(1109-1166)
Saint Aelred, Ealred, or Ethelred. was abbot of the Cistercian
monastery at Rievaulx, Yorkshire, in the twelfth century. Thirty-two
of his sermons, collected and published by Richard Gibbon, remain as
examples of the pulpit eloquence of his age; but not very much is
remembered of Aelred himself except that he was virtuous enough to
be canonized, and was held in high estimation as a preacher during
the Middle Ages. He died in 1166.
His command of language is extraordinary, and he is remarkable for
the cumulative power with which he adds clause to clause and
sentence to sentence, in working towards a climax.