Aelred of Rievaulx ( la, Aelredus Riaevallensis); also Ailred, Ælred, and Æthelred; (1110 – 12 January 1167) was an English
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
,
abbot of Rievaulx
The Abbot of Rievaulx was the head of the Cistercian monastic community of Rievaulx Abbey, founded in 1131 by Walter l'Espec in North Yorkshire, northern England. The Abbots of Rievaulx were amongst the most powerful Christian leaders in northern E ...
from 1147 until his death, and known as a writer. He is regarded by Anglicans and Catholics as a saint.
Life
![RievaulxAbbey-Je11-wyrdlight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/RievaulxAbbey-Je11-wyrdlight.jpg)
Aelred was born in
Hexham
Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
,
Northumbria
la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria
, common_name = Northumbria
, status = State
, status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
, in year 1110, one of three sons of Eilaf, priest of St Andrew's at
Hexham
Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
, himself a son of another Eilaf, treasurer of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
.
[ Bell, "Ailred of Rievaulx (1110–1167)"] In 1095, the
Council of Claremont
The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.
Pope Urban's spee ...
had forbidden the ordination of the sons of priests. This was done in part to end the inheritance of benefices. He may have been partially educated by
Lawrence of Durham
Lawrence of Durham (died 1154) was a 12th-century English prelate, Latin poet and hagiographer. Born in southern England, at Waltham in Essex, Lawrence was given a religious education, and excelled at singing and poetry composition. In his yo ...
, who sent him a
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies migh ...
of
Saint Brigid
Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogra ...
.
Aelred's early education was probably at the cathedral school at Durham. Aelred spent several years at the court of King
David I of Scotland
David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Malcolm ...
in
Roxburgh
Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at leas ...
, possibly from the age of 14, rising to the rank of ''echonomus'' (often translated "steward" or "
Master of the Household
The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and foot ...
") before leaving the court at age twenty-four (in 1134) to enter the
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
of
Rievaulx
Rievaulx ( ) is a small village and civil parish in Rye Dale within the North York Moors National Park near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, England and is located in what was the inner court of Rievaulx Abbey, close to the River Rye. The populat ...
in Yorkshire.
['"The Lives of the Saints," Rev. S. Baring-Gould, 1:178 (Edinburgh: John Grant, 1914)]
In 1138, when Rievaulx's patron,
Walter Espec
Walter Espec (died 1153) was a prominent military and judicial figure of the reign of Henry I of England.
His father was probably William Speche (William Espec), who joined William the Conqueror in the Norman conquest of England. The senior Spe ...
, was to surrender his
Wark on Tweed Castle
Wark on Tweed Castle, sometimes referred to as Carham Castle, is a ruined motte-and-bailey castle at the West end of Wark on Tweed in Northumberland. The ruins are a Grade II* listed building.
History
The castle, which was built by Walter Espec ...
to King David of Scotland, Aelred reportedly accompanied Abbot William of Rievaulx to the Scottish border to negotiate the transfer.
[Marsha L. Dutton, 'Introduction,' in Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Spiritual Friendship,'' Cistercian Fathers series 5 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2010), p16; Aelred Squire, OP, ''Aelred of Rievaulx: A Study'' (London: SPCK, 1969), p24.] He saw that his reluctance to part from his friends at court, delayed his adopting his monastic calling. For Aelred, the source and object of true friendship is Christ.
[
In 1142 Aelred travelled to Rome, alongside Walter of London, Archdeacon of York, to represent before ]Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...
the northern prelates who opposed the election of Henry de Sully, nephew of King Stephen as archbishop of York. The result of the journey was that Aelred brought back a letter from Pope Innocent summoning the superiors whom Aelred represented to appear in Rome the following March to make their deposition in the required canonical form. The resulting negotiations dragged on for many years.
Upon his return from Rome, Aelred became novice master at Rievaulx. In 1143, he was appointed abbot of the new Revesby Abbey
Revesby Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Revesby in Lincolnshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1143 by William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln, and the first monks came from Rievaulx Abbey.
After the Dissolution of the Mon ...
, a daughter house of Rievaulx in Lincolnshire. In 1147, he was elected abbot of Rievaulx itself, a position he was to hold until his death. Under his administration, the abbey is said to have grown to some 140 monks and 500 ''conversi'' and laymen.
