Aldhelm

Aldhelm

▪ abbot of Malmesbury
      (c. 639–709), West Saxon abbot of Malmesbury, the most learned teacher of 7th-century Wessex, a pioneer in the art of Latin verse among the Anglo-Saxons, and the author of numerous extant writings in Latin verse and prose.

      Aldhelm was trained in Latin and in Celtic-Irish scholarship by Malmesbury's Irish founder and went on to study at the famous school at Canterbury, where he was exposed to continental influences. He read widely in Latin poetry and prose, secular as well as sacred; he learned Greek; he followed the arithmetic and astronomy of his day; and he experimented with various forms of poetic metre. About 675 he became abbot of Malmesbury, where he remained, carrying on a threefold career, as monk and priest, as encourager of learning, and as Latin poet. In 705 he was consecrated bishop of Sherborne. He was also a popular vernacular poet, though none of his Old English verse survives.

      In addition to his pastoral duties, building churches, and founding monasteries, Aldhelm wrote vigorous letters of encouragement to other scholars, the style of which betrays his Celtic training. In similar prose he also wrote a lengthy treatise on the celibate life for the nuns of Barking. Its flood of learning and its difficult style so delighted the community that he made a second version of it in Latin hexameters.

      Metrical science was Aldhelm's special preoccupation, and his most famous work is a treatise on metrics sent to his friend Aldfrith, king of Northumbria (685–704). It includes as examples 100 aenigmata (riddles) of Aldhelm's own invention in Latin hexameters, which served as models for such 8th-century Saxon writers as Tatwine, archbishop of Canterbury, and St. Boniface (Boniface, Saint), apostle of Germany.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Aldhelm — ist ein althochdeutscher männlicher Personenname mit der Bedeutung „edler Schützer“. Bedeutende Namensträger Aldhelm von Sherborne, (* um 639 in Wessex; † 25. Mai 709 in Doulting bei Malmesbury); Benediktinermönch, erster Abt in Malmesbury,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Aldhelm — Aldhelm, so v.w. Adelmus …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Aldhelm — NOTOC Infobox Saint name=Saint Aldhelm birth date=c. 639 death date=25 May 709 feast day=25 May venerated in=Roman Catholic Church; Anglican Communion imagesize=200px caption=Stained glass window showing Aldhelm, installed in Malmesbury Abbey in… …   Wikipedia

  • Aldhelm — m ( es/ as) Aldhelm, bishop of Sherborne; [Ald = eald, old; helm, helmet] …   Old to modern English dictionary

  • Aldhelm de Sherborne — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Aldhelm Cristalera representando a Aldhelm, instalada en la abadía de Malmesbury en 1928. Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • Aldhelm von Sherborne — / Malmesbury (Ealdhelm, Ældhelm, Adelelmus, Althelmus, Adelme; * um 639; † 25. Mai 709 in Doulting bei Malmesbury) war Abt von Malmesbury 675–709 und erster Bischof von Sherborne 705–709. Er war Dichter und ist englischer Heiliger. Der Nam …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Aldhelm, Saint — • Abbot of Malmesbury, bishop of Sherborne, poet, d. about 709 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Aldhelm de Sherborne — Saint Aldhelm (vitrail de l abbaye de Malmesbury) Saint Aldhelm de Sherborne, ou Aldelme de Sherbourne, est un évêque anglais né en 639 et décédé le 25 mai 709 à Doulting dans le Somerset. Au VIIe siècle, un moine irlandais dénommé Maeldubh… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Aldhelm — Ạldhelm,   angelsächsischer Gelehrter und Dichter, * Wessex um 640, ✝ Doulting (County Somerset) 25. 5. 709 als Bischof von Sherborne; erzogen in der damals führenden Klosterschule von Canterbury, wurde 673 Abt von Malmesbury und ließ mehrere… …   Universal-Lexikon

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