Abbot of Saint-Denis, royal ambassador to pontifical courts, prime minister and counsellor to King Louis VI and regent of France during the Second Crusade… This is how we could begin the lengthy list of offices held by one of the greatest statesmen of the 12th century.
However, these prerogatives alone would not be enough to merit our admiration. How illusory and fleeting is the praise of men! In addition to his earthly glories, the unforgettable Abbot Suger appears in the firmament of medieval civilization as an example of virtue. Above all, we are enchanted by his response to a high calling: to transpose the atmosphere of Heaven to the visible reality of this earth.
Endowed with admirable intelligence
The future abbot was born into a simple and pious family between 1081 and 1082. The place of his birth remains uncertain and debated by historians. More than his birthplace, however, his name would be forever linked to the place where he spent much of his life: the famous Benedictine abbey of Saint-Denis.
The blessed walls of this abbey welcomed Suger when he was just ten years old, His parents placed him in the hands of Abbot Yves as an oblate, entrusting him with the child’s education. In short order, the boy stood out for his propensity and enthusiasm for study, which is why he was soon included in the group of the most dedicated students. Among them, Suger found the royal prince Louis, with whom he formed a sincere friendship. For ten years, from 1094 to 1104, the nobleman shared both work and diversions with the son of a peasant.
At the age of twenty-three, Suger asked for the Benedictine habit. Abbot Adam welcomed him paternally and, discerning in him an excellent intellectual talent, sent him to study at other important schools in Europe. It is said that he possessed admirable eloquence and a prodigious memory, retaining forever all that he read even once.1
In addition to his intellectual qualities, Suger showed great responsibility and a sense of order. For this reason, after a few years Adam entrusted him with the priory of Toury-en-Beauce, the first of the monasteries dependent on Saint-Denis.
Abbot of Saint-Denis
As the years went by, increasingly important duties were assigned to Suger, and he fulfilled all of them with exactitude and success.
In 1122, the king made him his counsellor and sent him as ambassador to the Holy Father, Callixtus II. On his return voyage, he was told that Abbot Adam had died and that the monks had already elected him as his successor. Suger was therefore to occupy the abbot’s seat in Saint-Denis.
In his new post, the Benedictine was faced with a critical situation: the monastery lacked financial resources and, above all, manifested a scandalous decay of customs. The abbey more resembled a princely residence than a religious monastery. Courtiers and nobles, civilians and military personnel customarily roamed the interior of the building with complete freedom. Unfortunately, the poison of the world had also penetrated Suger’s soul to a certain extent and he hurried to remedy the financial crisis, neglecting his primary mission of watching over souls.
Saint-Denis was not the only abbey in which the spirit of St. Benedict had faded. It was, in fact, just a sample of the situation in which a large number of Benedictine monasteries found themselves – many of them affiliated to the Cluny reform.
The decline of this institution historically coincided with the flourishing of the Cistercian family. Inspired by the seraphic figure of Friar Bernard of Clairvaux, the white monks embraced a lifestyle of total renunciation of the world and strict observance of the Benedictine rule. Not surprisingly, friction soon arose between the two ways of life.
Amidst slander and truth, the quarrel between the Cistercians and the Cluniacs reached its climax. Serious intervention was needed to resolve the problem. Moved by obedience, St. Bernard wrote an Apology in defence of the religious state. The work first emphasizes how all the Orders must live in harmony within the Church, forming one body. Next, he strongly denounced the deviations of certain Cluniac monasteries, showing how they had abandoned the religious spirit. Paying attention to detail, he criticizes, among other things, the lack of mortification in food and rest, the unbecoming extravagance in which some abbots and superiors indulged, and the worldly decorations of some churches and buildings.
This denunciation, together with the example of integrity given by St. Bernard himself, moved Suger to reform his community. The abbot’s fervour when celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, the piety with which he attended the singing of the Office, and his zeal for the Liturgy now shone as an edifying model to be followed by those monks who, like him, desired a life of austerity and perfection. And the bond between the two abbots would endure until death parted them. In the plans of Providence, the Saint of Clairvaux became not only the craftsman, but the very light illuminating the stained glass window of Suger’s soul. And soon, this rose window would produce magnificent reflections.
Pioneer of Gothic architecture
One gets the impression that God Himself was “waiting” anxiously for Suger’s conversion in order to entrust him with a very high calling and favour his soul with new gifts. The Most High wanted to make him an interpreter of Heaven for men.
A significant chapter in Suger’s story was the remodelling of the entire building of Saint-Denis Abbey, especially the construction of a new choir for the church. This endeavour defined an architectural innovation: tall, slender columns with arches that ended in a point towards the sky. It was the beginning of the Gothic style.
