Saint Aelred of Rievaulx, (born c. 1110, Hexham, Northumberland, Eng.—died Jan. 12, 1167, Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire), writer, historian, and outstanding Cistercian abbot who influenced monasticism in medieval England, Scotland, and France. His feast day is celebrated by the Cistercians on February 3.
Of noble birth, Aelred was reared at the court of King David I of Scotland, whose life story he later wrote and for whom he was royal steward. He entered the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx about 1134, and from 1143 to 1147 he was abbot of Revesby in Lincolnshire. In late 1147 he became abbot of Rievaulx.