His role as abbot required him to travel. Cistercian abbots were expected to make annual visitations to daughter-houses, and Rievaulx had five in England and Scotland by the time Aelred held office. Moreover, Aelred had to make the long sea journey to the annual general chapter of the Order at Cîteaux in France.
Alongside his role as a monk and later abbot, Aelred was involved throughout his life in political affairs. The fourteenth-century version of the ''Peterborough Chronicle
The ''Peterborough Chronicle'' (also called the Laud manuscript and the E manuscript) is a version of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'' originally maintained by the monks of Peterborough Abbey in Cambridgeshire. It contains unique information abo ...
'' states that Aelred's efforts during the twelfth-century papal schism brought about Henry II's decisive support for the Cistercian candidate, resulting in 1161 in the formal recognition of Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...
.
Aelred wrote several influential books on spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
, among them ''Speculum caritatis'' ("The Mirror of Charity," reportedly written at the request of Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...
) and ''De spiritali amicitia'' ("On Spiritual Friendship").
He also wrote seven works of history, addressing three of them to Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
, advising him how to be a good king and declaring him to be the true descendant of Anglo-Saxon
The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
kings.
In his later years, he is thought to have suffered from the kidney stones and arthritis. Walter reports that in 1157 the Cistercian General Council allowed him to sleep and eat in Rievaulx's infirmary; later he lived in a nearby building constructed for him.
Aelred died in the winter of 1166–7, probably on 12 January 1167 at Rievaulx.
''De spirituali amicitia''
''De spirituali amicitia'' (Spiritual Friendship), considered to be his greatest work, is a Christian counterpart of Cicero's ''De amicitia'' and designates Christ as the source and ultimate impetus of spiritual friendship.["Saint Aelred of Rievaulx", Encyclopedia Britannica, January 8, 2020]
/ref> Friendship was a recurring theme in Christian monasticism. Gregory of Nazianzus
Gregory of Nazianzus ( el, Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, ''Grēgorios ho Nazianzēnos''; ''Liturgy of the Hours'' Volume I, Proper of Saints, 2 January. – 25 January 390,), also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory N ...
, echoing Aristotle, describes his friendship with Basil the Great
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...
as "two bodies with a single spirit".
It was likely at Durham that Aelred first encountered Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
's ''Laelius de Amicitia
''Laelius de Amicitia'' (or simply ''De Amicitia'') is a treatise on friendship (''amicitia'') by the Roman statesman and author Marcus Tullius Cicero, written in 44 BC.
Background
The work is written as a dialogue between prominent figures of th ...
''. In Roman terminology ''amicitia
''Amicitia'' is the Latin for friendship, either between individuals, between the state and an individual or between states. It was "a technical term of Roman political life" from the 2nd century BC, when, according to Seneca, it was introduced by ...
'' means "friendship" and could be between states or individuals. It suggested an equality of status and in practice it might only be an alliance to pursue mutual interests. For Cicero, ''amicitia'' involved genuine trust and affection. "But I must at the very beginning lay down this principle —friendship can only exist between good men. We mean then by the 'good' those whose actions and lives leave no question as to their honour, purity, equity, and liberality; who are free from greed, lust, and violence; and who have the courage of their convictions."
In ''Confessions'', Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
identifies three phases of friendship: adolescence, early adulthood and adulthood. Adolescent friendships is essentially self-interested comradery. Augustine then describes a close friendship he had as a young adult with a colleague. This was based on love and grew out of shared interests and experiences and what each learned from the other. The third mature phase for Augustine is transcendent in that he loves others "in Christ", in that the focus is on Christ and the point of friendship is to grow closer to Christ with and through friends. In writing of adolescent friendship Augustine said, "For I even burnt in my youth heretofore, to be satiated in things below; and I dared to grow wild again, with these various and shadowy loves: my beauty consumed away, …pleasing myself, and desirous to please in the eyes of men. And what was it that I delighted in, but to love, and be loved?"
Aelred was greatly influenced by Cicero, but later modified his interpretation upon reading Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
's ''Confessions''.[ In ''De spirituali amicitiâ'', Aelred adopted Cicero's dialogue format. In the Prologue however, he mirrors ]Augustine
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman pr ...
