Aelred of Rievaulx (1110–1167)

The Lives of the Northern Saints is a collection of three works by St. Aelred of Rievaulx concerning religious figures and holy miracles. The first is the life of St. Ninian, who evangelized Scotland and worked many wonders in the process. This is followed by the lives of the saints of Hexham, a sermon commemorating those holy people whose relics were housed in the cathedral. The final story is not that of a saint, but of the strange and (in)famous tale of the Nun of Watton. It's a nice group, even if the Watton story doesn't quite fit with the others, as the "Life of Ninian" makes up for it. But if you have an interest in early English saints, medieval Christianity, or the history of northern Britain, you may want to seek it out.… (altro)

Towards the end of his life, St. Aelred of Rievaulx wrote his sister a rule for anchoresses at her request. Letter to My Sister is that rule and indeed is the only evidence we have that St. Aelred had a sister. After laying out a daily plan for female enclosed life, Aelred proceeds to provide a series of meditations on Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

There's a lovely metaphor about spiritual garments, but this will most likely only be of interest to medievalists and those interested in St. Aelred.… (altro)

Collection includes what's probably Aelred's best-known story, the miracle of the Nun of Watton. For my discussion, see here.

What else? Precious few of what we at Kzoo jeered at as "stupid miracles." No hidden beer here, and more's the pity, but there is a miracle with some leeks; yet another miracle of a flowering staff; another of a bull who gores a cattle thief (some miracle!); another of a man provided with surety and bond right before execution (a legal miracle!); Galwagian marauders, and others, turned back; a madman abandoned to the wilderness "until he should yield his expelled soul to the depths and give his body to the beasts and birds"; and another, "Ninian's umbrella," by which he was able to read in the rain without his book getting wet so long as his mind didn't wander. Healings include many blinds; some lepers; a craftsman (unnamed craft, but essential to his town) cured of some boil; a hernia; scabies; a talking, accusatory infant in a paternity case; a child with horribly twisted limbs abandoned by his parents ("Here, then, let him die or live, let him be healed or perish").

Perhaps my favorite character, but only because of his name? "Bearded Hugh," the formerly rich conversus who neither takes a tonsure nor shaves.

Fans of relic narratives will find much here. Come and get it.

Interesting cultural references include: a coracle in the Life of Ninian; Aelred's annoyance over the expulsion of his ancestor from Durham cathedral when a Norman monk purged it of married canons; Ninian's construction of a stone church in Britain (either a rare structure, according to Bede, or previously unknown, according to Aelred), by which he wants to imitate Roman customs,… (altro)