In the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, The Song of Songs was a favorite book of Cistercian monks. Bernard of Clairvaux, Gilbert of Hoyland, and John of Ford, as well as William of Saint Thierry, read it as a dialogue between Christ the Bridegroom and the human soul, the Bride. William of Saint Thierry began composing his commentary soon after entering the Cistercian abbey of Signy in 1135. Having left behind a busy life as a Benedictine abbot and author of theological treatises, he turned to writing meditations on Scripture as the means of listening to the voice of the Beloved.

• CONTENTS (page 6)
• SECOND SONGS (page 7)
• INTRODUCTION (page 9)
• PREFACE (page 53)
• FIRST SONG: PRELUDE OR ARGUMENT (page 71)
• SECOND SONG: PRELUDE OR ARGUMENT (page 167)
• ANALYTIC INDEX (page 215)