Judging by the blessings bestowed on the churches that, after Saint-Denis, followed the same style, we realize that there is no proportion between purely human ingenuity and the graces bestowed by God on these sacred buildings. A question therefore needs to be raised: even if historical sources make no mention of it, did Suger not receive a revelation, either by an inner voice or by an angelic action, on how to transform the place of worship into a little Heaven? And could that not have been the starting point for a new regime of graces, of which the splendour of the Middle Ages was only the beginning? History unfortunately does not give an explicit answer to these suppositions, which seem so reasonable…
Election of Suger as abbot, by Juste d’Egmont – Museum of Fine Arts, Nantes (France)
The construction work took several years and finally, in June 1144, the consecration ceremony took place. Bishops and nobles formed a solemn procession, with the king himself, Louis VII, at the head. The relics of the saints were displayed for the veneration of the faithful, especially the silver urn containing the remains of St. Denis, the first Bishop of Paris. The blessing that pervades the sacred building draws everyone into a heavenly atmosphere; they seem to be in Paradise rather than on this earth.
Regent of France
A few years passed and, in 1147, the king was once again in Saint-Denis. Under the Gothic arches, he was not expecting a ceremony or an inauguration. What brought him there was the desire to go to the Holy Land. In the abbey, the Pope himself hands him the battle standard of command. This was the start of the Second Crusade. But why did the sovereign decide to organize his armies and march towards Jerusalem?
Louis VII’s reign was sadly full of inexcusable disgraces. And one of the serious flaws in his conduct was his violent feud with one of his vassals, Count Theobald of Champagne. In 1143, the monarch devastated the province and set fire to the town of Vitry-sur-Marne, in the count’s domains. This tyrannical behaviour was fiercely contested by St. Bernard and Suger, who made the king, after some reluctance, acknowledge his mistake and restore peace. Coming to his senses, he was filled with remorse, above all for having committed the sacrilegious and unjust crime of setting fire to the church where the people of Vitry had taken refuge.
Eager to do penance for his sin, Louis VII announced his desire to leave for the Holy Land during Christmas of 1145. The nobles soon supported him. The Holy Father, Eugenius III, also agreed with the endeavour. St. Bernard and Suger, however, seeing the dangers that the absence of the sovereign meant for the kingdom, advised him to abandon the plan. However, the king was sure of his decision and gave orders for all the preparations for the crusade to be made.
Thus, in June 1147, Louis VII departed for Jerusalem and the weight of the nation was placed entirely on the shoulders of Suger, appointed regent against his will. That spirit which had previously eagerly sought new positions, now, holding the highest rank in the kingdom, protested, preferring the solitude and silence of the cloister. Only obedience to the Supreme Pontiff impelled him to accept the position.
As expected, the first revolts and disorders soon broke out. The nobles decide to seize the royal fortresses, some villages rose up against their own bishops, small lords raided the lands of monasteries. As if that was not enough, Robert of Dreux, the sovereign’s brother, abandoned the Crusade and tried to take the crown for himself. Suger resisted and reinforced the royal garrisons. He sent a peremptory letter to Louis VII, showing the state of the kingdom of France, and obtained excommunication from Eugenius III for those who tried to disturb the peace of the nation.
These events certainly hastened the monarch’s return, which took place in July 1149. Suger was finally able to return to his abbey, after receiving from king and people the well-deserved title of “Father of the Fatherland.”2
The death of a saint
Back at his beloved abbey, Suger could finally prepare for his definitive encounter with God. The will written years earlier, in 1137, denotes this holy concern. What did the powerful abbot express, foreseeing his death? Repentance for his years lived in frivolity and the request that the monks beseech God for the forgiveness of his sins. The humble memory of his mistakes and laxity had served as a guarantee that, even in the splendour of the court and in the face of the applause of the world, he would maintain his integrity intact and, thus, be able to appear with a clean soul before divine judgement.
Funeral de Suger, por Juste d’Egmont – Museu de Belas Artes, Nantes (França)
At the end of 1150, the final moment came into plain view on Suger’s horizon. The gravity of death, which threatened to be imminent, compelled him to ask the help of the one who had freed him from sin and who could now introduce him to Heaven. By means of letters, the two abbots bid farewell to this world in the most elevated language. St. Bernard would soon follow him into eternity.
It was January 13, 1151, when Suger felt his time had come. He said goodbye to the community, prostrating himself before each of the monks. In this way, he wished to demonstrate his sorrow for any possible fault committed against them. After this sublime gesture of humility, the abbot surrendered his soul to God, while his monks were intoning the Creed. ◊
Notes
1 Cf. DARRAS, Joseph-Épiphane. Histoire générale de l’Église depuis la création jusqu’a nos jours. Paris: Louis Vivès, 1877, t.25, p.164.
2 GOBRY, Ivan. Les moines en Occident. Paris: François-Xavier de Guibert, 2008, t.VI, p.119.
