"Son of the last of a line of hereditary priests, Aelred was educated apparently at the cathedral school at Durham and then in the court of David I of Scotland. On a visit south, he visited a new abbey of white monks in Yorkshire. '. . . whether his decision was long-pondered or pauline in its suddenness, Aelred's entry into monastic life on that day in 1134 was the defining act of his life. . . Whatever Aelred gave up to become a monk, he never forgot what he had learned in and about the world. The reputation his diplomatic abilities gained for Rielvaulx as he acted in affairs of Church and crown over the next thirty years contributed to the renown and prosperity not only of that house but of the Cistercian Order in England.'"

      —Marsha Dutton, Introduction to Walter Daniel: The Life of Aelred