PERDITE VIXI: BERNARD DE CLAIRVAUX ET LUTHER DEVANT L'ECHEC EXISTENTIEL

Abstract

Summary In this article I examine the notions of self-accusation, self-pity and self-justification in Bernard and Luther. As for Luther, the medieval, monastic concept of the perdite vixi plays an important role in his search for salvation. It is the utter denial of any human contribution whatever to the justification by faith alone which is the condition for the gift of grace. Accordingly, Luther praises Bernard, not only for having met this requirement in his theology of grace but also for having applied it to the wretched condition of the monastic way of life. Interpreting the perdite vixi, in accordance with the late-medieval tradition, as a confession made by Bernard on his deathbed, Luther supposes Bernard to have abandonded his monastic vows at the end of his life. Bernard, on the other hand, appears to have used the perdite vixi in quite a different context. For him it is the monastic setting which coins the meaning of religious language. Whether he accuses others, like Abelard or the monks of Clu...