Poore

RICHARD POORE (d. 1237)

Poore was successively Bishop of Winchester, Chichester and Salisbury, where he began the construction of the great cathedral there in 1220. Poore had first been chosen by the monks of Durham in 1213, but eventually became bishop only in 1228. The great Chapel of the Nine Altars in Durham Cathedral was Poore's idea.

There is some reason for considering Poore to be the author of the famous Ancrene Riwle , the greatest prose work of the early Middle English period. The treatise deals with both the physical and the mental preparation of anchorites, who were confined to a cell for lifelong devotion and considered dead, indeed the burial service was used at the inclusion. The work gives an interesting picture of the life and manners of the time, and is written in the form of an animated conversation, in a highly sophisticated and charming style.

Myers Literary Guide:	The North-East
RICHARD POORE (d. 1237) Poore was successively Bishop of Winchester, Chichester and Salisbury, where he began the construction of the great cathedral there in 1220. Poore had first been chosen by the monks of Durham in 1213, but eventually became bishop only in 1228. The great Chapel of the Nine Altars in Durham Cathedral was Poore's idea. There is some reason for considering Poore to be the author of the famous Ancrene Riwle , the greatest prose work of the early Middle English period. The treatise deals with both the physical and the mental preparation of anchorites, who were confined to a cell for lifelong devotion and considered dead, indeed the burial service was used at the inclusion. The work gives an interesting picture of the life and manners of the time, and is written in the form of an animated conversation, in a highly sophisticated and charming style.
Return to Index	On to next Author