Judge Memorial CHS teacher helps translate ancient book on Cistercian Order

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SALT LAKE CITY — Dr. Paul Savage, a Judge Memorial Catholic High School history and economics teacher, has recently translated" The Great Beginning of Citeaux." He worked with Sister Benedicta Ward, SLG, on the translation.

"The Great Beginning of Citeaux" is a 12th-century collection of miracle stories, documents and other tales about the beginning and early years of the Cistercian Order of monks. It was written by Conrad of Eberbach, a Cistercian monk and abbot who lived in France and the Rhineland. It is also the text about which Savage wrote his doctoral dissertation at the University of Notre Dame.

The Cistercian Order is also known as the Trappist Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, a Roman Catholic cloistered order of monks and nuns.

The first third of Savage’s book constitutes a history of how the Cistercian Order was founded and where the order saw itself within the whole monastic tradition, said Savage, whose interest in medieval history came because "it was such a different culture from our own in terms of the place of religion," he said.

"The Great Beginning of Citeaux" was one of the largest books in the monastic world between 1180 and 1215, and it was fairly influential. It is one of the best sources for the Cistercians after Saint Bernard of Clairvaux died in 1153. He was the great exemplar of the movement and a charismatic figure who attracted hundreds of people to the order. After his death there was a kind of crisis in the order.

Bernard of Clairvaux entered the Cistercian monastery in the early 1100s with 30 companions and helped the rapid proliferation of the order. By the end of the 12th century, the order had spread throughout France and into what is now the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Eastern Europe.

"The Great Beginning of Citeaux" is a good source for social and cultural history, and "I think that many scholars are going to be happy that it’s been translated into English from ‘The Exordium Magnum,’ which contains a lot of difficult Latin," Savage said, adding that the translation will open the text up to more people. "I’m hopeful that it will lead to a lot more research on the period and also on the book itself."

"The Great Beginning of Citeaux" is interesting on many levels, Savage said. "It’s not highbrow theology; instead it’s about how the monks lived and the stories they told and how people saw the world in the late 1100s," he said. "The stories range from Clairvaux in France to Eberbach in Germany and even some stories from the Scandinavian monasteries."

Conrad’s work had never been translated into English, and while Savage was doing research for his dissertation, he was put in contact with Sr. Benedicta, who had earlier worked on the text.

"I told her some of my ideas, we collaborated and it was a wonderful opportunity to work with somebody like her. She is an incredible woman and I learned so much from her," he said. "She is an Anglican nun and a great scholar who lives in a contemplative order and nonetheless teaches at Oxford."

Sr. Benedicta is a Reader in the History of Christian Spirituality at the University of Oxford, Harris Manchester College. She has written a number of books on early monasticism and the Middle Ages; and is especially well-known for her work on the Desert Fathers and Mothers.

Judge Memorial principal Rick Bartman said the school is "blessed to have Savage as a teacher; he does an incredible job with the kids in advanced placement and his other classes, but more than that, we have a published author on staff which really lends credibility to our overall school and community," he said.

Savage grew up in Michigan and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in management from Michigan State College. After moving to Salt Lake City, he received a master’s degree in history from the University of Utah and then a doctorate from the University of Notre Dame. He began teaching at Judge Memorial in 1994.