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Alanus de Rupe

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Blessed
Alan de la Roche
OP
Print depicting the mystical marriage of Alan to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Print depicting the mystical marriage of Alan to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Apostle of the Rosary
Born 1428
Dinan, Brittany
Died 8 September 1475 (aged 46–47)
Zwolle, Netherlands
Venerated in Catholic Church
Feast 8 September (Traditional Dominican calendar)[1]
Attributes The Rosary, Banner of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary

Alan de la Roche OP (Ecclesiastical Latin: Alanus de Rupe; French: Alain c. 1428 – 8 September 1475), commonly referred to simply as Blessed Alan, was a Breton Dominican friar and priest, theologian, and mystic. He is known for restoring the devotion of the Rosary,[2] which, according to tradition,[3] had been forgotten in most of Europe in the centuries after the death of Saint Dominic in 1221.

Life

Born in Dinan, Brittany in around 1428,[4] he entered the Dominican Order in 1459 at age thirty-one. While pursuing his studies at Saint Jacques, Paris, he distinguished himself in philosophy and theology. From 1459 to 1475 he taught almost uninterruptedly at Paris, Lille, Douay, Ghent, and Rostock in Germany, where, in 1473, he was made Master of Sacred Theology. During his sixteen years of teaching he became a most renowned preacher. He was indefatigable in what he regarded as his special mission, the preaching and re-establishment of the Rosary, which he did with success throughout northern France, Flanders, and the Netherlands.[5] He established a Confraternity of the Psalter of the Glorious Virgin Mary, around 1470 which was instrumental in disseminating the rosary throughout Europe.[6][7] Some writers claim him as a native of Germany, others of Belgium; but his disciple, Cornelius Sneek, says that he was born in Brittany. He died at Zwolle.[8]

Alan published nothing during his lifetime, but immediately after his death the brethren of his province were commanded to collect his writings for publication. These were edited at different times and have occasioned some controversy among scholars.[5] A list of writings attributed to Alan was compiled by J. G. T. Graesse in Trésor des livres rares et précieux (1859).[9]

Alan's Works

Works

At the time of Alan's death, nothing by him had been committed to print.[10] In the year following his death, the Provincial Chapter of the Congregation of Dominicans of Holland, ordered that all priors make a diligent inquiry concerning Alan's books, treatises, or compilations. They also ordered that whatever was found, either in originals, transcripts, or copies, should be transmitted as quickly as possible to the Vicar General.[11] This order, however, was repealed two years later at the following Chapter in 1478. What works were attributed to him were written on paper and multiplied in small numbers; And none of Alan's original manuscripts survive today. The first known collection of his works was printed in a Carthusian Monastery of Sweden in 1498 under the name Sponsus Novellus. Of this text the English Jesuit Father Herbert Thurston remarks that "the form of the Sponsus Novellus shows that it was not left for publication as it stands by Alan himself. It is obviously a collection, made by somebody else, of his miscellaneous papers, revelations, sermons, anecdotes, &c. Much of the supplementary matter inserted at the close of the volume is suggestive of a Carthusian origin, and this, seeing that the book was printed in a Carthusian monastery, is not at all unlikely."[12] He also states that he believes that much of what we possess is originally from notes taken at Alan's spoken discourses. Noting these difficulties, at the beginning of the 17th century the Dominican Father Johann Coppenstein published his own version of Alan's writings, which he divided into five parts, under the title Beatus Alanus de Rupe, redivivus.[13] He states in the preface to the work, that although the matter is Alan's, the form is his. Coppenstein adds that he attempted to remove what was scattered and added to the work by a posthumous collector.

The works of Alan were published by Coppenstein in the following order,

  • Apology to Ferricus, Bishop of Tournai.
  • Relations, Revelations, and Visions Regarding the Rosary.
  • The sermons of St. Dominic Revealed to Alan.
  • Sermons and Short Treatises of Alan.
  • Examples or Miracles of the Rosary.