's description of his early adolescence with the speaker describing his time at school, where "the charm of my companions gave me the greatest pleasure. Among the usual faults that often endanger youth, my mind surrendered wholly to affection and became devoted to love. Nothing seemed sweeter to me, nothing more pleasant, nothing more valuable than to be loved and to love."
Posthumous reputation
Aelred was never formally canonised in the manner that was later established, but he became the centre of a cult in the north of England that was officially recognised by Cistercians in 1476. As such, he was venerated as a saint, with his body kept at Rievaulx. In the sixteenth century, before the dissolution of the monastery, John Leland, claims he saw Aelred's shrine at Rievaulx containing Aelred's body glittering with gold and silver. Today, Aelred of Rievaulx is listed as a saint on 12 January, the traditional date of his death, in the latest official edition of the Roman Martyrology
The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...
, which expresses the official position of the Roman Catholic Church.
He also appears in the calendars of various other Christian denominations.
Much of Aelred's history is known because of the ''Life'' written about him by Walter Daniel shortly after his death.
[
For many centuries his most famous work has been his ''Life of Saint Edward, King and Confessor.''
Aelred is ]remembered
Recall in memory refers to the mental process of retrieval of information from the past. Along with encoding (memory), encoding and storage (memory), storage, it is one of the three core processes of memory. There are three main types of recall: ...
in the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
with a Lesser Festival Lesser Festivals are a type of observance in the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England, considered to be less significant than a Principal Feast, Principal Holy Day, or Festival, but more significant than a Commemoration. Whereas Princ ...
and on the Episcopal Church calendar with a feast on 1''2'' January.
Sexuality
The historian John Boswell
John Eastburn Boswell (March 20, 1947December 24, 1994) was an American historian and a full professor at Yale University. Many of Boswell's studies focused on the issue of religion and homosexuality, specifically Christianity and homosexuality. ...
has argued that Aelred was homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
. In particular, his work ''De spirituali amicitia'' ("On Spiritual Friendship") reveals a "conscious homosexual orientation". Brian McGuire has concluded that "...his sexual identity remains uncertain", yet that in all likelihood it is a "typically twentieth-century misuse of medieval sources to translate the intense language and practice of friendship into evidence of repressed homosexual behaviour." Many historiographers, such as Evans, have called Boswell's analysis 'misguided' – as Evans argues, such an approach "collapses in the face of a far more convincing historical literature which has located the emergence of xplicitlyhomosexual identities at the end of the nineteenth century." As Marsha L. Dutton summarised as editor of the 2017 Companion to Aelred of Rievaulx (the most recent summative on Aelred) that "...there is no way of knowing the details of Aelred's life, much less his sexual experience or struggles."
However, Elizabeth Freeman has commented that discussion of his alleged homosexuality[Cambridge Companion to Cistercianism (2013)] has abounded atop misunderstandings of monastic language and mistaking his interest in Christian friendship for homosexuality. "We are witness", Freeman says, "to pointless debate over his alleged homosexuality". Aelred confessed in ''De institutione inclusarum'' that for a while he surrendered himself to lust, "''a cloud of desire arose from the lower drives of the flesh and the gushing spring of adolescence''" and "''the sweetness of love and impurity of lust combined to take advantage of the inexperience of my youth''." LeClercq states that this is likely a 'literary exaggeration' common to monastic writing. He also refers directly to the relationship of Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and John the Apostle
John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...
as a "marriage", which is aligned with Cistercian emphasis upon the Song of Songs, and the symbolism of love between man and God, expressed through a predominantly Virgilian and Ovidian topos. Aelred himself, in his own words, called this "marriage" an 'organ of experience', with nothing to do with romantic or sexual reality which were believed to be fundamentally contrary to monastic life.[Companion to Aelred of Rievaulx, pp.211-214] Julia Kristeva
Julia Kristeva (; born Yuliya Stoyanova Krasteva, bg, Юлия Стоянова Кръстева; on 24 June 1941) is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, semiotician, psychoanalyst, feminist, and, most recently, novelist, who has ...
said that this is reflected much more accurately by the concept of 'imaginatio' than 'amor' (romantic love): "It constituted the intimate link between being and the world, through which the person may assimilate the exterior world while also defining the self as a subject". The only direct reference among his works to Aelred's personal lust is in fact to a "saucy serving girl" he desired when he was a steward at the court of David I.
