Bernard of Clairvaux towered over the society of twelfth-century Europe. A brilliant preacher and a polished writer, he counselled kings and rebuked popes. He moved in the complicated affairs of men with a dexterity which brought him acclaim and adversaries, yet he exhorted Christians to turn from worldly affairs to serve God. Bernard as a profound mystic sought, about all and in all, to be with God and to bring all persons to the experience of God. His Sermons on the Song of Songs are among the most famous and most beautiful examples of medival scriptural exegesis. In them the modern reader can catch a glimpse of the genius which an entire generation found irresistable.