Besides these, other works attribute to Alan include an exposition of the Rule of St. Augustine and a work on the Confraternity of the Psalter of Our Lady.[10]

Authenticity

On these grounds the authenticity of the works attributed to Alan has been debated. The Dominican Father Antonin Danzas complains that we have been given a pseudo-Alan.[14] In one text attributed to Alan; relating one-hundred and fifty articles the Blessed Virgin was supposed to have given him for meditation; a posthumous editor states that some of the articles were not to his taste, some appearing too long or too short, and therefore he changed and suppressed what did not appear authentic to him. And that he also added himself several things from the writings of the holy doctors.[15] The Dominican Father Denys Mézard states that it is known with certainty that Alan's writings have been altered, falsified and interpolated; that the texts published under his name are at contradiction with one another. He goes on further to say that the works of Alan have come down to us under a triple-filter: That of the listeners, that of the posthumous editor, and that of Fr. Coppenstein.[11] He makes an exception for Alan's Apology to the Bishop of Tournai, which, because there existed at least another copy held by the Bishop, would not have been as easy to modify.

Alan on Dominic and the Rosary

According to an old Dominican tradition, in the early 13th century, Dominic de Guzmán was distressed at his lack of success in his preaching against the Albigensians and prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. She reportedly appeared to him and told him to use her psalter in conjunction with his preaching. This psalter, a custom of praying 150 Hail Marys rather than Psalms, developed into the Rosary.

This traditional origin for the Rosary was generally accepted, including by many popes[16] and figures such as Louis De Montfort,[17] until the 17th century, when Bollandists concluded that the account originated with Alan, writing over two hundred years after Dominic's life. Alan attributed his descriptions of Dominic to a 1460 vision; later authors have suggested that he may have invented them to enliven sermons. John T. McNicholas, a Catholic bishop, held that Alan's accounts should not be regarded as historical.[5] Herbert Thurston, while describing Alan as pious and earnest, argued that he was full of delusions and that his revelations were based on the imaginary testimony of nonexistent writers.[18][19] Although historical evidence for Dominic's role in the origin of the Rosary is lacking and has been questioned by scholars such as the Bollandists, several popes after the 17th century, including Pope Leo XIII[20] and Pope Pius XI,[21] continued to attribute its origin to Dominic in official documents such as encyclicals.[16]

Fifteen Rosary promises

According to Alan, Mary made fifteen specific promises through Dominic de Guzmán to those who faithfully pray the Rosary. The fifteen Rosary promises range from protection from misfortune to meriting a high degree of glory in heaven.[22][23]

From the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

Alanus de Rupe (sometimes de la Roche), b. about 1428; d. at Zwolle in Holland, 8 September, 1475. Some writers claim him as a native of Germany, others of Belgium; but his disciple, Cornellus Sneek, O.P., assures us that he was born in Brittany. Early in life he entered the Dominican Order, and while pursuing his studies at Saint Jacques, Paris, he distinguished himself in philosophy and theology. From 1459 to 1475 he taught almost uninterruptedly at Paris, Lille, Douay, Ghent, and Rostock in Germany, where, in 1473, he was made Master of Sacred Theology. During his sixteen years of teaching he became a most renowned preacher. He was indefatigable in what he regarded as his special mission, the preaching and re-establishment of the Rosary, which he did with success throughout northern France, Flanders, and the Netherlands. His vision of the restoration of the devotion of the Rosary is assigned to the year 1460. Alanus published nothing during his lifetime, but immediately after his death the brethren of his province were commanded to collect his writings for publication. These were edited at different times and have occasioned much controversy among scholars. His relations of the visions and sermons of St. Dominic, supposed to have been revealed to Alanus, are not to be regarded as historical. His works are published by Graesse in "Trésor des livres rates et précieux."

Choquet, Sancti Relig. O. P. (Douay, 1618); Quétif and Echard, SS. Ord. Præd., I. 849 sqq.; Année Dominicaine (Lyons), 8 Septembre; La vie du B. Alain de la Roche in Le Rosaire (May, June, July, 1869); Schmitz, Das Rosenkranzgebet im 15. und Anfange des 16. Jahrhunderts (Freiburg, 1903), containing a Danish poetical version, by Master Michel, of materials left by Alan.

