Saint Anselm

Recognized as a saint by Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, the medieval theologian Anselm was born about 1033 in Aosta, in what is now Northern Italy. He was born into a noble family with a violent father and a pious mother who raised him in the Christian faith. His father did not approve of his son's wish to become a monk, a desire Anselm had when he was fifteen. His desire was so great that he even prayed for an illness, hoping that the abbot of the monastery would take pity on him. The abbot, however, was too fearful of Anselm's father to admit him. Although he was an excellent student and dedicated in his faith, Anselm succumbed to disappointment, quit school altogether, and sought a life of pleasure. Eventually his father's harsh treatment towards him, along with the death of his mother, became to heavy for Anselm to bear, so he left home at twenty-three and wandered through France for three years.

The end of Anselm's wanderings came upon the Abbey of Bec, in Normandy, and found not only a home, but a tutor, in the person of the prior, Lafranc. Anselm, now twenty-six, devoted himself to Lafranc as a disciple, and was a year or so afterward received in the monastery as a monk (Benedictine order). Anselm himself served as prior at Bec for fifteen years, beginning in 1063, and was later consecrated as the abbot. Before this time in the Middle Ages, scholarship did not have a primary place in monastic life; it is with Anselm that we have the beginnings of scholasticism. The abbey of Bec drew students from all over Europe, becoming the most prestigious seat of learning on the continent. Anselm began exploring philosophy, writing his own philosophical works, the Monologion and the Proslogion, at this time.

In 1093, Anselm succeeded his beloved teacher Lanfranc as the Archbishop of Canterbury, although this was the outcome of much turmoil with King William II of England. The trouble with the king did not end with Anselm's consecration, however, for William continued to impose kingly authority upon the see of Canterbury, an attitude which Anselm constantly battled. He believed that the Church should maintain an internal authority that was not subject to the royal governement. William furthermore prevented Anselm from carrying out his proposed church reforms, and when Anselm decided to visit the pope for counsel, William seized the property of Canterbury and exiled Anselm. In 1100, on the death of King William, Anselm was received back to Canterbury by King Henry I, only to find himself again in conflict with the King of England. Henry also exiled Anselm, and it wasn't until 1106 that he agreed to return, when Henry promised to restore the full property of the see, and furthermore to stop extortioning money and land from the Church. This issue was finally settle by the Concordat of London in 1107.

Anselm's body of work is considerable, and built off of a blend of Neoplatonism (from St. Augustine) and Aristotelian emphasis on rationality. Many of Anselm's works present the primacy of faith, while employing reason to augment the understanding that comes from faith. Anselm is also known for his proofs based on inductive reasoning, the most famous being his ontological argument for the existence of God. This set the tone for the Scholastic movement of the later Middle Ages in the West, and his influence can be seen in later philosophers, notably Descartes and Hegel.

Anselm died on April 21, 1109, after two peaceful years carrying out his duties as Archbishop of Canterbury.