Caesarius of Heisterbach

Born about 1170 at or near Cologne, he was educated at the Cathedral School, where he studied the theology of St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and St. Gregory the Great; the philosophy of Boethius, and the literary masterpieces of Virgil, Ovid, Seneca, and Claudian.

He was a gifted and diligent scholar and upon the completion of his studies was thoroughly conversant with the writings of the Fathers of the Church and master of a refined and fluent Latin style.

[2] Acting on the advice of Gevard, Abbot of Heisterbach, Caesarius entered that monastery in 1199 and after some time was appointed master of novices.

[3] It was his duty to imbue the candidates with the spirit of austere asceticism which then animated the Cistercian Order, and to instruct them in the necessary knowledge of theology.

Upon being asked how to distinguish Cathars from Catholics at the besieged town of Béziers, Arnaud supposedly replied "Caedite eos.

His fame as teacher soon spread far beyond the walls of his monastery and, yielding to requests from various quarters, Abbot Henry, Gevard's successor, asked Caesarius to write an abstract of his teachings.

His ninth book was written because his fellow monks asked him for a simple and clearly understandable explanation of the Maria sequence "Ave preclara maris stella".

His homilies, on the other hand, deal with the evangelical texts of the Sundays and festivals throughout the entire Church year, and are to be regarded as theological tracts and meditations rather than sermons and speeches.