Ailerán

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Ailerán, aka Ailerán sapientis (Ailerán the Wise), Irish scholar and saint, died 29 December, 664 or 665.

Contents

Biography

Ailerán was one of the most distinguished scholars at the School of Clonard in the 7th century. He died of the Yellow Plague, and his death is recorded in the Annals of Ulster.

His early life is not recorded, but he was attracted to the School of Clonard by the fame of Saint Finnián and his disciples. He became rector of the school in 650. Because of his knowledge of the works of Origen, Philo, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and others, he was well versed in patristic literature.

Works

According to John Colgan, numerous works can be ascribed to Ailerán, including the Fourth Life of Saint Patrick, a Latin litany, and the Lives of Saint Brigid and Saint Féichín of Fore. Ailerán's best known work is his tract on the genealogy of Jesus, according to Saint Matthew. Another work of his is titled A Short Moral Explanation of the Sacred Names, which could be a fragment of a larger work.

His feast day is December 20.

References

  • Ailerani Interpretatio Mystica Progenitorum Domini Iesu Christi - Aidan Breen, ed., Four Courts Press, 1995.
  • Scribe as artist, not monk: the canon tables of Ailerán ‘the Wise’ and the Book of Kells - Douglas Mac Lean, Peritia 17 (2003), pp. 433–468.

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