Saint Bernard de Clairvaux: Feast Day August 20th
11-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYSVFgYiLXU
Reflections on the Pen and the Sword
Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Bernard de Clairvaux, mystic, reformer, theologian, and the driving force behind the Cistercians and the Knights Templar. Bernard has often been called the mastermind of the Templars and the “CEO” of the Cistercian Order. Without his hand, the Order of the Temple may never have taken root with such power or prestige.
The Templars were, quite simply, Cistercians with swords. Both orders shared the same *Rule*, and Bernard himself was only sixteen when he convinced thirty male relatives to join him in reviving the failing houses of the Cistercian movement. From this radical beginning, he would go on to inspire and direct one of history’s most controversial experiments: monks who bore arms.
In 1111 CE, Bernard sent the first Templar Grand Master, Hugues de Payens, to Jerusalem with nine knights. They excavated under Temple Mount for nearly a decade with the permission of the King of Jerusalem. By the time they returned to Paris in 1120, the Templars were hailed as heroes. Why? Because they had returned not empty-handed, but carrying relics, documents, and mysteries.
Bernard declared Paris to be the “New Jerusalem.” Could this be because the Templars had secured sacred treasures such as the Ark or ancient texts? Whatever they found, their fame spread quickly, and they were granted land in Paris to build their headquarters – the epicenter of a vast international network.
Bernard’s Vision of a New Knighthood
Bernard’s decision to put swords in the hands of monks was as radical in the 12th century as rewriting the Hippocratic Oath to allow doctors to euthanize patients would be today. However, the Hospitallers had been a military order 100 years prior. Regardless, it scandalized many, yet Bernard argued it was long overdue that another religious order was needed. Monasteries across Europe had been plundered and destroyed for centuries, their libraries burned and their monks defenseless. Another martial priesthood could preserve sacred knowledge while defending the vulnerable in Europe and abroad.
The success of the Templars proved him right. His “New Knighthood” inspired other religious orders to follow suit, combining spiritual devotion with martial defense.
The arrest and execution of Templars by the King of France
Bernard and the Cult of Mary
Bernard was not only a reformer of monastic life; he was also a renovator of Christian spirituality. His sermons lifted women into new prominence through *Mariology*, the veneration of the Virgin Mary. To Bernard, Mary was the “Morning Star” guiding Christians safely to port. His famous words still echo today:
*“In danger, in anguish, in uncertainty, think of Mary, call upon Mary… While she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear.”*
Through Bernard’s influence, women became worthy of protection rather than chattel. Courtly Love and Chivalry flowered, nourished by the Troubadours of Languedoc – some of whom shared Bernard’s family ties.
Family Ties, Bloodlines, and Secrets
Bernard’s maternal grandmother is said to have been married into the family of the Counts of Toulouse, patrons of the Cathars and custodians of esoteric traditions. This connection helps explain Bernard’s sympathy for mystical wisdom traditions and his possible role in preserving sacred lineages.
The Black Madonna, venerated by Bernard, concealed a mystery: the Magdalene as Christ’s bride. Bernard’s bloodline heritage and his mystical devotion to Mary suggest that he carried a deeper, hidden theology – one which resonated with the Troubadours, Cathars, and later, the Templars themselves.
The Black Madonna of Temple Balsall of England by G. Cornwall 2015
The Legacy of a Saint
Bernard of Clairvaux fed the poor at his abbey gates, sometimes in the hundreds. He refused finery, spoke to the people in their own languages rather than cloistered Latin, and became a saint in his own lifetime.
But more than that, he reshaped Europe. His vision birthed the Knights Templar, inspired chivalric codes, elevated women in faith and culture, and gave Christianity a new mystical heart in the Virgin Mary. The force of his charisma and conviction is still felt today – in history, legend, and living devotion.
Oak Island Connections
As seen on *The Curse of Oak Island* (Season 11), the Cistercians and Templars extended their reach across the Atlantic to preserve their heritage which was often at odds with Rome.
Castle Talmont St. Hilaire, owned by Richard the Lionheart and later by Lord Louis Thouars, had its own harbor and may have launched voyages westward. Edward I of England owned Talmont-sur-Gironde in the south and fortified it with a harbor capable of launching ships to North America.
Could Oak Island’s mysterious medieval wharf, dated to 1220 CE, be linked to such ventures?
For more on this, see my book *Oak Island’s Mysteries of the Map* (ISBN: 9798211792043), available on Amazon.
Closing Reflection
It is easy to become dazzled by the glamour of the Templars themselves, but without Bernard, their story would not exist. He was the Pen behind the Sword, the mystic behind the warrior, and the quiet revolutionary who remade Christendom.
Saint Bernard de Clairvaux – today, we remember you.
Further Reading
* *The Secret Dossier of a Knight Templar of the Sangreal* (ISBN-10: 1912971003)
* *Oak Island’s Mysteries of the Map* (ISBN: 9798211792043)
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