Ideological Texts

This intentional skewing of information in illuminated manuscripts by subtly combining two books like the Rules of Augustine and Rules of Benedict might, in a vague way, spread a certain kind of ideology and misinformation. However, there is another, more clear kind of ideology that can be spread via illuminated manuscripts. The perfect example of such a case is St. Bernard’s Apologia which I have in the exhibit as my focal piece. St. Bernard is one of the most influential people in the creation of the Cistercian order. According to Conrad Rudolph’s Bernard of Clairvaux's Apologia as a Description of Cluny, and the Controversy over Monastic Art,  "Bernard wrote the Apologia in 1125 at the request of his friend and political ally, William of Saint-Thierry, in order to define his position in regard to the current controversy over the form of regular life that had arisen between the proponents of traditional monasticism and those of the new reform movement, of which Bernard was one of the most widely recognized leaders." [2] Apologia was written as a direct response to the criticism that Bernard and the Cistercians were receiving from the Benedictines. He wanted to write a manuscript that could be shared to different groups of people that would defend his belief and solidify it in case anyone else came to attack it. Not only would it defend his belief, but it would be the factor that would spread his belief to many different groups of people. His ideology would be read by many others. This reformation was one of the defining moments of the Catholic church at the time. According to the same article,  "the controversy has generally come to be known as the "Cluny Citeaux controversy" after its two most visible participants. The Apologia has long been considered to be its most important document..." [3] The production of this type of illuminated manuscript played a huge role in this reformation. It gave Bernard the ability to reach many people with his ideas in a very accurate fashion.

If the goal of illuminated manuscripts was to spread knowledge far and wide and have it be long lasting, why did a Cistercian order have this document in their own monastery instead of it being shared with the world? The answer is very simple. The monastery that this manuscript lived in was newly built. A new Cistercian monastery would want this in their monastery as a way to backup their beliefs. As mentioned earlier, each order has its own set of rules. The Franciscans have the Rule of St. Francis, the Carthusians have Statutes, etc. The Cistercians use the Rules of Benedict as well as St. Bernard’s Apologia as guidelines to their lives. This is seen in the text of the Les Enluminures describing this object. It states that “this collection of texts, focusing on the spiritual and practical elements of monastic life, and notably including Bernard’s Apology, which addresses the excesses of Cluniac life, seems appropriate for a reformed Cistercian monastery.” [4] In this case, Cluniac, as described by Conrad Rudolph doesn’t describe any specific order or the Cluny Abbey. It describes the other orders which are not Cistercian. [5] What’s even more interesting about this manuscript is that it also contains other work that is written by someone with the pseudonym of Bernard. It is known that this is likely not written by the real Bernard, but the writings still had the same weight of effect on society at the time.