Bernard de Périgord (died 1149) was the first bishop of the restored diocese of Zamora from 1121 until his death. He was born in the Périgord, a region in the north of the Duchy of Aquitaine in central France. As a young man, Bernard accompanied

Bernard de Sedirac Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French language, French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" an ...

, his countryman, to Spain and there entered the church of Toledo, where he became an archdeacon.Fletcher (1978), 43–44. In 1121 he was elected to replace the late Jérôme, also from Périgord, who had served as ''de facto'' bishop of Zamora since about 1102. Bernard began construction on the new

cathedral of Zamora The Cathedral of Zamora is a Catholic cathedral in Zamora, in Castile and León, Spain, located above the right bank of the Duero It remains surrounded by its old walls and gates. Built between 1151 and 1174, it is one of the finest exampl ...

and reorganised the cathedral chapter. He created a diocesan administration from scratch and began the ''

repoblación The ''Repoblación'' (, ; pt, Repovoação, ) was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Mountains, which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista. In the reign of Alfonso ...

'' (officially-sponsored resettlement) of the region with Christians. All his surviving charters are '' fueros de población'' granting rights to, and establishing the responsibilities of, new settlers (''pobladores'').The confirmation granted to those at Fuentesauco in March 1133 is printed in Latin from a cartulary copy of the 13th century in Fletcher (1978), 238, Appendix VII. Bernard also oversaw the foundation of two monasteries in his diocese, including Valparaíso, one of the earliest

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

houses in Spain.

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