William of St-Thierry

William of St-Thierry was a theologian and mystic, so called from the monastery of which he was abbot.

Biography

He was born at Liège (in present Belgium) of a noble family between 1075 and 1080 and died at Signy in 1148. William probably studied at the cathedral school in Reims (though some have argued at Laon) prior to his profession as a Benedictine monk, together with his brother Simon, at the monastery of St. Nicaise, also in Reims, sometime after 1111. From here both eventually became abbots of other Benedictine abbeys: Simon of St. Nicolas-aux-Bois, in the Diocese of Laon, and William at St. Thierry on a hill overlooking Reims in 1119. In 1118 William met St. Bernard, abbot of Clairvaux, a Cistercian monastery, where they formed a close, intimate friendship that lasted for life. His greatest desire was to move to Clairvaux and profess as a Cistercian, but his friend Bernard disapproved of the plan and imposed on him the responsibility of remaining in charge of the at St. Thierry as a Benedictine. Their friendship, however, grew stronger while each lay in the infirmary of Clairvaux convolescing from illness in 1125.

After having assisted in 1132 at the first General Chapter of the Benedictines held at Soissons, where many Cistercian reforms were adopted by the Benedictines (in part through the influence of William), William, on account of long infirmities while all the more attracted to a life of contemplation, resigned his abbacy in 1135 and the newly established Cistercian abbey at Signy also in the diocese of Reims). He did not venture to retire to Clairvaux lest his friend Bernard would refuse to accept his abdication. Here, amid almost constant suffering, he divided his free time between prayer, study, and writing. According to a contemporary, his death occurred in 1148 about the time of the council held at Reims under Pope Eugenius. The necrology of Signy dates it 8 September, a few years prior to his good friend Bernard's death in 1153.

Writings

William alerted others to the potential errors of Peter Abelard and urged St. Bernard to act against him. As a result, Abelard was condemned by the Council of Sens in 1140 or 1141. William wrote against what he saw as errors in the writings of William of Conches concerning trinitarian theology and also against Rupert of Deutz on sacramental theology. Besides his letters to St. Bernard and others, William wrote several works, some of which he himself enumerates, though somewhat incorrectly. These include eighteen works of different genres but all within the traditional monastic literature of the day and all written in Latin. In chronological order, these include:

"De contemplando Deo" (On Contemplating God) in 1121-1124

"De natura et dignitate amoris" (On the Nature and Dignity of Love) around the same time

"De sacramento altaris" (On the Sacrament of the Altar) which is the earliest Cistercian text on sacramental theology and written in 1127

"Commentarius in Canticum canticorum e scriptis S. Ambrosii" (Commentary on the Song of Songs from the Writings of St. Ambrose) around 1128

"Excerpta ex libris sancti Gregorii super Canticum canticorum" (Excerpts from the Books of St. Gregory [the Great] over the Song of Songs) around the same year "Brevis commentatio in Canticum canticorum" (Brief Comments on the Song of Songs) his first exposition of this biblical text in 1130

"Responsio abbatum" (Response of the Abbots) from the Chapter in 1132

"Meditativae orationes" (Meditations on Prayer) in 1137

"Expositio super Epistolam ad Romanos" (Exposition over the Letter to the Romans) in 1137

"De natura corporis et animae" (On the Nature of the Body and the Soul) around 1138

"Expositio super Canticum canticorum" (Exposition over the Song of Songs) his longer commentary in 1139

"Disputatio adversus Petrum Abelardum" (Disputation against Peter Abelard) as a letter to Bernard in 1140

"Epistola de erroribus Guillelmi de Conchis" (Letter on the Errors of William of Conches) also addressed to Bernard in 1141

"Sententiae de fide" (Thoughts on Faith) in 1142 which is now lost

"Speculum fidei" (Mirror of Faith) around 1142-1144

"Aenigma fidei" (Enigma of Faith) around the same time

"Epistola ad fratres de Monte-Dei" (Letter to the Brothers of Mont-Dieu, more often called The Golden Epistle) in 1144-1145

"Vita prima Bernardi" (First Life of Bernard) in 1147 which was later added to by other authors after Bernard’s death in 1153

Several of William's writings were quite popular even by the end of the 12th century, so much so that they were also frequently attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux in during the Middle Ages--a sign of their quality and also another reason for their continued popularity. William drew upon the existing and traditional monastic and theological authors of his day and significant authors of previous centuries, but not in a slavish way; rather he is creative and independent (in the best sense of the word) in his thought and exposition. His own commentaries show his remarkable insight while they also incorporate traditional authors such as Augustine of Hippo and Origen of Alexandria. Perhaps his most influential works are those dealing with the spiritual life of the contemplative monk. From his "Contemplating God" to his "Golden Epistle", one can see a progressive evolution of William's thought and a maturing of William's spiritual insight and experience, while also noticing an improved, more polished writing style and organization. Some scholars also argue that although William drew on texts and authors in the past, his creativity and usage of spiritual terminology was also influential on many other authors from the 12th century onward.

The Latin texts of most of William's writings are contained in J.-P. Migne's "Patrologia Cursus Completus Series Latina" ("Patrologia Latina") volume 180, with other works also in volumes 184 and 185. The bulk of William’s writings are available in English translation from Cistercian Publications [http://www.cistercianpublications.org/] located in Kalamazoo along with the Institute for Cistercian Studies at Western Michigan University.

External links

* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15638a.htm "Catholic Encyclopedia" article]