Robert of Abrissel

c.1055-1117. Itinerant preacher and founder of the Order of Fontevrault. He studied at Paris under Anselm of Laon and taught at Anger between 1085 and 1090. He then took up life as a hermit and attracted a number of disciples. He founded a monastic community at La Roe, and in 1096 Urban II visited him and urged him to become an itinerant preacher. He spent the remainder of his life preaching, and was particularly noted for his work among the poor and prostitutes. He gained a reputation for his saintly life, and a number of miracles were attributed to him. In 1100 he built a monastery at Fontevrault and in 1116 drew up a constitution for the new order.