Aelred of Rievaulx and the Saints of Hexham: Tradition, Innovation, and Devotion in Twelfth-Century Northern England
This article examines a little-studied work by Aelred of Rievaulx (d. 1167): his tractate on the miracles of the saints of Hexhamreferred to here as Miraculacomposed for the feast of the saints' translation in 1154/1155. While Miracula has been incidental to the prolific scholarship on Aelred...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
[2018]
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| In: |
Church history
Year: 2018, Volume: 87, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-30 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Aelred, von Rievaulx, Abt 1110-1167
/ Hexham
/ Bishop
/ Hagiography
/ Manuscript
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages KBF British Isles KCD Hagiography; saints KDB Roman Catholic Church |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article examines a little-studied work by Aelred of Rievaulx (d. 1167): his tractate on the miracles of the saints of Hexhamreferred to here as Miraculacomposed for the feast of the saints' translation in 1154/1155. While Miracula has been incidental to the prolific scholarship on Aelred, this article brings it back to the center of Aelred's life and thought. It describes Miracula in some detail, putting to rest any speculation that Aelred was not the text's author through a careful treatment of the surviving manuscripts. It then explores Aelred's sophisticated notions of who the saints were, how they inhabited Hexham, and what he and his audience expected the saints to do on their behalf. Finally, it demonstrates that Aelred intentionally combined local traditions about the saints with his own modern Cistercian concerns about spiritual life to produce an innovative meditation on saints, miracles, and veneration. Miracula allows scholars to see Aelred not only as a preeminent reformed Cistercian thinker but also as someone formed by and committed to the ongoing cult of the local saints. |
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| ISSN: | 1755-2613 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Church history
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0009640718000045 |