernardine meditative texts particularly useful for the religious formation of monks. It is a welcome addition to our knowledge of Bernard's afterlife and the history of the medieval monasticism."Bernard McGinn, Divinity School, University of Chicago