Henry of Lausanne

Henry of Lausanne (variously known as of Bruys, of Cluny, of Toulouse, of Le Mans and as the Deacon, sometimes referred to as Henry the Monk), French heresiarch of the first half of the 12th century. His preaching began around 1116 and he died imprisoned around 1148.

Practically nothing is known of his origin or early life. He likely received his orders in the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny. If St Bernard's reproach (Ep. 241) is well founded, Henry was an apostate monk—a black monk (Benedictine) according to the chronicler Alberic de Trois Fontaines. The information we possess as to his degree of instruction is scarcely more precise or less conflicting.

When he arrived at Le Mans, his terminus a quo was probably Lausanne. At that moment Hildebert, the bishop of Le Mans, was absent from his episcopal town, and this is one of the reasons why Henry was granted permission to preach (March to July 1101), a function jealously guarded by the regular clergy. Whether by his prestige as a hermit and ascetic or by his personal charm, he soon acquired enormous influence over the people. Our knowledge of his ministry is admittedly hearsay and mostly obtained from a pamphlet by Peter of Cluny. He seemingly rejected the invocation of saints and also second marriages, and preached penitence. Women, inflamed by his words, gave up their jewels and luxurious apparel, and young men married prostitutes in the hope of reclaiming them.

He was a tall, charismatic preacher who had a beard and long hair. His voice was sonorous, and his eyes flashed fire. He went bare-footed, preceded by a man carrying a staff surmounted with an iron cross; he slept on the bare ground, and lived by alms. At his instigation the inhabitants of Le Mans soon began to slight the clergy of their town and to reject all ecclesiastical authority. On his return from Rome, Hildebert had a public disputation with Henry, in which, according to the bishops Acta episcoporum Cenomannensium, Henry was shown to be less guilty of heresy than of ignorance. He, however, was forced to leave Le Mans, and went probably to Poitiers and afterwards to Bordeaux. Later we find him in the archdiocese of Arles, where the archbishop arrested him and had his case referred to the tribunal of the pope.

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