Aelred's works exhorted chastity
Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when mak ...
among the unmarried and widowed, and fidelity
Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London f ...
within marriage – condemning sexual relationships and activity outside marriage as sinful.[Houston, James M., "Aelred of Rievaulx (1110-1167, Friend and Counselor", ''Knowing & Doing'', February 2007]
/ref>
In modern times, several gay-friendly organizations have adopted Aelred as their patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
, including Integrity USA
Integrity USA was a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was founded in 1974 to promote the inclusion of Q members and their allies for equal access to Episcopal rites, but dissolved in April 2022 ...
in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...
, the National Anglican Catholic Church in the northeast United States, and the Order of St. Aelred in the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
Patronage
Saint Aelred Catholic Church
located in Bishop, Georgia is part of The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter
The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is a special Catholic diocese for Anglican and Methodist converts in the United States and Canada. It allows these parishioners to maintain elements of Anglican liturgy and tradition in their ...
is named after him.
A primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
in York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
is named after him. A secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
named after him in Glenburn, Renfrewshire, Scotland closed in 1990. A secondary school named after him in Newton-le-Willows
Newton-le-Willows is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the 2011 census was 22,114. Newton-le-Willows is on the eastern edge of St Helens, south of Wigan and north of Warrington.
The ...
, Merseyside, closed in 2011. Since 2019 there is a hermitage named after him in Jever
Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday resort. Jever was granted c ...
, Lower Saxony, Germany (2012-2019 in Schortens
Schortens is a town in the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Division of the town
The town currently consists of the following districts: Schortens, Heidmühle, Grafschaft, Accum, Sillenstede, Schoost, Roffhausen, Middelsfähr, Adde ...
, also Lower Saxony).
Writings
For his efforts in writing and administration Aelred was called by David Knowles the "St. Bernard of the North." Knowles, a historian of monasticism in England, also described him as "a singularly attractive figure," saying that "No other English monk of the twelfth century so lingers in the memory."
All of Aelred's works have appeared in translation, most in English and in French; the remaining three volumes of his sermons are being translated into English and will appear from Cistercian Publications in 2018–2020. There are already available in French in a five-volume edition.
Extant works by Aelred include:
;Histories and biographies
*''Vita Davidis Scotorum regis'' ("Life of David, King of the Scots"), written c. 1153.
*''Genealogia regum Anglorum'' ("Genealogy of the Kings of the English"), written 1153–54.
*'' Relatio de Standardo'' ("On the Account of the Standard"), also ''De bello standardii'' ("On the Battle of the Standard
The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire, England. English forces under William of Aumale repelled a Scottish army led by King David ...
"), 1153–54.
*''Vita S. Eduardi, regis et confessoris'' ("The Life of Saint Edward, King and Confessor"), 1161–63.
*'' Vita S. Niniani'' ("The Life of Saint Ninian"), 1154–60.
*''De miraculis Hagustaldensis ecclesiae'' ("On the Miracles of the Church of Hexham"), ca. 1155.
*''De quodam miraculo miraculi'' ("A Certain Wonderful Miracle") (wrongly known since the seventeenth century as ''De Sanctimoniali de Wattun
''De Sanctimoniali de Wattun'' or ''On the Nun of Watton'' is a 12th-century miracle story, describing events which took place in Yorkshire in the mid-12th century at the nunnery of Watton, East Riding of Yorkshire. It is also called ''A Certain ...
'' ("The Nun of Watton")), c. 1160
;Spiritual treatises
*''Speculum caritatis'' ("The Mirror of Charity"), ca. 1142.
*''De Iesu puero duodenni'' ("Jesus as a Boy of Twelve"), ?1160–62.
*''De spirituali amicitiâ'' ("Spiritual Friendship"), 1164–67.
*''De institutione inclusarum'' ("The Formation of Anchoresses"), ?1160–62.
*''Oratio pastoralis'' ("Pastoral Prayer"), c. 1163–67.
