Bernard Ayglerius (also spelled Aiglerius, Aygler, Ayglier, or Aiglier) (1216 – 4 April 1282) was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

, and

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. He is sometimes known as ''Bernardus Cassinensis''. Born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, Bernard entered the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery of Savigny as a young man and took holy orders. He caught the eye of Pope Innocent IV and was made a papal

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

sometime before 1244, when he appeared as the auditor of the

Sacra Rota Romana The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota ( la, Tribunal Apostolicum Rotae Romanae), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin-r ...

. In 1256 he was appointed ''abbas Lerinensis'' (abbot of Lérins on the Île Saint-Honorat). Charles of Anjou brought him along as a privy counsellor to southern Italy in 1266 when he conquered the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

. Pope Urban IV named him the 59th abbot of

Montecassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

on March 29, 1263,List of abbots of Montecassino
/ref> a post which he occupied until his death. At Montecassino he recalled the monks from exile, commissioned an inquiry into the monastery's ancient rights (1270s), reformed monastic discipline, recovered lost property, founded a hospital at San Germano, convened a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

, and granted a church to the Dominicans at the request of

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

. According to several sources, Bernard was created cardinal in the consistory of 1265 or 1268, being the only cardinal created by

Pope Clement IV Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...

. Some scholars (e.g.

Konrad Eubel Konrad Eubel or Conradus Eubel (19 January 1842 – 5 February 1923) was a German Franciscan historian. He is known for his reference work, the ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', on medieval popes, cardinals and bishops. It appeared in thre ...

), however, doubt his promotion to the cardinalate, because he did not participate in any papal conclave or election celebrated after his alleged promotion, did not subscribe any papal bulls issued in this time, and did not reside in the papal curia. It is not known also to which cardinalatial order he belonged and which title or deaconry he received. He frequently acted as a papal legate: in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

against the Cathars and in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

against the

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

and in promoting a

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

. Upon his return from Constantinople he found Angevin troops occupying the castle of Montecassino and convinced Charles of Anjou to remove them. Bernard died at Montecassino and was buried there.

Notes

Sources

* *Féghali, François-Xavier
Bernard Aygler, Ayglier, ou Aiglier.
''Citadelle: un autre regard sur le Moyen Age''. Accessed 23 February 2008. *Loud, Graham A. "Continuity and change in Norman Italy: the Campania during the eleventh and twelfth centuries." ''

Journal of Medieval History The ''Journal of Medieval History'' is a major international academic journal devoted to all aspects of the history of Europe in the Middle Ages. Each issue contains 4 or 5 original articles on European history, including the British Isles, North A ...

'', Volume: 22, Issue: 4 (December, 1996), pp. 313–343. *Miranda, Salvador
Biographical Dictionary: Pope Clement IV (1265-1268), Consistory of 1265 or 1268 (I).
''The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church''. Accessed 23 February 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayglerius, Bernard 1282 deaths Clergy from Lyon French Benedictines 13th-century French cardinals French abbots Italian abbots 1216 births Ambassadors to the Republic of Venice Ambassadors to the Byzantine Empire Abbots of Monte Cassino