Knowles, David; Berkeley, Theodore, trans; Macpherson, Mary, trans; Lawson, R. Penelope, trans., The Works of Aelred of Rievaulx Volume One: Treatises, The Pastoral Prayer (Cistercian Fathers Series: 2, Spencer: Cistercian Publications, 1971).

Text name(s): Jesus at the Age of Twelve; A Rule for the Life of a Recluse; Pastoral Prayer

Number of pages of primary source text: 118

Medieval Author(s): Aelred of Rievaulx

Dates: 1153 - 1167

Archival Reference:

Original Language(s): Latin;

Translation: English translation.

Translation Comments:

Geopolitical Region(s): England;

County/Region: Yorkshire

Apparatus: Index Bibliography Introduction

Comments:

This book collects two of Aelred’s treatises, Jesus at the Age of Twelve and A Rule for the Life of a Recluse. Following these treatise is a translation of Aelred’s pastoral prayer. Aelred was an English Cistercian monk, eventually made abbot of Rievalaux at Yorkshire, who was a late contemporary of Bernard of Clairvaux. Aelred’s writings are held with great esteem by the Cistercian order, and his theology became the basis for some of the Cistercian doctrine. The treatises in this edition are, respectively, a devotion to the human life of Christ and a manual (written for Aelred’s recluse sister) that deals with the spiritual meditations of a recluse. The last source is a prayer that shows Aelred’s feelings about having pastoral responsibility for over 600 souls. The bibliography contains both secondary and primary sources and the index is a standard analytical index.

Introduction Summary:

Introduction (ix-xiii), by David Knowles, details the life of Aelred and discusses his achievements and his writings, with emphasis on the writings translated in this edition.

Cataloger: CDB