Anselm of Canterbury

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Anselm of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
Consecration	4 December 1093
Enthroned	unknown
Ended	21 April 1109
Predecessor	Lanfranc
Successor	Ralph d'Escures
Birth name	Anselmo d'Aosta
Born	1033 Aosta, Kingdom of Burgundy
Died	21 April 1109 (aged 75) Canterbury, Kent, England
Buried	Canterbury Cathedral
Sainthood
Feast day	21 April
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion
Canonized	1494 Rome, Papal States
Canonized by	Pope Alexander VI
Attributes	Portrayed with a ship, representing the spiritual independence of the Church.

Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033 – 21 April 1109) was a Benedictine monk, an Italian medieval philosopher, theologian, and church official 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. In 1720, Anselm was recognized as a Doctor of the Church by Pope Clement XI. He has been viewed alternately as a contemplative monastic, or as a man politically savvy and focused on the pre-emininence of the episcopal see of Canterbury.^[1]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Years at Bec and accession to Canterbury 1.3 Archbishop of Canterbury under William 1.4 Conflicts with King Henry I 2 Writings 2.1 Foundation 2.2 Proofs 2.3 Further works 2.3.1 "Dilecto dilectori" 3 Recognition 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Anselm was born at^[2] or near^[3] Aosta in the Kingdom of Burgundy (currently the capital of the Aosta Valley region in Northern Italy) around 1033.^[2] His family was noble (they were related by blood to the ascendent House of Savoy^[4]) and owned considerable property. His father, Gundulf, was by birth a Lombard and seems to have been harsh and violent. Ermenberga, his mother, was regarded as prudent and virtuous.

At the age of 15, Anselm desired to enter a monastery but could not obtain his father's consent, and so the abbot refused him.^[2] 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 23 Anselm left home, crossed the Alps and wandered through Burgundy and France.^[5] Attracted by the fame of his countryman Lanfranc (then prior of the Benedictine Abbey of Bec), Anselm entered Normandy in 1059. The following year, after some time at Avranches, he entered the abbey as a novice at the age of 27; in doing this he submitted himself to the Rule of Saint Benedict, which was to reshape his thought over the next decade.^[6]

[edit] 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.^[7] 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 Evreux.^[8] This consecration was rushed, because at the time the archdiocese of Rouen (wherein Bec laid) was sede vacante. And 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 Italy and elsewhere,^[9] even though study and scholarly research were of secondary importance in the monasticism of the time.^[10] 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 archepiscopal control.^[11] Later in his abbacy Anselm worked to ensure Bec's independenc from Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester and from the archbishop of Rouen.

Anselm occasionally visited England to see the abbey's property there, as well as to visit Lanfranc, until his death in 1089.^[12] He made a good impression while there, and was the natural successor to Lanfranc as Archbishop of Canterbury.

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, who suddenly fell ill the following year, and who nominated Anselm to the vacant see, on 6 March 1093.^[13] 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,^[2] and being unfit as a monk for secular affairs.^[14] 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).^[15] 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.^[16] A few days after this, William tried to rescind even this; he suspended the preparations for Anselm's investiture. On 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.^[17] Finally, the English bishops thrust the crosier into his hands and took him to the church to be inducted.^[18] He did homage to William, and on 25 September 1093 he received the lands of the see,^[16] and was enthroned,^[19] after obtaining dispensation from his duties in Normandy. He was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury on 4 December.^[16]

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.^[20] 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.

[edit] 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.^[21] 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 appear generous.

Anselm continued to agitate William for reform and the interests of Canterbury.^[22] 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.^[23]

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.

On 25 February 1095, the bishops and nobles of England held a council at Rockingham to discuss the issue. The bishops sided with the king, with the bishop of Durham even advising William to depose Anselm. The nobles chose Anselm's position, and the conference ended in deadlock.

