John R. Sommerfeldt

John R. Sommerfeldt (born February 4, 1933 in Detroit ) is an American university professor, medieval historian and Cistercian researcher .

life and work

Ann Arbor

John Robert Sommerfeldt wanted to enter the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani , but had to refrain from doing so for health reasons. He studied from 1951 at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and received his doctorate in 1960 with the thesis Consistency of thought in the works of Bernard of Clairvaux. A study of mystical leadership in the twelfth century (summarized under the title “The Epistemological value of Mysticism in the thought of Bernard of Clairvaux” in: Studies in medieval culture , edited by himself, Kalamazoo 1964).

Kalamazoo

Then he went to the Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo , where he founded the Medieval Institute and organized a biennial congress from 1962 (from 1970 annually) on medieval studies ( Conference on medieval studies , from 1979 International Congress on Medieval Studies ), to which he mainly also invited young researchers and who, among other things, developed extraordinarily because of the favorable central location of Kalamazoo and which later became today's Center for Cistercian and Monastic Studies . In 1973 he brought the publishing house Cistercian Publications to Kalamazoo. His successor in the management of the Medieval Institute was Otto Gründler (1928–2004).

Irving (Texas)

In 1977 Sommerfeldt went to the Catholic private university University of Dallas in Irving (Texas) , where Louis Julius Lekai worked, was president of the university (1978-1980), was dean of Constantin College of Liberal Arts and taught medieval history until his retirement.

reputation

Sommerfeldt is considered one of the leading experts on the Cistercians Bernhard von Clairvaux and Aelred von Rievaulx . In 2004 a commemorative publication was published under the title Truth as Gift .

Works

author

The spiritual teachings of Bernard of Clairvaux. An intellectual history of the early Cistercian order . Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo 1991.
Bernard of Clairvaux on the life of the mind . Newman Press, New York 2004.
Bernard of Clairvaux on the spirituality of relationship . Newman Press, New York 2004.
Aelred of Rievaulx. Pursuing perfect happiness . Newman Press, New York 2005.
Aelred of Rievaulx on love and order in the world and the church . Newman Press, New York 2006.
Christianity in culture. A historical quest . University Press of America, Lanham 2009.
The flight and fall of the eagle. A history of medieval Germany, 800–1648 . Hamilton Books, Lanham 2017.

editor

(Ed.) Studies in medieval culture . Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo 1962.
(Ed.) Studies in medieval culture . Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo 1964.
(Ed.) Studies in medieval culture [Third biennial conference on medieval studies, held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, March 17-19, 1966]. Western Michigan university, Medieval institute, Kalamazoo 1970.
(Ed. With Larry Syndergaard, 1936-2015, and E. Rozanne Elder, * 1940) Studies in medieval culture [Fourth conference on medieval studies, held in Kalamazoo, Michigan, March 13-15, 1968]. Western Michigan University, Medieval Institute, Kalamazoo 1973.
(Ed.) Studies in medieval Cistercian history . 2 vols. Cistercian publications, Kalamazoo 1974–1976.
(Ed. With Thomas H. Seiler) Studies in medieval culture . Western Michigan University, The Medieval Institute, Kalamazoo 1977.
(Ed.) Cistercian ideals and reality . Cistercian publications, Kalamazoo 1978.
(Ed.) Simplicity and ordinariness . Cistercian publications, Kalamazoo 1980.
(Ed. With E. Rozanne Elder) The chimaera of his age. Studies on Bernard of Clairvaux . Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo 1980.
(Ed.) Abba. Guides to wholeness and holiness, East and West . Papers presented at a Symposium on Spiritual Fatherhood / Motherhood at the Abbey of New Clairvaux, Vina, California, June 12-16, 1978. Cistercian publications, Kalamazoo 1982.
(Ed.) Erudition at God's service . Cistercian publications, Kalamazoo 1987.
(Ed.) Bernardus magister . Papers presented at the Nonacentenary celebration of the birth of saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Western Michigan University, May 10-13, 1990. Cistercian Publications, Spencer, Mass., 1992.
(Ed. With Francis Roy Swietek, * 1946) Studiosorum speculum. Studies in honor of Louis J. Lekai, O. Cist. Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo 1993.

literature

Truth as gift. Studies in medieval Cistercian history in honor of John R. Sommerfeldt , ed. by Marsha L. Dutton (* 1942), Daniel M. La Corte (* 1963) and Paul Lockey. Cistercian Publications, Kalamazoo, (Mich.) 2004, pp. 575-588 (Curriculum vitae). Reviewed by Elizabeth Freeman in: Mystics Quarterly 31, 2005, pp. 49-51 (online).

Web links

Information on John R. Sommerfeldt in the database of the Bibliothèque nationale de France .
Literature by and about John R. Sommerfeldt in the SUDOC catalog (Association of French University Libraries)
University of Dallas personnel entry , English, with photo
Western Michigan University's website on the structure of medieval studies, with a photo by Sommerfeldt
Southern Methodist University staff record
Date and place of birth

personal data
SURNAME	Sommerfeldt, John R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Sommerfeldt, John Robert; Sommerfeldt, John
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American medieval historian and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH	February 4, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH	Detroit