Anselm of Canterbury From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For entities named after Saint Anselm, see Saint Anselm's. Anselm of Canterbury Archbishop of Canterbury Province Canterbury Diocese Diocese of Canterbury See Archbishop of Canterbury Appointed 1093 Reign ended 21 April 1109 Predecessor Lanfranc Successor Ralph d'Escures Other posts Abbot of Bec Orders Consecration 4 December 1093 Personal details Birth name Anselmo d'Aosta c. 1033 Born Aosta, Kingdom of Burgundy 21 April 1109 (aged 75) Died Canterbury, Kent, England Buried Canterbury Cathedral Denomination Roman Catholic Gundulf de Candia Parents Ermenberga of Geneva Sainthood Feast day 21 April Portrayed with a ship, representing Attributes the spiritual independence of the Church. Anselm of Canterbury (Aosta c. 1033 – Canterbury 21 April 1109), also called of Aosta for his birthplace, and of Bec for his home monastery, was a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the Church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is famous as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God. Born into the House of Candia, he entered the Benedictine order at the Abbey of Bec at the age of 27, where he became abbot in 1079. He became Archbishop of Canterbury under William II of England, and was exiled from England from 1097 to 1100, and again from 1105 to 1107 under Henry I of England as a result of the investiture controversy, the most significant conflict between Church and state in Medieval Europe. Anselm was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1720 by a Papal Bull of Pope Clement XI. Contents 1 Biography o 1.1 Early life o 1.2 Years at Bec and accession to Canterbury o 1.3 Archbishop of Canterbury under William . 1.3.1 First exile o 1.4 Conflicts with King Henry I . 1.4.1 Second exile . 1.4.2 Motivation 2 Writings o 2.1 Foundation o 2.2 Proofs o 2.3 Further works . 2.3.1 Cur Deus Homo and Satisfaction Atonement . 2.3.2 "Dilecto dilectori" 3 Recognition 4 References 5 External links Biography Early life Anselm was born under the name "Anselmus Candiae Genavae" (Italian: Anselmo di Candia Ginevra, French: Anselme de Candie Genève) at[1] or near[2] Aosta in the Kingdom of Arles (currently the capital of the Aosta Valley region in Northern Italy) around 1033.[1] His family was noble (they were related by blood to the ascendant House of Savoy[3]) and owned considerable property. His parents were from a noble lineage and holders of fiefdoms within the Burgundian territories. His father, Gundulf de Candia, was by birth a Lombard of the House of Candia; he seems to have been harsh. His mother, Ermenberga of Geneva, was regarded as prudent and virtuous; she was related to Otto, Count of Savoy. At the age of fifteen, Anselm desired to enter a monastery but could not obtain his father's consent, and so the abbot refused him.[1] Disappointment brought on apparent psychosomatic illness. After recovery, he gave up his studies and lived a carefree life. During this period, his mother died and his father's harshness became unbearable. When he was twenty-three, Anselm left home, crossed the Alps and wandered through Burgundy and France.[2] Attracted by the fame of his countryman Lanfranc (then prior of the Benedictine Abbey of Bec), Anselm arrived in Normandy in 1059. The following year, after some time at Avranches, he entered the abbey as a novice at the age of twenty-seven; in doing so he submitted himself to the Rule of Saint Benedict, which was to reshape his thought over the next decade.[4] Years at Bec and accession to Canterbury In 1063, Lanfranc was made abbot of Caen and Anselm was elected prior of the abbey of Bec.[5] Anselm held this office for fifteen years before he became abbot at the death of Herluin, the abbey's founder, in 1078. He was consecrated abbot 22 February 1079 by the bishop of Évreux.[6] This consecration was rushed, because at the time the archdiocese of Rouen (wherein Bec lay) was sede vacante (vacant). Had Anselm been consecrated by the archbishop of Rouen, he would have been under pressure to profess obedience to him, which would compromise Bec's independence. Under Anselm's jurisdiction, Bec became the foremost seat of learning in Europe, attracting students from France, Italy and elsewhere,[7] even though study and scholarly research were of secondary importance in the monasticism of the time.[8] It was during his time at Bec that he wrote his first works of philosophy, the Monologion (1076) and the Proslogion (1077–8). These were followed by The Dialogues on Truth, Free Will and Fall of the Devil. During his time at Bec, Anselm worked to maintain its freedom from lay and archiepiscopal control.