This book places the life of Aelred of Rievaulx, third abbot of the English Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx, within the hundred-year period from the Norman Conquest of England in October 1066 through Aelreds death in January 1167. While exploring what is known of Aelreds life from his own works and especially from the principal work of Walter Daniel, author of The Life of Aelred of Rievaulx, Burton considers the influence of both English and church history on Aelreds personality and purpose as Christian, abbot, and writer. He emphasizes the place of the crucified Christ at the center of Aelreds life while calling spiritual friendshipnot only personal but cosmologicalthe hermeneutic key to his teaching.