AILRED, EALRED, ETHELREDUS, ALUREDLTS, an English ecclesiastic and historian, born at Hexham in 1109. He was educated at the Scotch court with Henry the son of King David. The king is said to have offered him a. bishopric, which he refused, preferring to become a monk in the Cistercian abbey of Rievaulx, Yorkshire. In 1146. he was chosen abbot, and he held that position till his death in 1166, - the accounts which state that he was transferred to Revesby in Lincolnshire being probably founded. on a confusion of nantes. Leland says that he had seen his tomb at Ricvaulx adorned with gold and silver ornaments, Ailred was the author of a large number of historical and theological works. The former are of little value, owing to his credulity, except for the occasional glimpses they give of contemporary life and manners. His theological works, including a volume of homilies, a treatise on charity, and a treatise on friendship, are somewhat in the style of St Bernard. (For a full account of the historical writings see Sir T. D. Hardy's Descriptive Catalogue.)