Saint Bernard was titled the “mellifluous doctor” because of his poetic writing, especially about the Virgin Mary. His first few writings about the Virgin Mary were composed when he was only twenty-five years old. He had loved her since he was a small child because, according to one legend, once while he was praying to the Virgin in a church, he received three drops of her milk as a sign of her love for him.

Bernard had a tender relationship with Mary for all of his life. He called her the “aqueduct” of God's grace. Through his sermons, Bernard made connections between the Virgin Mary and the bride in the Song of Songs.

Saint Bernard's devotion to Mary was so great that he often attributed things to her that some might only be comfortable attributing to Christ. He encouraged people in every kind of distress to call on Mary, and he firmly believed that she would assist people in their time of need. Some of his reasoning seemed to follow the medieval notion of Mary as interceding mother.

Saint Bernard is also credited with helping to perpetuate the image of Mary as the Star of the Sea. Many contemporary scholars see this particular title for Mary as one that is based upon a scribal error that occurred during one of Saint Jerome's translations. Yet, the image of Mary as the Star of the Sea was valuable because it provided some continuity for the local people between the ancient pagan deities who were associated with the sea and the figures of Christianity.

One of the ancient goddesses associated with the sea was Isis.

Many throughout history have drawn parallels between the Virgin Mary and Isis (a connection you will learn more about in Chapter 19). Because of Saint Bernard's great and sometimes effusive devotion to the Virgin Mary, he was sometimes criticized as carelessly reviving the ancient goddesses for the local people. Some people felt that he was not careful enough to make a clear distinction between the Virgin Mary and the ancient goddesses.