Burchard of Bellevaux
Benedictine monk, abbott of Bellevaux and writer
Burchard of Bellevaux (c. 1100–1165) was a Cistercian monk and author who was known for his work Apologia de barbis (A Defense of Beards). A student of the Cistercian reformer Bernard of Clairvaux, in 1136, he became abbot of the monastery of Balerne, a Benedictine monastery that adopted the Cistercian reforms. After 22 years there, he became the abbot of Bellevaux, where he composed the Apologia de barbis sometime before his death around 1165.
Apologia de barbis
The Aplogia de barbis was unknown until 1929, when the manuscript was discovered in a Swiss booksellers by E. Goldschmidt, who later produced the first edition of the book in a limited run of 300 copies.
A significant example of 12th-century biblical exegesis, the text is divided into three sermons: "On the Cleanliness of Beards," "On the Form of Beards," and "On the Nature of Beards." Each sermon offers allegorical interpretations of beards in the bible and other medieval Christian texts as well as moralizing commentary on contemporary styles of beards and mustaches. (For example, his discussion of beards on goats leads to a conclusion that Jews are correctly caricatured as goats, since "their long, dangling beards prevent the 'truth' from entering their hearts", according to Sebastian Coxon.) Written in response to lay-brothers who believed they were being forced to shave their beards, the Apologia de barbis pays particular attention to explaining why lay-brothers should remain bearded while monks were required to shave. In addition, there is a lengthy explanation of the monastic tonsure.
Editions
Huygens, R.B.C. Apologiae Duae. Corpus Christianorum: Continuatio Mediaevalis 62.
“Burchard of Bellevaux” enters the record as benedictine monk, abbott of Bellevaux and writer. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Burchard, Bellevaux and Benedictine can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q85689860. VIAF identifies the subject as 192531067. The Library of Congress control number is n85310241. 1 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1100, 1165, 1136 and 1929.
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This entry incorporates text from “Burchard of Bellevaux” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.