Bernard of Cluny
1100–1160 · France · Medieval
Twelfth-century Benedictine monk of Cluny whose long Latin satire De contemptu mundi gave English hymnody 'Jerusalem the Golden' and its companion hymns of the heavenly city.
Life
Little is certain about Bernard's life. Medieval sources variously connect him with Morlaàs in Béarn or Morlaix in Brittany, hence the names 'of Morlaix' or 'of Morlas'; one scholar has argued for Languedoc. He is thought to have been first a monk of Saint-Sauveur d'Aniane and to have entered the great abbey of Cluny under Abbot Pons (1109–22). His fame rests on De contemptu mundi ('On Contempt for the World'), a Latin poem of some three thousand lines satirising the failings of the world and the Church.
As a Hymn Writer
The hymns sung under Bernard's name are centos from the opening of De contemptu mundi, where he contrasts the brevity and corruption of earthly life with the glory of the heavenly Jerusalem. John Mason Neale translated portions in the 1850s, producing 'Jerusalem the Golden', 'The World Is Very Evil', 'Brief Life Is Here Our Portion' and 'For Thee, O Dear, Dear Country'. They are hymns of longing for heaven, rich in the imagery of Revelation 21–22, and they keep the Church's eyes on its true home.
In The Lutheran Hymnal and Lutheran Service Book (4)
- Brief Life Is Here Our Portion
- The World Is Very Evil
- Jerusalem the Golden
- For Thee, O Dear, Dear Country
Sources: Wikipedia, 'Bernard of Cluny'.