*''De anima'' ("On the Soul"), c.1164–67.
Sermons
* These sermons mainly relate to the seventeen liturgical days on which Cistercian abbots were required to preach to their community.
* Several non-liturgical sermons survive as well, including one he apparently preached to a clerical synod, presumably in connection with a journey to the general chapter at Cîteaux, and one devoted to Saint Katherine of Alexandria.
* In 1163-4 he also wrote a 31-sermon commentary on Isaiah 13–16, ''Homeliae de oneribus propheticis Isaiae'' ("Homilies on the Prophetic Burdens of Isaiah"), submitting the work for evaluation to Gilbert Foliot
Gilbert Foliot ( c. 1110 – 18 February 1187) was a medieval English monk and prelate, successively Abbot of Gloucester, Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Born to an ecclesiastical family, he became a monk at Cluny Abbey in ...
, who became bishop of London in 1163.[Marsha L. Dutton, 'Introduction,' in Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Spiritual Friendship,'' transl.. Lawrence Braceland, Cistercian Fathers series 5 (Collegeville, MI, 2010), p21-2]
Works
Critical editions
* Aelred of Rievaulx, '"Opera omnia." ''Corpus Christianorum The Corpus Christianorum (CC) is a major publishing undertaking of the Belgian publisher Brepols Publishers devoted to patristic and medieval Latin texts.
The principal series are the ''Series Graeca'' (CCSG), ''Series Latina'' (CCSL), and the ''Co ...
Continuatio Mediaevalis'' 1, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3, 3A. Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols Publishers, 1971, 1989, 2001, 2012, 2005, 2015, 2017.
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''For Your Own People: Aelred of Rievaulx's Pastoral Prayer'', trans. Mark DelCogliano, crit. ed. Marsha L. Dutton, Cistercian Fathers series 73 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2008). ranslation of ''Oratio Pastoralis''
Translations
*Walter Daniel, ''Vita Ailredi Abbatis Rievall.'' Ed. and transl. Maurice Powicke (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1950). [Translation reprinted with a new introduction as ''The Life of Aelred of Rievaulx and the Letter to Maurice''. Translated by F. M. Powicke and Jane Patricia Freeland, Introduction by Marsha Dutton, Cistercian Fathers series no. 57 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1994.)]
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''On Jesus at Twelve Years Old,'' trans. Geoffrey Webb and Adrian Walker, Fleur de Lys series 17 (London: A. R. Mobray and Co., Ltd., 1955).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Treatises and Pastoral Prayer,'' Cistercian Fathers series 2 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1971). ncludes ''De Institutione inclusarum,'' "De Jesu," and "Oratio Pastoralis."*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Dialogue on the Soul,'' trans. C. H. Talbot, Cistercian Father series 22 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1981).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Vita Niniani'', translated by Winifred MacQueen, in John MacQueen, ''St. Nynia'' (Edinburgh: Polygon, 1990) eprinted as (Edinburgh: John Donald, 2005)
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Mirror of Charity,'' trans. Elizabeth Connor, Cistercian Fathers series 17 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1990).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''The Life of Saint Edward, King and Confessor,'' translated by Jerome Bertram (Guildford: St. Edward's Press, 1990) eprinted at Southampton: Saint Austin Press, 1997
* Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Spiritual Friendship'', trans. Mark F. Williams (London: University of Scranton Press, 1994).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''The Liturgical Sermons I: The First Clairvaux Collection, Advent—All Saints'', translated by Theodore Berkeley and M. Basil Pennington . Sermons 1–28, Advent – All Saints. Cistercian Fathers series no. 58, (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2001).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''The Historical Works,'' trans. Jane Patricia Freeland, ed. Marsha L. Dutton, Cistercian Fathers series 56 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2005).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''The Lives of the Northern Saints,'' trans. Jane Patricia Freeland, ed. Marsha L. Dutton, Cistercian Fathers series 71 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 2006).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Spiritual Friendship,'' trans. Lawrence Braceland, ed. Marsha L. Dutton, Cistercian Fathers series 5 (Collegeville: Cistercian Publications, 2010).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, "The Liturgical Sermons: The First Clairvaux Collection, Advent-All Saints," transl. Theodore Berkeley and M. Basil Pennington, Cistercian Fathers series 58 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2001).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, "The Liturgical Sermons: The Second Clairvaux Collection, Advent-All Saints," transl. Marie Anne Mayeski, Cistercian Fathers series 71 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2016).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, "The Liturgical Sermons: The Durham and Lincoln Collections," transl. Kathryn Krug, Lewis White, et al., Ed. and Intro. Ann Astell, Cistercian Fathers series 58 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, forthcoming 2019).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, "The Liturgical Sermons: The Reading Collection, Advent-All Saints," transl. Daniel Griggs, Cistercian Fathers series 81 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2018).
