St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

by Bernard of Clairvaux

Malachy O'Morgair, archbishop of Armagh and the leading reformer of the Irish church in the twelfth century, died at Clairvaux in 1148 on his way to Rome, in the arms of his friend Bernard. Bernard's Life of Malachy, written soon afterward, is the chief source for the reform movement and for Malachy's career, and this volume, published in 1920 in the series Translations of Christian Literature, gives it in English with Bernard's letters to Malachy and his two sermons on the saint's passing. H. J. Lawlor's long introduction traces the stages of the reform from the synod of Rathbreasail, and additional notes examine Bernard's description of the Irish church and the hereditary succession at Armagh. The full text is available to read online in your browser on Vinteuil, and the first chapter is free.