Adalbert of Spalding
Encyclopedia
Adalbert of Spalding was a supposed English theologian writer identified by Bale
and Pitts, and discussed at length in the 1885 Dictionary of National Biography (DNB).
According to the DNB, Adalbert "is said by Bale and Pits to have been a Cluniac
monk belonging to the abbey of Spalding
in Lincolnshire
, and to have flourished about the year 1160. Our early biographers give him great praise for his knowledge of the Scriptures and the fathers. They also speak in high terms of his elegance of style and his modesty in always following the opinions of these authorities rather than his own. His favourite author, they add, was Gregory the Great, from whose treatise upon Job (Moralia) he compiled his own work entitled ‘De Statu Hominis,’ or ‘Speculum Status Hominis.’ An ‘Epistola ad Herimannum Presbyterum’ and certain ‘Homiliæ’ are also mentioned among his writings."
According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the identification of Adalbert arises out of Bale's error in identifying a manuscript as the production of Adalbert, rather than being a copy of other works. The error matches that of the identification of Ralph Acton
, a supposed fourteenth century English theologian and philosopher, and leads the ODNB to remark that Bale is an "uncertainly reliable Tudor bibliographer".
John Bale
John Bale was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English , and developed and published a very extensive list of the works of British authors down to his own time, just as the monastic libraries were being...
and Pitts, and discussed at length in the 1885 Dictionary of National Biography (DNB).
According to the DNB, Adalbert "is said by Bale and Pits to have been a Cluniac
Cluny Abbey
Cluny Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was built in the Romanesque style, with three churches built in succession from the 10th to the early 12th centuries....
monk belonging to the abbey of Spalding
Spalding Priory
Spalding Priory was a small Benedictine house in the town of Spalding, Lincolnshire. It was founded as a cell of Croyland Abbey, in 1052, by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife, Godiva, Countess of Leicester. It was supported by Leofric's eldest son...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, and to have flourished about the year 1160. Our early biographers give him great praise for his knowledge of the Scriptures and the fathers. They also speak in high terms of his elegance of style and his modesty in always following the opinions of these authorities rather than his own. His favourite author, they add, was Gregory the Great, from whose treatise upon Job (Moralia) he compiled his own work entitled ‘De Statu Hominis,’ or ‘Speculum Status Hominis.’ An ‘Epistola ad Herimannum Presbyterum’ and certain ‘Homiliæ’ are also mentioned among his writings."
According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the identification of Adalbert arises out of Bale's error in identifying a manuscript as the production of Adalbert, rather than being a copy of other works. The error matches that of the identification of Ralph Acton
Ralph Acton
Ralph Acton , was a supposed English theologian and philosopher, apparently primarily known for his writings, some of which still exist...
, a supposed fourteenth century English theologian and philosopher, and leads the ODNB to remark that Bale is an "uncertainly reliable Tudor bibliographer".