Caesar of Heisterbach

Statue of Caesarius made by Ernemann Sander in Königswinter-Oberdollendorf

Caesarius of Heisterbach (ca. 1180 – ca. 1240), sometimes erroneously called in English Caesar of Heisterbach (there is no Latin tradition in the manuscripts that refers to this author as Caesar, therefore this variant is unwarranted), was the prior of the former Cistercian Heisterbach Abbey, in the Siebengebirge near the little town of Oberdollendorf, Germany.

He is best known as the compiler of a book of hagiography that contains many wondrous tales of miracles in the form of dialogues between a monk and a novice, the Dialogus magnus visionum ac miraculorum, which is a consistently readable and entertaining, if somewhat sensationalistic and credulous, compilation of that lore. The work was often referred to by preachers seeking material for sermons in the Late Middle Ages. The work was popular and was widely distributed, showing that it catered well to the tastes of the times; it was perhaps the second largest late mediaeval best-seller, second only to the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine. A vision reported in the book provided the source for the iconography of the Virgin of Mercy.

Caesarius of Heisterbach is also remembered for a maxim on the rise and fall of monasteries; he wrote that discipline causes prosperity in a monastery, and prosperity undermines discipline. He also gave the name of Titivillus as the demon who allegedly caused typographical errors in the work of scribes.

The priory was dissolved in 1803, when the library and archives were given to the city of Düsseldorf; the monastery and the church were sold and torn down in 1809. Though only the ruined apse, with the remnants of the choir remained, in 1897 a monument was erected nearby in his honour.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Caesarius of Heisterbach
• Medieval Sourcebook: Caesarius of Heisterbach, from Dialogus, book V: on medieval heresies
• Dialogus Miraculorum, volume 1, images from an 1851 edition (Latin)

Persondata
Name	Caesarius of Heisterbach
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1180
Place of birth
Date of death	1240
Place of death