Immediately following this William sent secret messengers to Rome.^[24] They prevailed on Urban to send a legate (Walter of Albano) to the king bearing the archiepiscopal pallium.^[25] Walter and William then negotiated in secret. William agreed to acknowledge Urban as pope, and secured the right to give permission before clerics could receive and obey papal letters; Walter, negotiating for Urban, conceded that Urban would send no legates without William's invitation. William's greatest desire was that Anselm be deposed and another given the pallium. Walter said that "there was good reason to expect a successful issue in accordance with the king’s wishes”. William then openly acknowledged Urban as pope, but Walter refused to depose Anselm. William then tried to extract money from Anselm for the pallium, and was refused. William also tried to personally hand over the pallium to Anselm, and was refused again. He compromised, and Anselm took the pallium from the altar at Canterbury on 10 June 1095.

Over nearly the next two years, no overt dispute between Anselm and William is known. However, William blocked Anselm's efforts at church reform. The issues came to a head in 1097, after William put down a Welsh rebellion.^[26] He charged Anselm with having given him insufficient knights for the campaign and tried to fine him. Anselm resolved to proceed to Rome and seek the counsel of the pope because William had refused to fulfill his promise of Church reform,^[23] but William denied him permission.^[27] The negotiations ended with William declaring that if Anselm left, he would take back the see, and never again receive Anselm as archbishop. If Anselm were to stay, William would fine him and force him to swear never again to appeal to Rome; "Anselm was given the choice of exile or total submission."^[27] As an exile, in October 1097 Anselm set out for Rome. William immediately seized the revenues of the see and retained them until his death, though Anselm retained the archbishopric.^[28] Anselm went into exile to defend his vision of the universal Church, displaying William's sins against that vision.^[23] Though he had done homage to William, Anselm qualified that homage by his higher duty towards God and the papacy. Anselm was received with high honour by Urban at the Siege of Capua, where he garnered high praise from the Saracen troops of Roger I of Sicily. The pope, however, did not wish to become deeply involved in Anselm's dispute with the king.

At a large provincial council held at Bari in 1098, which 183 bishops attended, Anselm was asked to defend, against representatives of the Greek Church, the Filioque and the practice of using unleavened bread for the Eucharist.

In 1099 Urban renewed the ban on lay investiture and on clerics doing homage.^[23] That year Anselm moved to Lyon.

[edit] Conflicts with King Henry I

William was killed 2 August 1100. His successor, Henry I of England, invited Anselm to return, writing that he committed himself to be counseled by Anselm.^[29] Henry was courting Anselm because he needed his support for the security of his claim to the throne; Anselm could have thrown his support behind Henry's elder brother instead.

When Anselm returned, Henry requested that Anselm do him homage for the Canterbury estates^[30] and receive from him investiture in his office of archbishop.^[31] The papacy had recently banned clerics doing homage to laymen,^[30] as well as banning lay investiture; thus started Anselm's conflicts with Henry.

Henry refused to relinquish the privilege possessed by his predecessors, and proposed that the matter be laid before the pope. Two embassies were sent to Pope Paschal II regarding the legitimacy of Henry's investiture, but Paschal reaffirmed the papal rule on both occasions. In the meantime, Anselm did work with Henry. Henry was threatened with invasion by his brother, and Anselm publicly supported Henry, wooing the wavering barons and threatening Curthose with excommunication.^[32] For his part, Henry granted Anselm authority over all the Church in England, and agreed to obey the papacy.

Because Paschal had reaffirmed the papal rules on lay investiture and homage, Henry turned against Anselm.^[32] In 1103, Anselm himself and an envoy from the king (William Warelwast) set out for Rome,^[33] Anselm in exile.^[32] In response, Paschal excommunicated the bishops whom Henry had invested.

Exiled from England, Anselm withdrew to Lyon after this ruling and awaited further action from Paschal. On 26 March 1105 Paschal excommunicated Henry's chief advisor (Robert of Meulan) for urging Henry to continue lay investiture,^[34] as well as prelates invested by Henry and other counselors,^[35] and threatened Henry with the same.^[36] In April Anselm threatened to excommunicate Henry himself, probably to force Henry's hand in their negotiations.^[37] In response Henry arranged a meeting with Anselm, and they managed a compromise at Laigle on 22 July 1105. Part of the agreement was that Robert's (and his associates') excommunication be lifted (given that they counsel the king to obey the papacy); Anselm lifted the excommunications on his own authority, an act which he later had to justify to Paschal.^[38][39] Other conditions of the agreement were that Henry would forsake lay investiture if Anselm obtained Paschal's permission for clerics to do homage for their nobles; that the revenues of his see be given back to Anselm; and that priests not be allowed to marry. Anselm then insisted on having the Laigle agreement sanctioned by Paschal before he would consent to return to England. By letter Anselm also asked that the pope accept his compromise on doing homage to the king, because he had secured a greater victory in Henry's forsaking lay investiture.^[40] On 23 March 1106 Paschal wrote Anselm accepting the compromise, though both saw this as a temporary compromise, and intended to later continue pushing for the Gregorian reform, including the custom of homage.^[41]

