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1 results

  • II.14 - Ælred of Rievaulx, Letter Regarding the Nun of Watton Priory

  • from Twelfth Century
  • Edited with Introduction and Notes by Carolinne White, University of Oxford
  • Preface by Catherine Conybeare, Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Anthology of British Medieval Latin
    Published online:
    11 January 2024
    Print publication:
    01 February 2024, pp 150-163

  • Summary

    Ælred is principally famous for his spiritual works such as his work on friendship, written at the Cistercian monastery of Rievaulx in Yorkshire. Less well known is the letter he wrote to a friend regarding the dramatic incident involving a young girl at the Gilbertine monastery of Watton. The girl, after a sexual liaison with a young man in the male part of the monastery, becomes pregnant but when the nuns discover this they treat her and the man with brutality. When she gives birth, a miracle occurs and the baby disappears, apparently in accordance with God’s will. Ælred is asked to investigate and reports in a very compassionate and perceptive manner in subtle and beautiful Latin prose.