Celebrating 900 years since Aelred's birth at Rievaulx Abbey

Celebrations are about to get underway over the Easter weekend to mark 900 years since the birth of Rievaulx’s own saint, Aelred, who was the third abbot of Rievaulx Abbey.

Brother Anthony (English Heritage visitor operations team member, Tony Powell) took delivery of a celebratory cake today (Monday 29 March) which will be shared with visitors in the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, visitors arriving at Rievaulx on Good Friday (2 April) will also enjoy sweet treats with a free chocolate-making workshop in the old schoolroom (normal admission prices apply), or meet birds who would help stock the medieval feast table, with Medieval Falconry running for three days from Easter Saturday (3 April) to Easter Monday (5 April).

The Richard Branson of his day, Aelred, 12th-century abbot of Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire, combined a charismatic personality with a sound head for business. In his 20-year tenure, from 1147 – 1167, he was instrumental in its major growth and expansion, turning the abbey into an international big business by capitalising on its land and farming portfolio and generating enormous wealth and prestige for what was, in effect, a leading Cistercian ‘corporation.’

In 2010, Rievaulx Abbey celebrates the golden age of Rievaulx and the 900th birthday of its compelling medieval figurehead with a series of events and activities in his honour. Born in 1110 at Hexham in Northumberland and raised in the court of King David of Scotland, Aelred, first visited Rievaulx Abbey after staying at nearby Helmsley Castle – now also an English Heritage attraction – on a diplomatic mission.

After taking the helm at Rievaulx, his commercial acumen as its ‘CEO’ coupled with his magnetic spiritual leadership, attracted a devoted following which saw the abbey’s population double, its buildings expand to accommodate them, its lands extend as far north as Teesside - and its reputation soar.

Aelred became a ‘celebrity’ in his own right, with his acclaimed spiritual writings spreading his philosophy of the Cistercian way of life as a simpler, less materialistic and more egalitarian way of life than its Benedictine counterpart - an order which had gained a reputation for offering a life of luxury only to those of high birth.

The back-to-basic, environmentally-friendly principles he extolled strike a familiar ‘green’ chord today. The inhabitants at Rievaulx, who included the lower classes as labourers and lay people, lived an austere, self-sufficient life, eating only one vegetarian meal a day in winter and observing silence.

Abbot Aelred’s health may have suffered as a result of this strict regime, which also included fasting and purging himself in cold baths. He was plagued by ill health and in his later years, was racked with pain from arthritis and kidney stones. The third abbot of Rievaulx was canonised after his death.

ENDS

For further media information,
please contact: Jay Commins PRO – English Heritage
Tel: 0113 251 5698
Mob: 07810 546567
Email: jay@fim.org.uk