Even after this, Anselm still refused to return to England.^[42] Henry traveled to Bec and met with him on 15 August 1106. Henry made further concession, restoring to Anselm all the churches that had been seized by William; he promised that nothing more would be taken from the churches; prelates who had paid his controversial tax (which had started as a tax on married clergy)^[43] would be exempt from taxes for three years; and he promised to restore all that had been taken from Canterbury during Anselm's exile, even giving Anselm security for this promise. These compromises on Henry's part strengthened the rights of the Church against the king. Anselm returned to England following this.

By 1107, the long dispute regarding investiture was finally settled. The Concordat of London announced the compromises that Anselm and Henry had made at Bec.^[44]

Vaughn reads Anselm's motivation in the lay investiture conflict as advancing the interests of the see of Canterbury, rather than those of the Church at large.^[45] Other historians had seen Anselm as aligned with the papacy against the English monarchs, but Vaughn asserts that he acted as his own, third pole in the controversy. His aim was to promote the primacy of the archdiocese of Canterbury. His view of Canterbury's primacy is demonstrated in his charter of c. 3 September 1101, in which he called himself "Archbishop of Canterbury and primate of Great Britain and Ireland and vicar of the High Pontiff Paschal".^[32] By the end of his life he had secured the primatial status of Canterbury in relation to the papacy, and he had freed Canterbury from submission to the English king.^[46] In addition to securing the archbishop of Canterbury's role as primate of the English bishops, Anselm also initiated Canterbury's permanent control over the Welsh bishops, and gained strong authority over the Irish bishops during his lifetime.^[47]

He continued to work for the primacy of Canterbury, managing to force Paschal into sending the pallium for the archbishop of York to himself, so that the archbishop-elect would have to profess obedience to Canterbury before receiving it.^[48] From his deathbed he anathematized all who failed to recognize Canterbury's primacy over York, as Thomas II of York was doing.^[49] This anathema forced Henry to order Thomas to confess obedience to Canterbury.

During Henry's reign Anselm tried to advance another part of the Gregorian reform (which Henry actually supported): clerical celibacy. At Michaelmas of 1102, Anselm held a council in London in which he prohibited marriage and concubinage to those in holy orders^[50] (as well as condemning simony and reforming regulations on clerical dress and sobriety).^[32] In the previous two centuries, attempts at enforcing clerical celibacy had been made, but with little success. Anselm's council was disobeyed en masse as well. In 1106 Henry levied a tax on married clergy, ostensibly to enforce the council's canons,^[51] )but really in an effort to raise money for his war in Normandy).^[52] Another council was held in 1108, which focused on enforcing the canons of the 1102 council by creating incentives for archdeacons who were in practise in charge of enforcing such rules.

The final two years of Anselm's life were spent in the duties of his archbishopric. As archbishop, Anselm maintained his monastic ideals, which included stewardship, prudence, and fitting instruction to his flock, as well as prayer and contemplation.^[53] During his service as archbishop, Anselm maintained a habit of pressing on his monarchs at expedient times (when they needed his help, and when he would have public support) to advance his Church reforms.^[23] Anselm died on Holy Wednesday, 21 April 1109.

