Alain de Lille: short biography |
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ca. 1528 - 1202/3
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Hardly any
fact about the life of Alanus ab Insulis (French de l'Isle = de
Lille, from Lille) is completely sure. Even his origin of Lille
is questioned by some scholars. One of the main reasons of this uncertainty
is the circumstance that there were many Alans (Alain - Alanus) who were
active and (more or less) famous in the 12th and 13th Century.
Thus, Alain de Lille has been confounded/merged with Alanus bishop of Auxerre, and with Alanus abbot of Tewkesbury, to name only the two most famous confusions. This implies that certain facts of their lives have been attributed to him, as well as some of their works. To add to the confusion, one of the leading scholars today (Françoise Hudry) advocates that Alanus of Lille and Alanus of Tewkesbury indeed were one and the same person. In such circumstances it seems prudent to abstain from conjectures and accept the uncertainty. Especially since a consensus about the generalities of his life and (main) works is still possible.
It is generally accepted that Alain attended cathedral schools in Paris (probably) and Chartres (almost certain). He thus studied under - or was influenced by - masters like Pierre Abélard, Gilbert de Poitiers, and Thierry de Chartres. One can infer this from the autobiographical aspects of John of Salisbury's writings, a nearly exact contemporary of Alain (parallel lives). Alain's earliest writings date from the 1150s. He is supposed to have taught in Paris, but he also was active in southern France (Montpellier: Alanus de Montepessulano - attested fact), and this into his old age . Generally he is believed to have retired to Cîteaux, where he died in 1202/1203.
In 1482 a tomb was erected above his grave, with his name and some other texts (see this page), adding/causing lots of confusion because on this tomb 1294 is mentioned as the year he died. The tomb was destroyed but in 1960 the grave was discovered during excavations. Already during his liftetime he had a widespread reputation. His general knowledge caused him to be called Doctor Universalis. Many of Alain’s writings can't be dated with any precision, and the circumstances and details surrounding them are often unknown as well. Legends (generally about his encyclopedic knowledge) circulated during his lifetime and multiplied after his death. In 1654 a general edition of Alanus works appeared in Antwerp: Alani Magni de Insulis... Opera moralia, parænetica, et polemica. The historiographer, abbot of the 'Ter Duinen', Carolus de Visch was the editor. As far as I can see, the Migne edition (Patrologia Latina, vol. CCX, 1855) discusses De Visch' edition, mainly focussing on the identification of Alain, but did not change much (nothing?) in editing the works.
Next to being a
polymath, he was poetically gifted. Two poems attract attention until today:
The De planctu naturae is an ingenious satire on the vices of
humanity. The Anticlaudianus, a treatise on morals as allegory, is a
conscious 'parody' of the pamphlet of Claudian against Rufinus. Both reveal
a familiarity with old Greek/Roman literature and extensively use pagan
imagery. Below the titlepage and the beginning of this poem from a 1536
reprint from Basel, [VD16 A 1216], digitized by DFG, München, available via
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Text and translation of a hymn about the 'vanity of life': Omnis mundi creatura Full text and translation of the book De Planctu Naturae Text and translation of the 'Conductus' or 'Rhytmus' De Incarnatione
The most up-to-date and balanced info on Alain de Lille can be read on the French Wikipedia
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Biografie in het 
