About “De contemptu mundi”
De contemptu mundi is the most well-known work of Bernard of Cluny. It is a 3,000 verse poem that uses satire to criticize the failings of both secular and religious life. The poem targets various groups, including priests, nuns, bishops, monks, and even Rome, for their moral and spiritual shortcomings. It was first published by Matthias Flacius in Varia poemata de corrupto ecclesiae statu as one of his "testes veritatis," or witnesses of the corruption in medieval society and the Church. The work was frequently reprinted by Protestants during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)
Some summaries adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.