[edit] Writings

Anselm of Canterbury

Western Philosophy Medieval philosophy
Full name	Anselm of Canterbury
Born	1033 Aosta, Burgundy
Died	21 April 1109 Canterbury, England
School/tradition	Founder of Scholasticism
Main interests	Metaphysics (incl. Theology)
Notable ideas	Ontological argument
Influenced by Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Gregory the Great
Influenced Bonaventure, Aquinas, Leibniz, Hegel

Anselm is the first scholastic philosopher of Christian theology. His great predecessor, Johannes Scotus Eriugena, was more speculative and mystical in his writings. Anselm's writings represent a recognition of the relationship of reason to revealed truth, and an attempt to elaborate a rational system of faith.

[edit] Foundation

Anselm sought to understand Christian doctrine through reason and develop intelligible truths interwoven with the Christian belief. He believed that the necessary preliminary for this was possession of the Christian faith. He wrote, "Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam. Nam et hoc credo, quia, nisi credidero, non intelligam. " ("Nor do I seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that, unless I first believe, I shall not understand.") He held that faith precedes reason, but that reason can expand upon faith.^[54]

The groundwork of Anselm's theory of knowledge is contained in the tract De Veritate, where he affirms the existence of an absolute truth in which all other truth participates. This absolute truth, he argues, is God, who is the ultimate ground or principle both of things and of thought. The notion of God becomes the foreground of Anselm's theory, so it is necessary first to make God clear to reason and be demonstrated to have real existence.

Anselm's world-view was broadly that of Neoplatonism, which he inherited from his primary influence, Augustine of Hippo, as well as from Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and possibly Scotus.^[55] He also inherited a rationalist way of thinking from Aristotle and Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius.

[edit] Proofs

Anselm wrote many proofs within Monologion and Proslogion. In the first proof, Anselm relies on the ordinary grounds of realism, which coincide to some extent with the theory of Augustine. He argues that "things" are called "good" in a variety of ways and degrees, which would be impossible were there not some absolute standard and some good in itself, in which all relative goods participate. The same applies to adjectives like "great" and "just", whereby things involve a certain greatness and justice. Anselm uses this thought process to state that the very existence of things is impossible without some one Being, by whom they come to exist. This absolute Being, this goodness, justice and greatness, is God. Anselm is not thoroughly satisfied with this reasoning, however, because it begins from a posteriori grounds, meaning that the reasoning is inductive. The philosophy also contains several converging lines of proof.

Anselm desired to have one short demonstration, presented in Proslogion, his famous proof of the existence of God. It is referred to as the ontological argument—a term first applied by Kant to the arguments of Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century rationalists. Anselm defined his belief in the existence of God using the phrase "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". He reasoned that, if "that than which nothing greater can be conceived" existed only in the intellect, it would not be "that than which nothing greater can be conceived", since it can be thought to exist in reality, which is greater. It follows, according to Anselm, that "that than which nothing greater can be conceived" must exist in reality. The bulk of the Proslogion is taken up with Anselm's attempt to establish the identity of "that than which nothing greater can be conceived" as God and thus to establish that God exists in reality.

Anselm's ontological proof has been the subject of controversy since it was first published in the 1070s. It was opposed at the time by the monk Gaunilo, in his Liber pro Insipiente, on the grounds that humans cannot pass from intellect to reality. Anselm replied to the objections in his Responsio.

Gaunilo's criticism is repeated by several later philosophers, among whom are Thomas Aquinas and Kant. Anselm wrote a number of other arguments for the existence of God, based on cosmological and teleological grounds.

[edit] Further works

In Anselm's other works, he strove to state the rational grounds of the Christian doctrines of creation and the Trinity. He discussed the Trinity first by stating that human beings could not know God from Himself but only from analogy. The analogy that he used was the self-consciousness of man.

The peculiar double-nature of consciousness, memory and intelligence represent the relation of the Father to the Son. The mutual love of these two (memory and intelligence), proceeding from the relation they hold to one another, symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The further theological doctrines of man, such as original sin and free will, are developed in the Monologion and other treatises.

In Cur Deus Homo, Anselm undertook to explain the rational necessity of the Christian mystery of the atonement. His philosophy rests on three positions—first, that satisfaction is necessary on account of God's honour and justice; second, that such satisfaction can be given only by the peculiar personality of the God-man Jesus; and, third, that such satisfaction is really given by this God-man's voluntary death.

