Lawrence of Durham (died 1154) was a 12th-century English prelate, Latin poet and hagiographer. Born in southern England, at Waltham in Essex, Lawrence was given a religious education, and excelled at singing and poetry composition. In his youth Lawrence joined Durham Cathedral Priory and became a Benedictine monk. In the 1130s Lawrence became a courtier of Geoffrey Rufus, bishop of Durham. After the latter's death, Lawrence was a leading opponent of William Cumin, claimant to the vacant episcopate during the first half of the decade, and suffered brief exile from the monastery. After Cumin's defeat and the accession of William de Ste Barbe, Lawrence became sub-prior and then prior of Durham. During his lifetime as a monk of Durham, Lawrence wrote several important works in Latin, including the Dialogi, the Hypognosticon, and a hagiography of Saint Brigd for Ailred of Rievaulx. Life and career Lawrence was born at Waltham, Essex, a place that Lawrence claimed was renowned for its poets. A date of around 1114 has been suggested for his birth, but this is uncertain; other potential dates put forward include c. 1110 and c. 1100. Growing taller than average, he was educated at the church of Waltham Abbey, the church of the Holy Cross, before entering Durham Cathedral Priory as a novice during the episcopate of Ranulf Flambard (bishop of Durham, 1099–1128). Two teachers of the Waltham school—Athelard and his son Peter—are known from this era, and it is likely that one of them was Lawrence's instructor. Waltham, founded by in the first half of the 11th century, had been a property of Durham from the episcopate of Walcher until its acquisition by Queen Matilda early in the reign of Henry I. According to his own account, he continued his education at Durham, learning the trivium and quadrivium, with Virgil, Plato and Plotinus among his favourite authors. If Lawrence's own testimony is to be believed, he was held in high acclaim in his early years for his poetry and fine singing. In Lawrence's time as a teacher, he may have taught Ailred, later abbot of Rievaulx. Lawrence took up a place in the bishop's court during the episcopate of Geoffrey Rufus (1133–1141). Probably an episcopal chaplain, Lawrence was cantor and may have held the post of receiver general in Bishop Geoffrey's exchequer. After Bishop Geoffrey's death, one of Geoffrey's former courtiers, William Cumin, arranged to have himself made the