attacked by the deposed bishop Agobard of Lyon, to whose place Amalarius had been
appointed. Because of Agobard’s influence, Amalarius was subsequently condemned by
the Synod of Quierzy (838) and deposed from his bishopric. In spite of this judgment, the
liturgical writings of Amalarius, especially the Liber officialis (823), were widely read
throughout the Middle Ages. His emphasis on the flexibility of meaning in the liturgical
mysteries helped to bring about a shift toward liturgical devotion; this in turn aided the
development of late-medieval forms of piety. Amalarius’s allegories are difficult,
however, and are still in need of detailed study from the point of view of ritual and
symbolic thought.
E.Ann Matter
[See also: FLORUS OF LYON; LITURGICAL COMMENTATORS]
Amalarius of Metz. Amalarii episcopi, opera liturgica omnia, ed. Jean-Michel Hanssens. 3 vols.
Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1948–50.
Cabaniss, James A. Amalarius of Metz. Amsterdam: North Holland, 1954.
Hesbert, René-Jean. “L’antiphonaire d’Amalaire.” Ephemerides liturgicae 94(1980):176–94.
Schnusenberg, Christine. The Relationship Between the Church and the Theatre: Exemplified by
Some Writings of the Church Fathers and by Liturgical Texts Until Amalarius of Metz. Lanham:
University Press of America, 1988.
AMANT RENDU CORDELIER
. The full title of this tale, L’amant rendu cordelier en l’observance d’amour, summarizes
its 234 huitains, a dream vision in which an unhappy lover confesses his troubles
(presenting a bittersweet critique of love’s service) to the prior of a Franciscan house,
before entering the order. Once the lover takes his vows, however, the narrator awakens
and contrasts the lover’s sufferings to bitter monastic penance, thus wittily coming out in
favor of love. Originally attributed to Martial d’Auvergne, the anonymous text
(tentatively dated 1440–50) is now associated with the literary circle of Pierre de
Hauteville (d. 1447).
Wendy E.Pfeffer
Montaiglon, Anatole de, ed. L’amant rendu cordelier à l’observance d’amour, poème attribué à
Martial d’Auvergne. Paris: Didot, 1881.
AMBROSIUS AUTPERTUS
(d. 784). Author of an influential commentary on the Apocalypse. Born in Provence in
the first half of the 8th century, Autpertus entered the monastery of San Vincenzo on the
Volturno, near Benevento, in 754. Ordained a priest, he became abbot of his community
in 777 but was opposed by a Lombard faction and forced to abdicate. He died on his way
to Rome to testify about another dispute in his community.
The Encyclopedia 55