Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008
you ought to bear in mind that you are the model of righteousness, the mirror of sanctity, the pattern of piety, the declarer of truth, the defender of the faith, the teacher of the nations, the leader of Christians, the friend of the Bridegroom, the Bridesman, the ordainer of the clergy, the shepherd of the people, the master of the simple, the refuge of the oppressed, the advocate of the poor, the hope of the wretched, the protector of the orphans, the judge of the widows, the eye of the blind, the tongue of the dumb, the support of the old, the punisher of crimes, the dread of the wicked, the glory of the good, a rod for the powerful, a hammer of tyrants, the father of kings, the moderator of the laws, the dispenser of the canons, the salt of the earth, the light of the world, the priest of the Most High, the vicar of Christ, the Lord’s anointed: finally, the God of Pharaoh.
This influential description of the spiritual, judicial and charismatic elements of the pope’s authority is found in the treatise De consideratione (1148/9–1152/3) which Bernard of Clairvaux addressed to his former pupil, Pope Eugenius III. The author drew especially on the language of the Old Testament, including his favourite imagery from the Song of Solomon: ‘the Bride’ of that book was Bernard’s most frequent image for the church; ‘the friend of the Bridegroom’ (that is, of Christ) was his characteristic term for the pope. The Old Testament prophets and patriarchs also inspired him with striking images of papal intervention in the church and the world, notably that final designation in his list of papal titles, which would so much preoccupy the theologians and canonists of the later middle ages.
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