| The only early representation of St Aelred of Rievaulx appears in a manuscript written in the scriptorium of the Benedictine abbey of Anchin before 1174 which was of his first work, the Mirror of Charity, written in the 1140's when he was novice master. Aelred is depicted as a young monk holding a scroll within the opening initial of the Prologue of his work and facing a figure on the opposite folio within the initial E(st), the opening word of Bernard's letter to Aelred in which he ordered Aelred to write his this work and gave it its title. This is Bernard who is depicted within the golden initial with a pastoral staff in his right hand. In his left hand he has a scroll and two fingers are raised in blessing. The scroll probably contains the text of his letter which follows the image, while Aelred's scroll represents either the same letter or his own work which follows. The fact that Bernard is not nimbed suggests that the manuscript pre-dates his canonization in 1174.
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