ADAMO of PERSEIGNE. - First a regular canon, then a Benedictine and librarian at Marmoutier, and finally a Cistercian at the abbey of Pontigny, where he was master of novices. Elected abbot of Perseigne (in the diocese of Le Mans) in May 1188, he remained there until his death (1221). Eminent for holiness and learning, A. provided spiritual direction not only to his monks,
but also to many laypersons, such as Count Giovanni of Alençon and his son Roberto, Maria, Countess of Champagne, Riccardo Cuor di Leone, and Alice, daughter of Luigi VII. At Rome, in 1198, he refuted Abbot Gioacchino da Fiore. Innocenzo III entrusted him with many delicate assignments (reforms of monasteries and dioceses, reconciliations among princes). Ever solicitous for the discipline of his monastery and the conversion of sinners, he preached tirelessly, together with Fulco di Neuilly, for the Fourth Crusade.
He left Sermons and Letters (PL 211, 583-780). Among the sermons, special mention is deserved by those on the solemnities of the Blessed Virgin Mary, collected and published by I. Marracci (Mariale Adami Abbatis Perseniae, Roma 1652). In the letters (thirty, in PL 211), A. deals almost always with subjects of spirituality.