References

  1. Back to citation "Alan de Rupe and his Indulgence of 60,000 Years". The Month. 100: 284. 1902.
  2. Back to citation de Montfort, Louis (1710). Le Secret de Rosaire [The Secret of the Rosary] (in French). La Rochelle, France.
  3. Back to citation A sister of the Congregation of St. Catharine of Siena (Stone) (1901). The Very Rev. Father Procter, S.T.L (ed.). Short Lives of the Dominican Saints. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. pp. 268–269.
  4. Back to citation "Alan de Rupe and his Indulgence of 60,000 Years". The Month. 100: 284. 1902.
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 Back to citation occurrence 5.2 McNicholas, John. "Alanus de Rupe." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 2 Aug. 2014
  6. Back to citation Ashley, Benedict (2009). The Dominicans. Wipf & Stock Publishers. pp. 104–105. ISBN 9781606089330.
  7. Back to citation Rabenstein, Katherine I. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints. Info. 26 July 2020
  8. Back to citation Gambero, Luigi (November 2, 2010). Mary in the Middle Ages: The Blessed Virgin Mary in the Thought of Medieval Latin Theologians. Ignatius Press. p. 316. ISBN 9781681493282.
  9. Back to citation Graesse, J.G.T., Trésor des livres rares et précieux, Volume 6, pt. 1, pg 193, 1859.
  10. Back to citation occurrence 10.0 Back to citation occurrence 10.1 Quetif, Jacques; Echard, Jacques (1719). Scriptores ordinis praedicatorum recensiti, notisque historicis et criticis illustrati (in Latin). Paris: Ballard et Simart. pp. 849–852.
  11. Back to citation occurrence 11.0 Back to citation occurrence 11.1 Mézard, Denys. Étude sur les origines du Rosaire (in French). pp. 295–334.
  12. Back to citation Thurston, Herbert (1901). "Our Popular Devotions. II. The Rosary". The Month. 97: 286–304.
  13. Back to citation Coppenstein, Johann Andreas (1610). Beatus Alanus, redivivus, de Psalterio seu Rosario Christi et Mariae, tractatus in quinque partes distributus. Freiburg.
  14. Back to citation Danzas, Antonin (1877). Etudes sur les temps primitifs de l'Ordre de saint Dominique, t. IV. Poiters. pp. 336–450.
  15. Back to citation Esser. Uber die allmahliche, etc (in German). p. 40.
  16. Back to citation occurrence 16.0 Back to citation occurrence 16.1 "The Rosary & St. Dominic". Rosary Center & Confraternity. Retrieved 2025-06-17. “Leo X (1521), Pius V (1572), Gregory XIII (1585), Sixtus V (1590), Clement VIII (1605), Alexander VII (1667), Bl. Innocent XI (1689), Clement XI (1721), Innocent XIII (1724)”
  17. Back to citation "15 Super Promises of Our Blessed Mother for Faithfully Praying the Rosary". NCR. 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2025-06-18. “In The Secret of the Rosary, Part I, St. Louis De Montfort gives some details how St. Dominic presented the Rosary to the Church in 1214 in the method we use today [...]”
  18. Back to citation Thurston, Herbert. "Alan de Rupe and his Indulgence", The Month, Vol. 100, p.284, Longmans, Green and Co., London 1902
  19. Back to citation Thurston, Herbert, and Andrew Shipman. "The Rosary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 30 April 2014
  20. Back to citation "Supremi Apostolatus Officio (September 1, 1883) | LEO XIII". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2025-06-17; "Octobri Mense (September 22, 1891) | LEO XIII". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2025-06-17; "Magnae Dei Matris (September 8, 1892) | LEO XIII". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  21. Back to citation "Ingravescentibus Malis (September 29, 1937) | PIUS XI". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  22. Back to citation Rosary Center, Dominican Fathers
  23. Back to citation "The 15 Promises of the Rosary - Dominican Friars". dominicanfriars.org. Retrieved 2025-06-17.

Further reading

  • Winston-Allen, Anne. Stories of the Rose
  • Huizinga, Johan, The Waning of the Middle Ages, Chapter, "Religious Sensibility and Imagination"
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