Alain de Lille , the Celebrated French 'Doctor Universalis' on The Divine Feminine - by John Noyce

Little is known for certain about the life of Alain de Lille, also known as Alanus de Insulis. Born in c.1116 in the town of Lille in Flanders (now part of Belgium), Alain arrived in Paris to further his education in 1136, probably spending time in the schools of Paris and Chartres, before taking up teaching in the centres of Paris and Montpelier. He lived into his eighties, being regarded as one of the most eminent scholar-theologians in Paris. At some time in his later years Alain joined the Cistercian order of monks in the region of Montpelier. His passing occurred in 1202 and he is buried in the Cistercian motherhouse of Citeaux. 

Alain was known to his contemporaries for a number of  works, including the Anticlaudianus de Antirufino (see below), De fide catholica contra haereticos, a four volume study of those the Catholic Church regarded as heretics including the Cathars, the Waldensians, and the Muslims and Jews, and the De arte praedictatoria ( ‘On the Art of Preaching’).  

De planctu naturae.

Though barely mentioned by his contemporaries, De planctu naturae (On the Plaint of Nature’) is the work for which he is now best known. This is a work of satire and a rhetorical showpiece in which Alain could use his stylistic flourishes, wordplay and show his erudition. It has influences of Plato’s Timaeus and the Cosmographia of Bernard Silvestris, as well as earlier authors in the Latin tradition such as Martianus Capella and Boethius. James J.Sheridan in the Foreword to his English translation observes:

With the possible exception of Martianus Capella, the Latin of the De planctu Naturae is the most difficult I have ever encountered. Throughout most of the work there are two layers of meaning and in a number of places there are three. In addition, puns are an ever recurring feature; most of these cannot be expressed in English. The result is that parts of it defy an accurate and idiomatic translation. 

The subject of the Planctu is the betrayal of Nature by man, and her subsequent complaint before the sorrowing poet who has summoned her:

… a woman glided down from an inner palace of the impassable world and could be seen hastening her steps in my direction. Her hair shone with no borrowed sheen but with one special to itself and, presenting an image of light-rays, not by mere resemblance but by a native lustre surpassing the natural, it made the maiden’s head image a star-cluster. (Bk 2 Prose 1)

The description of this divine maiden goes on for many pages leading to a dialogue between her and the poet during which she reveals herself to be Nature.  

In her speech to the poet, Nature describes Wisdom:

Wisdom, that gives orders, rests in the citadel of his head and the other powers, like demi-goddesses, obey her as if she were a goddess. For native ability, power of reasoning, as well as the faculty of recalling the past dwell in the various compartments of the head and obey Wisdom with enthusiasm. In the heart, as in the middle of the earthly city, Magnanimity has taken up her abode; she has sworn military allegiance to Wisdom, as commander-in-chief, and carries out operations according to the decisions of Wisdom’s command. (Bk 6 Prose 3) 

Later in the Planctu there is another description of Wisdom:

Nevertheless wisdom alone, a noble possession, surpasses all other goods. Though scattered she remains concentrated, when expended she returns, when shared with one and all, she experiences an increase. Through her the noble treasure of knowledge is born in the secret depths of the mind, the fruits of interior delight are secured. (Bk 10 Prose 6) 

Anticlaudianus de Antirufino 

Though it has been called a sequel, the Anticlaudianus is essentially a restatement of the theme of the De planctu. Wetherbee’s  summary (1972:211) is masterly:

…This time Nature decides to create a single man in whom all the flaws of fallen man will be eliminated. She summons the Virtues to a council, and it is resolved that Prudentia will be sent to ask God to create a soul for the new being. A chariot is made by the seven Arts, and Prudentia sets out, drawn by the five senses and guided by Reason. She comes at length to the seat of Theologia, with whom, after abandoning all of her equipage except the sense of hearing, she ascends still further, beholding the Virgin and Christ, and finally entering the palace of the “arbiter celestis aulae.” God agrees to make the necessary soul, and Prudentia returns to earth. Nature prepares a body, Concord unites it to the soul, and all the Virtues bestow their gifts on the new man. Meanwhile Allecto and the Furies, having heard of the new creation, muster an army of vices to overthrow him. These are encountered ty the Virtues in a psychomachia, the happy outcome of which leads to a restoration of the Golden Age.    

There are many descriptions of the goddesses in the Anticlaudianus. One of the most striking is in Book 5 where Phronesis approaches the maiden known as the Queen of the Heights and gives a speech which begins:

0 Queen of the heights [lit. pole], goddess of heaven, daughter of the Artist supreme - for your divine face teaches that you are no mortal, nor do you lament our race’s taint – your countenance proves you a goddess, your sceptre proclaims you queen, and your glory shows you are born of God: To you the abode of the gods lies open, and the way of heaven, the bounds of Olympus, the world beyond our world, the realm of the Thunderer - and the throne of God and the fate beyond. (V:178-85, trans. Newman) .

image credit : woodcut of Alan de Lille  from wikimedia commons