Clement of Llanthony facts for kids

Clement of Llanthony was an important church leader in the middle of the 1100s. He was a priest and a thinker from England who became the head, or prior, of Llanthony Priory.

Clement joined Llanthony Priory as a young boy. He was trained there and became a canon, which is a type of priest. Before becoming prior, he was a sub-prior. He became the prior around the year 1150. He passed away sometime after 1167, but the exact year is not known.

Clement wrote many books about religion. Most of his writings explained parts of the Gospels, which are books in the Bible. He also created a special book that combined the four Gospels into one story. This book was very popular in the Middle Ages. More than 40 copies of it still exist today.

Clement's Early Life and Role

Clement was born in Gloucester, England. He joined Llanthony Priory when he was a young child. He was related to Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, a powerful noble. Clement received his education at Llanthony. Important writers like Gerald of Wales and Osbert de Clare praised how smart he was.

Many other religious thinkers worked at Llanthony when Clement was there. He learned a lot from them. Before he became the main leader, he served as a sub-prior. This means he was second in command. He was chosen to be the prior around the year 1150.

Clement was the fifth prior of Llanthony Priory. He was also the third prior of Llanthony Secunda. This was another religious house that depended on Llanthony. Both houses had the same prior from 1136 to 1205. This meant Clement was in charge of both places.

We know Clement was prior by April 22, 1152. His last known mention is between 1167 and 1177. His time as prior was not seen as perfect. However, he did make some changes to the rules and ways of life at the priory. Clement died from a stroke, but we do not know the exact year.

Clement's Writings

Clement wrote several important religious books. Some of these books are still around today. He wrote explanations, called commentaries, on the Acts of the Apostles and the Catholic Epistles. These are both books in the Bible.

He also wrote books called De tribus in paenitentia consideranda and Unum ex quatuor. Another book, De sex alis cherubin, is also thought to be his. But there is some confusion about this one. Some copies say Clement wrote it, but others say Alain de Lille did. It's possible Alain used Clement's work, which caused the mix-up.

Some of Clement's writings have been lost over time. These include a commentary on the Book of Revelation and another on the Augustinian Rule. He also wrote a book called Summa de dialectica et theologia.

The Unum ex Quatuor

One of Clement's most famous works is Unum ex quatuor. It is sometimes called Concordia Quattuor Evangelistarum. This book is a gospel harmony. It combines the stories from the four Gospels into one smooth narrative. Clement added many of his own thoughts and explanations to it.

The Unum became a very important book for studying the Gospels. People used it in England and other parts of Europe. It was even used to create rules for the Franciscans in the 1200s. Later, it was translated into Middle English. This version was called Oon of Foure. Even a group called the Lollards used it in the 1300s. People were still copying Clement's works in the 1400s.

Most of Clement's writings were not completely new ideas. Instead, he often explained and commented on the works of older writers. His commentary on the Unum mostly brought together the thoughts of others. However, it seems he put together the Unum directly from the four Gospels himself. He did not just copy other gospel harmonies.

Most of Clement's surviving works have not been published. Only a part of Unum was published in 1984 as a special study. Many of his works only exist in one or two copies. But two of his books, De sex and Unum, have many copies. De sex has 12 copies, and Unum has at least 42 copies. Most of the copies of Unum are found in the British Isles.