The son of Count Dalmas I of Semur and Aremberge of Vergy, his father wanted him to be a knight and a secular leader.
At the age of fifteen, he took his monastic vows, and later became an abbot.
Abbot Hugh built the third abbey church at Cluny, the largest structure in Europe for many centuries, with funds provided by Ferdinand I of León.
 He was the driving force behind the Cluniac monastic movement during the last quarter of the 11th century, which had priories throughout Southern France and northern Spain.
The son of Count Dalmas I of Semur and Aremberge of Vergy, his father wanted him to be a knight and a secular leader. At the age of fifteen, he took his monastic vows, and later became an abbot. Abbot Hugh built the third abbey church at Cluny, the largest structure in Europe for many centuries, with funds provided by Ferdinand I of León.  He was the driving force behind the Cluniac monastic movement during the last quarter of the 11th century, which had priories throughout Southern France and northern Spain.
Hugh of Cluny