*Aelred of Rievaulx, "Homilies on the Prophetic Burdens of Isaiah," trans. Lewis White, Cistercian Fathers series 83 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2018).
* (fr.) Aelred de Rievaulx, ''Sermons. La collection de Reading (sermons 85-182)'', trans. G. de Briey(+), G. Raciti, intro. X. Morales, Corpus Christianorum in Translation 20 (Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2015)
*Aelred of Rievaulx, ''Writings on Body and Soul'', ed. and trans. Bruce L. Venarde, Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library 71 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2021)
Notes
References
*
*Burton, Pierre-André, ''Aelred de Rievaulx (1110–1167): De l'homme éclaté à l'être unifié. Essai de biographie existentielle et spirituelle.'' Paris: Éditions du Cerf
''Éditions du Cerf'' ( French: "Editions of the Deer") is a French publishing house specializing in religious books. It was founded in 1929, and operated by the Dominican Order.
The name is a reference to Psalm 42 (41):
As the hart pantet ...
, 2010.
*Burton, Pierre-André, ''Aelred de Rievaulx (1110–1167): An Existential and Spiritual Biography'', translated by Christopher Coski. Cistercian Studies series no. 276, (Collegeville: Cistercian Publications, 2020).
*Sommerfeldt, John R., ''Aelred of Rievaulx: Pursuing Perfect Happiness.'' Mahwah, NJ: Newman Press, 2005.
Further reading
*Boquet, Damien, ''L'ordre de l'affect au Moyen Âge: Autour de l'anthropologie affective d'Aelred de Rievaulx''. Caen: CRAHM, 2005.
* Christensen, Katherine, "Walter Daniel's Life of Aelred of Rievaulx: The Heroism of Intelligence and the Miracle of Love," in Jason Glenn (ed), ''The Middle Ages in Texts and Texture: Reflections on Medieval Sources'' (Toronto, University of Toronto, 2012),
*Dutton, Marsha L.,"Friendship and the Love of God: Augustine's Teaching in the ''Confessions'' and Aelred of Rievaulx's Response in ''Spiritual Friendship''", in ''American Benedictine Review
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
'' 56 (2005), p. 3–40.
*Dutton, Marsha L., "A Model for Friendship: Ambrose's Contribution to Aelred of Rievaulx's ''Spiritual Friendship'', '' The American Benedictine Review'' 64 (2013): 39–66.
*Dutton, Marsha L., "A Historian's Historian: The Place of Bede in Aelred's Contributions to the New History of his Age", in: Marsha L. Dutton, Daniel M. La Corte, and Paul Lockey (ed.), ''Truth as Gift: Studies in Cistercian History in Honor of John R. Sommerfeldt'' (''Cistercian Studies Series'' 204). Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 2004, p. 407–48.
*Dutton, Marsha L., "Sancto Dunstano Cooperante: Aelred of Rievaulx’s Advice to the Heir to the English Throne in Genealogy of the Kings of the English," in: Emilia Jamroziak and Janet Burton (ed.), ''Religious and Laity in Northern Europe 1000–1400: Interaction, Negotiation, and Power.'' Turnhout: Brepols, 2007, p. 183–195.
*Freeman, Elizabeth, "Aelred of Rievaulx’s De Bello Standardii: Cistercian Historiography and the Creation of Community Memories," in: ''Cîteaux'' 49 (1998), p. 5–28.
*Freeman, Elizabeth, "The Many Functions of Cistercian Histories Using Aelred of Rievaulx’s Relatio de Standardo as a Case Study," in: Erik Kooper (ed.) ''The Medieval Chronicle: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on the Medieval Chronicle''. Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, 1999, p. 124–32.
