Alger of Liège (1055–1131), known also as Alger of Cluny and Algerus Magister, was a learned

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and canonist from

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

, author of several notable works. Alger was first

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and scholaster of church of St Bartholomew in his native

and was then appointed () as a canon in St. Lambert's Cathedral. Moreover, he acted as the personal secretary of bishop Otbert from 1103.F.P.C. De Jong, "A Comparative Study of Schoolmasters in Eleventh Century Normandy and the Southern Low Countries", Ph.D. thesis, 2018 He declined offers from German bishops and finally retired to the monastery of

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

after 1121, where he died at a high age, leaving behind a solid reputation for piety and intelligence. This cites: * Migne, '' Patrol Ser. Lat.'' vol. clxxx. pp. 739–972 * Herzog-Hauck, ''Realencyk. für prot. Theol.'', art, by S. M. Deutsch. He played a leading role in the trial of

Rupert of Deutz Rupert of Deutz (; c. 1075/1080 – c. 1129) was an influential Benedictine theologian, exegete and writer on liturgical and musical topics. Life Rupert was most likely born in or around Liège in the years 1075-1080, and there, as was the ...

in 1116. His ''History of the Church of Liège'', and many of his other works, are lost. The most important remaining are: #''De Misericordia et Justitia'' (On Mercy and Justice), a collection of biblical extracts and sayings of Church Fathers with commentary (an important work for the history of church law and discipline), which is to be found in the ''Anecdota'' of Martène, vol. v. This work has been suggested as influential on Gratian's Decretum #''De Sacramentis Corporis et Sanguinis Domini''; a treatise, in three books, against the Berengarian heresy, highly commended by Peter of Cluny and

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

, who

published Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

it in 1530. In this book, Alger also took on Rupert of Deutz' views on the Eucharist and predestination. #''De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio''; given in Bernard Pez's ''Anecdota'', vol. iv. #''De Sacrificio Missae''; given in the ''Collectio Scriptor. Vet.'' of Angelo Mai, vol. ix. p. 371. #''De dignitate ecclesie Leodiensis'', which established the reciprocal obligations of the primary and secondary churches; inserted in the Liber officiorum ecclesie Leodiensis (1323).J.L.Kupper "Liège et l'église impériale XIe-XIIe siècles",1981. Pp. 329-330 A biography was written by Nicholas of Liège: De Algero veterum testimonia.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alger of Liege 12th-century Roman Catholic priests 1055 births 1131 deaths 11th-century Roman Catholic priests Clergy from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège Clergy from Liège