Biography of saint aelred of rievaulx harrogate

Margaret s youngest son, shortly afterwards King of Scotland , at whose court he apparently acted for some years as a sort of page, or companion to the young Prince Henry. King David loved the pious English youth, promoted him in his household, and wished to make him bishop, but Aelred decided to become a Cistercian monk, in the recently founded abbey of Rievaulx in Yorkshire.

Soon he was appointed master of novices, and was long remembered for his extraordinary tenderness and patience towards those under his charge. Aelred was sent with twelve monks to take possession of the new foundation. His stay at Revesby, where he seems to have met St. Gilbert of Sempringham, was not of long duration, for in he was elected abbot of Rievaulx.

Aelred died in the winter of —7, probably on 12 January [19] at Rievaulx. According to Brian McGuire, "Aelred believed that true love has a respectable name and a rightful place in good human company, especially that of the monastery. In writing a special treatise dedicated to friendship and indicating that he could not live without friends, Aelred outdid all his monastic predecessors and had no immediate successors.

Biography of saint aelred of rievaulx harrogate

Whether or not his need for friendship is an expression of Aelred's sexual identity, his insistence on individual friendships in the monastic life meant a departure from what is implied in the Rule of St. In Roman terminology amicitia 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.

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. Adolescent friendships are essentially self-interested comradeship. 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. He also developed a theology of friendship, based on the intimacy of relationships between the persons of the Trinity. Just as there is a continuous dialogue and interchange of love between the three persons of the Trinity, so human beings — the rational creatures made in the image and likeness of this Trinity of Persons — are called to relationships based on mutual dialogue, exchange, sharing and self-giving.

Writings Aelred wrote several influential books on spirituality, among them The Mirror of Charity and Spiritual Friendship perhaps at the request of Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux. The church is cruciform in shape and has a lofty appearance under a severe ceiling. From the west door there is a clear view to the sanctuary and the altar. The ceiling was specially designed and constructed to provide an acoustically perfect baffle for all sound and for Mass and other services conducted within the sanctuary to be heard without difficulty at the west doors.

The church is designed to hold people.