Bernard of Sédirac [SEP] position held
Bernard of Sédirac
Bernard of Sédirac (c. 1050 – 1125), also known as Bernard of Agen or Bernard of Le Sauvetat, was the metropolitan archbishop of Toledo from 1086 and first primate of Spain from 1088 to his death. His significance in the history of Spain lies in the fact that during his episcopate the church of Castile and León emerges from its isolation.
He was born in Gascony around 1050, at La Sauvetat de Blanquefort (Lot-et-Garonne), near the town of Agen. It
is thought he belonged to the ancient family of the viscounts of Sédirac (also spelled Sédilhac), whose castle, southwest of La Sauvetat, still stands. An illness forced Bernard to turn away from a military career and instead enter the monastic life.
He became a monk in the Abbey of Cluny, whence he was sent to Spain with others to assist the cause of the reforms of Gregory VII. Here he was made (1080) abbot of St. Facundus at Sahagún in the diocese of León, and finally named