Alexander of Ashby ( la, Alexander Essebiensis) was a celebrated
English theologian and
poet, who flourished about the year 1220. Scarcely anything is known of his history, except that he appears to have been
prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
of
Canons Ashby, in
Northamptonshire. Some writers make him a native of
Somersetshire; others of
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
; and some have confounded him with
Alexander Neckam.
He wrote various theological and historical works in prose, particularly a chronicle of England, which are still found scattered in manuscripts. His poetry, in which he sought to imitate
Ovid and
Ausonius, is much praised by
John Bale
John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...
. Amongst other poems, we may enumerate one in elegiacs, giving a description of all the saints' days throughout the year, with the lives of the saints who were celebrated on each and a metrical compendium of Bible History.
A further account of Alexander's works will be found in
Thomas Tanner's ''Bibliotheca'', and
Polycarp Leyser's ''Hist. Poet. Med. Ævi''.
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English theologians
12th-century births
13th-century deaths
English priors
History of Northamptonshire
English male poets