John of Ford

Who was John of Ford?

John of Ford was the prior of the Cistercian monastery of Forde, then from 1186 abbot of its daughter house of Bindon, and between 1191 and 1214 the abbot of Forde. He was a friend and ally of King John during the papal interdict, receiving remuneration from the king. While prior he wrote a biography of the local anchorite Wulfric of Haselbery, and while abbot he completed the series of sermons on the Song of Songs begun by Bernard of Clairvaux and continued by Gilbert of Hoyland with 120 sermons on his own from the fifth chapter through the end of the book. In the centuries after his death in 1214, however, John of Ford was almost entirely forgotten. His 120 sermons survive in only a single manuscript.