ACHARD OF SAINT-VICTOR
(d. 1170/71). Born in England, Achard became abbot of Saint-Victor, Paris, in 1155,
succeeding the community’s first abbot, Gilduin. In 1161, Achard was elected bishop of
Avranches, a position he held until his death. Fifteen surviving sermons, edited by
Châtillon, are important for their presentation of Achard’s christology and his theological
anthropology.
Grover A.Zinn
[See also: GILDUIN OF SAINT-VICTOR; SAINT-VICTOR, ABBEY AND
SCHOOL OF; THEOLOGY]
Achard of Saint-Victor. Sermons inédits, ed. Jean Châtillon. Paris: Vrin, 1970.
——. L’unité de Dieu et la pluralité des créatures (De unitate Dei et pluralitate creaturarum), ed.
and trans. Emmanuel Martineau. Saint-Lambert des Bois: Franc-Dire, 1987.
Châtillon, Jean. Théologie, spiritualité et métaphysique dans l’œuvre oratoire d’Achard de Saint-
Victor: études d’histoire doctrinale précédées d’un essai sur la vie et l’œuvre d’Achard. Paris:
Vrin, 1969.
ACROSTIC
. Verbal play in which initial or individual letters, taken in order, form a word or
phrase—called an acrostic—appears in French texts from about the middle of the 13th
century, and the practice continues throughout the medieval period. The acrostic is often
a device for naming either poet or patron, as in Cleomadés, the Roman de la Poire, the
Roman du castelain de Coucy, and Villon’s Testament. Stanzaic prayers and hymns to the
Virgin are sometimes built on alphabetical acrostics or on the letters in the name “Maria.”
The acrostic device suggests a growing literacy among the audience for vernacular poetry
and an interest in the visual qualities of the written text, especially in cases where the
acrostic is highlighted through the use of ornamental initials.
Sylvia Huot
[See also: ANAGRAM; GRANDS RHÉTORIQUEURS; VILLON, FRANÇOIS]
ADALBERO OF LAON
(ca. 955–1031). Nephew of Archbishop Adalbero of Reims, Adalbero became bishop of
Laon (r. 977–1031), where he was intimately involved in the royal affairs of kings
Lothair I, Louis V, Hugh Capet, and Robert II. Adalbero is perhaps most famous for his
betrayal of the last Carolingian pretender, Charles of Lorraine, whom he turned over to
Hugh Capet (Eastertide, 991); the treason—he had sworn on broken bread and wine to be
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