Adam of Perseigne

Adamus Perseniae abbas

Biography

Adam of Perseigne, a Cistercian, whose life is mostly unknown to us, was probably from Champagne. Born around 1145, he was successively a canon regular, a Benedictine in Marmoutier, then a Cistercian perhaps in Pontigny to begin with, and finally Abbot of Perseigne (in Maine) around 1188. His sixty or so Letters show that he was in charge of important missions (summoned to Rome by Pope Celestine III for a controversy with Joachim of Flore; sent by the general chapter of Cîteaux, with two other Cistercian abbots, to deal with Richard the Lionheart regarding the abbeys located in the remotest parts of England; assisting Fulk of Neuilly in preaching the Fourth Crusade) and in relation to many dignitaries (rulers, powerful women, bishops, popes, kings, etc.), to some of whom, like Richard of England, he was confessor. Above all, he was a wise counsellor and a great spiritual master.