Alan of Lynn (c. 1348 – after 1423), or Alanus de Lynna, was a famous English

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

of the first half of the fifteenth century. He flourished about 1420. He was born at Lynn in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, and studied philosophy and theology at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

with much credit, taking the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

there. He afterwards returned to his native place, where he entered the order of the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

, and spent the rest of his life. He died in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, where he had lived for many years. Alan of Lynn was a most laborious writer, and left a multitude of books that were the fruits of his pen; but they seem to have been more remarkable for their number, than for any interest they are at present calculated to excite on the part of lay readers.A long list will be found in Thomas Tanner, ''Bibliotheca Britannico-Hibernica''. He followed the taste which was common in his age, of expounding scripture allegorically; but he has been praised for his general method of treating theological subjects, and particularly for his diligence in making indexes. Alan de Lynn was much distinguished among his contemporaries for his talent in preaching, and was a friend or spiritual intimate of the mystic and controversialist

Margery Kempe ' Margery Kempe ( – after 1438) was an English Christian mystic, known for writing through dictation ''The Book of Margery Kempe'', a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. Her book chronicles Kempe's d ...

of Lynn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alan Of Lynn 1348 births 15th-century deaths Medieval English theologians 15th-century English Roman Catholic theologians People from King's Lynn Alumni of the University of Cambridge English Christian monks Carmelites 15th-century Christian monks 14th-century English Roman Catholic theologians