*Freeman, Elizabeth, ''Narratives of a New Order: Cistercian Historical Writing in England, 1150–1220''. Turnhout: Brepols, 2002.
*Freeman, Elizabeth, "Nuns in the Public Sphere: Aelred of Rievaulx's De Sanctimoniali de Wattun and the Gendering of Authority", in: ''Comitatus'' 17 (1996), p. 55–80.
*Garrison, John, “One Mind, One Heart, One Purse: Integrating Friendship Traditions and the Case of Troilus and Criseyde,” in ''Medievalia et Humanistica'' 36 (2010), p. 25–48.
*La Corte, Daniel M., "Abbot as Magister and Pater in the Thought of Bernard of Clairvaux and Aelred of Rievaulx", in: Marsha L. Dutton, Daniel M. La Corte, and Paul Lockey (ed.), ''Truth as Gift: Studies in Cistercian History in Honor of John R. Sommerfeldt'' (''Cistercian Studies Series'' 204). Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 2004, p. 389–406.
*Mayeski, Marie Anne, "Secundam naturam: The Inheritance of Virtue in Ælred’s Genealogy of the English Kings", in: ''Cistercian Studies Quarterly'' 37 (2002), p. 221–28.
*Nouzille, Philippe, ''Expérience de Dieu et Théologie Monastique au XIIe Siècle: Étude sur les sermons d'Aelred de Rievaulx''. Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 1999.
*Powicke, Frederick M., "Ailred of Rievaulx", in ''Ways of Medieval Life and Thought''. London, 1949.
*Raciti, Gaetano. "The Preferential Option for the Weak in the Ælredian Community Model", ''CSQ'' 32 (1997), p. 3–23.
*Ransford, Rosalind, "A Kind of Noah's Ark: Aelred of Rievaulx and National Identity", Stuart Mews (ed.), ''Studies in Church History
''Studies in Church History'' is an academic journal published annually by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Ecclesiastical History Society
The Ecclesiastical History Society (EHS) is a British learned historical society founded in 19 ...
'' 18 (1982), p. 137–46.
*Sommerfeldt, John R., ''Aelred of Rievaulx on Love and Order in the World and the Church'' (Mahwah, NJ: Newman Press, 2006).
*Squire, Aelred, "Aelred and King David", ''Collectanea Cisterciensia'' 22 (1960), p. 356–77.
*Squire, Aelred, "Aelred and the Northern Saints.", ''Collectanea Cisterciensia'' 23 (1961), p. 58–69.
*Squire, Aelred, ''Aelred of Rievaulx: A Study'', Cistercian Studies 50 (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1969).
*Squire, Aelred, "Historical Factors in the Formation of Aelred of Rievaulx", ''Collectanea Cisterciensia'' 22 (1960), p. 262–82.
*Yohe, Katherine, "Aelred’s Recrafting of the Life of Edward the Confessor", ''CSQ'' 38 (2003): 177–89.
Bibliographies
*Burton, Pierre-André. ''Bibliotheca Aelrediana Secunda: Une Bibliographie Cumulative (1962 996)''. Fédération Internationale des Instituts d'Études Médiévales. Textes et Études du Moyen Âge, 7. Louvain-la-Neuve (France), 1997.
*Dutton, Marsha L. "Aelred of Rievaulx." Oxford Bibliographies in Medieval Studies. New York, 2013. www.oxfordbiblographies.com.
*Hoste, Anselm. "Bibliotheca Aelrediana: Survey of Manuscripts, Old Catalogues, Editions and Studies concerning St. Aelred of Rievaulx." Steenbrugge, 1962.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aelred Of Rievaulx
1110 births
1167 deaths
12th-century Christian saints
12th-century English people
12th-century Latin writers
12th-century Christian mystics
Abbots of Rievaulx
Pre-Reformation Anglican saints
Anglo-Saxon saints
Christian hagiographers
Cistercian mystics
English Cistercians
Medieval English historians
English sermon writers
Medieval English saints
Writers from Hexham
English Roman Catholic saints
LGBT and Anglicanism
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Anglican saints