Milo Crispin
Encyclopedia
Milo Crispin was cantor
of the Benedictine
Abbey of Bec. He wrote the lives of five of its abbots: Lanfranc
, Archbishop of Canterbury
, Gulielmus de Bellomonte, Boso
, Theobaldus and Letardus.
of the Bollandists (May 28). The other four (those of Theobaldus and Letardus being mere summaries) are included in Patrologia Latina
(Vol. CL).
Milo must have been an old man when he wrote them, for in the last chapter of his life of Lanfranc he relates something which he himself heard St. Anselm say. As St. Anselm died in 1109, and Letardus did not die till 1149, Milo Crispin shows here incidentally that his own religious life had lasted more than forty years.
He came of the noble race of Crispin descended from the Neustria
n, Gislebert, who first received the name Crispin because of his erect curly hair. All Gislebert's sons distinguished themselves, and the family proved generous benefactors to the Abbey of Bec. Two of his descendants subsequently became monks there--Gilbert
, afterwards Abbot of Westminster, who wrote the life of St. Herluin, founder and first Abbot of Bec, and his brother Milo. No details of the latter's career have been preserved, nor is it known when he died.
Cantor (church)
A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....
of the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Abbey of Bec. He wrote the lives of five of its abbots: Lanfranc
Lanfranc
Lanfranc was Archbishop of Canterbury, and a Lombard by birth.-Early life:Lanfranc was born in the early years of the 11th century at Pavia, where later tradition held that his father, Hanbald, held a rank broadly equivalent to magistrate...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Gulielmus de Bellomonte, Boso
Boso
Boso may refer to:*Boso of Merseburg , German bishop*Boso of Provence, Frankish nobleman and king*Boso the Elder, a Frank from the Bosonid dynasty*Boso of Tuscany , Italian nobleman*Cap Boso , American football player...
, Theobaldus and Letardus.
Biography and works
His life of Lanfranc is printed in the Acta SanctorumActa Sanctorum
Acta Sanctorum is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. It begins with two January volumes, published in 1643, and ended with the Propylaeum to...
of the Bollandists (May 28). The other four (those of Theobaldus and Letardus being mere summaries) are included in Patrologia Latina
Patrologia Latina
The Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
(Vol. CL).
Milo must have been an old man when he wrote them, for in the last chapter of his life of Lanfranc he relates something which he himself heard St. Anselm say. As St. Anselm died in 1109, and Letardus did not die till 1149, Milo Crispin shows here incidentally that his own religious life had lasted more than forty years.
He came of the noble race of Crispin descended from the Neustria
Neustria
The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...
n, Gislebert, who first received the name Crispin because of his erect curly hair. All Gislebert's sons distinguished themselves, and the family proved generous benefactors to the Abbey of Bec. Two of his descendants subsequently became monks there--Gilbert
Gilbert Crispin
Gilbert Crispin was a Christian author and Anglo-Norman monk, appointed by Archbishop Lanfranc in 1085 to be the abbot, proctor and servant of Westminster Abbey, England...
, afterwards Abbot of Westminster, who wrote the life of St. Herluin, founder and first Abbot of Bec, and his brother Milo. No details of the latter's career have been preserved, nor is it known when he died.