Conference on ‘Our Aelred’: Man, Monk and Saint | 11-12 Jan 2021, online

From the announcement: Join English Heritage and the British Archaeological Association for this major online conference focused on Aelred, abbot of Rievaulx between 1147 and 1167. Programme is available here.

Called ‘our Aelred’ by his monks, the abbot was one of the most important monastic leaders of the Middle Ages and remains an inspirational figure to this day.

Bringing together leading scholars and heritage professionals, this conference provides a unique opportunity to examine Aelred’s impact on the architectural development of Rievaulx, his role in the Cistercian settlement of northern England and his activities as an author.

Speakers will address the abbot’s impact in the wider monastic world and Aelred’s legacy, including his veneration as a saint and how his extraordinary life and achievements can be interpreted for 21st-century visitors to Rievaulx.

The event also features a round-table discussion focused on debates about Aelred’s sexuality.

The conference has been scheduled to coincide with Aelred’s feast day on 12 January.

DAY 1: MONDAY 11 JANUARY

12:00-12:10: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION: Anna Eavis

BEGINNINGS

12:10-30: Janet Burton, ‘The Cistercian Settlement of Northern England’

12:30-50: Stuart Harrison, ‘Aelred’s Inheritance: the monastic buildings of Abbot William’

12:50-13:00: questions

THEOLOGY AND PATRONAGE

13:00-13:20: Marsha Dutton, ‘Finding God in the Memory According to Aelred of Rievaulx’

13:20-13:50: Peter Fergusson, ‘The Context of Aelred’s Rievaulx Buildings and Precinct Development in the 1150s

13:50-14:00 questions

DAY 2: TUESDAY 12 JANUARY, FEAST OF ST AELRED, ABBOT AND CONFESSOR

12:00-12:10: WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

HISTORY AND SAINTHOOD

12:10-12:30: Elizabeth Freeman, ‘Aelred of Rievaulx: the future-looking historian’

12:30-50: Emilia Jamroziak, ‘Aelred of Rievaulx and other Cistercian Saints in the Late Middle Ages’

12:50-13:00: questions

THE WIDER CONTEXT

13:00-13:20: Brian Golding, ‘The abbot, the bishop, and the earl: Aelred and the early years of Revesby abbey’

13:20-13:50: Alexandra Gajewski, ‘Aelred, Rievaulx and the French Connections’

13:50-14:00: questions

BREAK: 14:00-14:45

AELRED IN THE 21ST CENTURY

14:45-15:00: Michael Carter, ‘Our Aelred’: a Rievaulx interpretation for 2021’

15:00-16:00: Dominique Bouchard, Richard Coles, Marsha Dutton and Katherine Harvey: ‘Aelred and Monastic Sexuality: a round table discussion’