Letter Collections of Nicholas of Clairvaux

In short, we have here well-presented and carefully executed critical editions of Nicholas's two letter collections. The quality of the Introduction and meticulous care of the editions are exemplary. They provide readers with a fuller and more accurate picture of Nicholas, who, in spite of everything, ended his days respectably as a prior of a Benedictine house. More importantly, they shed light on several important monasteries and on several important monastic figures of the mid-twelfth century. Fr. Elias Dietz, Abbey of Gethsemani, Cistercian Studies Quarterly