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Concept
Alain de Lille
Summary
Alain de Lille (Alan of Lille) (Latin: Alanus ab Insulis; 1128 - 1202/03) was a French theologian and poet. He was born in Lille, some time before 1128. His exact date of death remains unclear as well, with most research pointing toward it being between 14 April 1202, and 5 April 1203. He is known for writing a number of works on that are based upon the teachings of the liberal arts, with one of his most renowned poems, De planctu Naturae (The Complaint of Nature), focusing on human nature in regard to sexual conduct. Although, Alain was widely known during his lifetime, there is not a great deal known about his personal life, with the majority of our knowledge of the theologian coming from the content of his works.
As a theologian, Alain de Lille opposed scholasticism in the second half of the 12th century. His philosophy is characterized by rationalism and mysticism. Alan claimed that reason, guided by prudence, could discover most truths about the physical order without help; but in order to understand religious truth and to know God, the wise must believe in faith.
Little is known of his life. Alain entered the schools no earlier than the late 1140s; first attending the school at Paris, and then at Chartres. He probably studied under masters such as Peter Abelard, Gilbert of Poitiers, and Thierry of Chartres. This is known through the writings of John of Salisbury, who is thought to have been a contemporary student of Alain of Lille. His earliest writings were probably written in the 1150s, and probably in Paris. Alain spent many years as a professor of Theology at the University of Paris and he attended the Lateran Council in 1179. Though the only accounts of his lectures seem to show a sort of eccentric style and approach, he was said to have been good friends with many other masters at the school in Paris, and taught there, as well as some time in southern France, into his old age. He afterwards inhabited Montpellier (he is sometimes called Alanus de Montepessulano), lived for a time outside the walls of any cloister, and finally retired to Cîteaux, where he died in 1202.
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