[9] Later in his abbacy Anselm worked to ensure Bec's independence from Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and from the archbishop of Rouen. The Tower of Saint Nicholas at the site of Bec Abbey Anselm occasionally visited England to see the abbey's property there, as well as to visit Lanfranc—who, in 1070, had been installed as Archbishop of Canterbury--until the latter's death in 1089.[10] He made a good impression while there, and was the natural successor to Lanfranc as Archbishop. Upon Lanfranc's death, however, William II of England seized the possessions and revenues of the see, and made no new appointment. In 1092, at the invitation of Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester, Anselm crossed to England. He was detained there by business for nearly four months and then refused permission to return to Bec by the king. The latter suddenly fell seriously ill at Alveston the following year, and spurred on by his wish to make amends for his sinful behaviour which he believed had caused his illness,[11] he allowed the nomination of Anselm to the vacant see, on 6 March 1093.[12] That month Anselm wrote the monks of Bec, telling them to accept his nomination to the see. Over the course of the following months, Anselm tried to refuse, on the grounds of age and ill-health,[1] and being unfit as a monk for secular affairs.[10] On 24 August, Anselm gave William the conditions under which he would accept the see, which amounted to an agenda of the Gregorian Reform: that William return the see's land which he had seized; that William accept the pre-eminence of Anselm's spiritual counsel; and that William acknowledge Pope Urban II as pope (in opposition to Antipope Clement III).[13] Anselm's professions of refusal aided his bargaining position as he discussed terms with William. William was exceedingly reluctant to accept these conditions; he would only grant the first.[14] A few days after this, William tried to rescind even this; he suspended the preparations for Anselm's investiture. Under public pressure William was forced to carry out the appointment. In the end Anselm and William settled on the return of Canterbury's lands as the only concession from William.[15] Finally, the English bishops thrust the crosier into his hands and took him to the church to be inducted.[16] He did homage to William, and on 25 September 1093 he received the lands of the see,[14] and was enthroned,[17] after obtaining dispensation from his duties in Normandy. He was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury on 4 December.[14] It has been argued whether or not Anselm's reluctance to take the see was sincere. Scholars such as Southern maintain that his preference would have been to stay at Bec.[18] However, reluctance to accept important ecclesiastical positions was a Medieval trope. Vaughn states that Anselm could not have expressed a desire for the position, because he would be regarded as an ambitious careerist. She further states that Anselm recognized William's political situation and goals, and acted at the moment that would gain him the most leverage in the interests of his expected see, and of the reform movement. Archbishop of Canterbury under William One of Anselm's first conflicts with William came the very month he was consecrated. William was preparing to fight his elder brother, Robert II, Duke of Normandy, and needed funds for doing so.[19] Anselm was among those expected to pay him, and he offered ₤500; rather less than he was expected to pay. William refused the offer, insisting on a greater sum. Later on, a group of bishops suggested that William might now settle for the original sum, but Anselm told them he had already given the money to the poor. In this episode Anselm was careful, and managed to both avoid charges of simony, and be generous. Anselm continued to agitate for reform and the interests of Canterbury.[20] His vision of the Church was one of a universal Church with its own internal authority, which countered with William's vision of royal control over both Church and state.[21] Consequently, he has been viewed alternatively as a contemplative monastic or as a man politically engaged, committed to maintaining the privileges of the episcopal see of Canterbury.[22] The Church's rule stated that metropolitans could not be consecrated without receiving the pallium from the hands of the pope. Anselm, accordingly, insisted that he must proceed to Rome to receive the pallium, but William would not permit it; he had not acknowledged Urban as pope and maintained his right to prevent a pope's acknowledgment by an English subject.