Milo Crispin (died 1149?) was

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

of the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

Abbey of Bec Bec Abbey, formally the Abbey of Our Lady of Bec (), is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure ''département'', in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay. It is located in Le Bec Hellouin, Normandy, France, and was ...

. He wrote the lives of five of its abbots:

Lanfranc Lanfranc, OSB (1005 1010 – 24 May 1089) was an Italian-born English churchman, monk and scholar. Born in Italy, he moved to Normandy to become a Benedictine monk at Bec. He served successively as prior of Bec Abbey and abbot of St Ste ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, Gulielmus de Bellomonte, Boso, Theobaldus, and Letardus.

Biography and works

His life of Lanfranc is printed in the of the

Bollandists The Bollandist Society (; ) is an association of scholars, philologists, and historians (originally all Jesuits, but now including non-Jesuits) who since the early seventeenth century have studied hagiography and the cult of the saints in Christia ...

(May 28). The other four (those of Theobaldus and Letardus being mere summaries) are included in the (Vol. CL). Milo must have been an old man when he wrote them, for in the last chapter of his life of Lanfranc he relates something which he himself heard Anselm say. As Anselm died in 1109, and Letardus did not die till 1149, Milo Crispin shows here incidentally that his own religious life had lasted more than forty years. He came of the noble family of Crispin descended from the

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...

n, Gislebert, who first received the name Crispin because of his erect curly hair. All Gislebert's sons distinguished themselves, and the family proved generous benefactors to the Abbey of Bec. Two of his descendants subsequently became monks there: Gilbert, afterwards

Abbot of Westminster The Abbot of Westminster was the head (abbot) of Westminster Abbey. The position of Abbot of Westminster was a significant role in English history, with the abbots overseeing Westminster Abbey from its early days as a Benedictine monastery throug ...

, who wrote the life of

Herluin of Bec Herluin otherwise Hellouin (995/997 – 26 August 1078) was a knight at the court of Gilbert of Brionne and subsequently a Benedictine monk. He founded the Abbey of Our Lady of Bec, Normandy. Early life Herluin was born around 995/997 in ...

, founder and first Abbot of Bec; and his brother Milo. No details of the latter's career have been preserved, nor is it known when he died.

Sources

English Roman Catholic writers Year of birth unknown 1140s deaths Year of death uncertain 12th-century writers in Latin 12th-century English writers {{RC-bio-stub