Anselm expounds on these three positions by beginning with the statement that all of man's actions are for the glory of God. If sin exists, wounding God's honour, man himself can give no satisfaction, but God's justice demands satisfaction. Because God is infinite, however, any wound to his honour must also be infinite. It follows that satisfaction must also be infinite: it must outweigh all that is not God.

Because humans are not infinite, such acts of satisfaction can only be paid by God himself and, as a penalty for man, must be paid under the form of man. By this, Anselm reasons that satisfaction is only possible through the sinless God-man Jesus. Because he is exempt from the punishment of sin, the God-man's passion is voluntary. The merit of the act is therefore infinite, God's justice is thus appeased and his mercy may extend to man.

This theory has exercised immense influence on church doctrine, providing the basis for the Roman Catholic concept of the treasury of merit and the evangelical doctrine of penal substitution, as developed by John Calvin. Anselm's philosophy is very different from older patristic philosophies, insofar as it focuses on a contest between the goodness and justice of God rather than a contest between God and Satan.

Critics of Anselm assert that he puts the whole conflict on merely a legal footing, giving it no ethical bearing, and neglects altogether the consciousness of the individual to be redeemed. In this respect, it contrasts with the later theory of Peter Abélard.

Anselm denied the belief which is now referred to as the Immaculate Conception,^[56] though his thinking laid the groundwork for the doctrine's development in the West. In De virginali conceptu et de peccato originali, he gave two principles which became fundamental for thinking about the Immaculate Conception. The first is that it was proper that Mary should be so pure that no purer being could be imagined, aside from God.

The second innovation in Anselm's thinking which opened the way for the Immaculate Conception was his understanding of original sin.^[57] Anselm affirmed that original sin is simply human nature without original justice, and that it is transmitted because parents cannot give original justice if they do not have it themselves; original sin is the transmission of fallen human nature. In contrast, Anselm's contemporaries held that the transmission of original sin had to with the lustful nature of the act of sexual intercourse. Anselm was the first thinker to separate original sin from the lust of intercourse. This enabled later thinkers to see that God might keep Mary free from original sin, even though she was conceived through normal sexual intercourse.

[edit] "Dilecto dilectori"

It may not be philosophically relevant, but it was reported that Anselm wrote many letters to monks, male relatives and others that contained passionate expressions of attachment and affection. These letters were typically addressed "dilecto dilectori", sometimes translated as "to the beloved lover." While there is wide agreement that Anselm was personally committed to the monastic ideal of celibacy, some academics, including Brian P. McGuire^[58] and John Boswell^[59] have characterized these writings as expressions of a homosexual inclination.^[60] Others, such as Glenn Olsen^[61] and Richard Southern describe them as representing a "wholly spiritual" affection, "nourished by an incorporeal ideal".^[62]

[edit] Recognition

The anniversary of Anselm's death on 21 April is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church, much of the Anglican Communion, and in the Lutheran Church, as Anselm's memorial. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1720 by Pope Clement XI, though he was never formally canonized.^[63] On 21 April 1909, 800 years after his death, Pope Pius X issued an encyclical "Communium Rerum", praising Anselm, his ecclesiastical career, and his writings. His symbol in hagiography is the ship, representing the spiritual independence of the church.

[edit] References

This article incorporates text from the article "Anselm" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

[edit] External links

• Saint Anselm entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy by Thomas Williams
• "St. Anselm" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.
• Professor Jasper Hopkins: Anselm of Canterbury containing English translations of nearly every major work by St. Anselm

Roman Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Lanfranc	Archbishop of Canterbury 1093–1109	Succeeded by Ralph d'Escures (in 1114)

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Leo XIII · Rerum Novarum 20th century Pope Pius X · Our Lady of Fátima · Persecutions of the Catholic Church and Pius XII · Pope Pius XII · Dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary · Pope John XXIII · Second Vatican Council · Pope Paul VI · Pope John Paul I · Pope John Paul II 21st century Pope Benedict XVI · World Youth Day 2008 By country France  · Germany  · Ireland  · Mexico  · Spain  · United States Pope Portal Catholicism Portal v • d • e History of Roman Catholic theology Theologians · Teachings · Heresies General History History of the Roman Catholic Church · Early Christianity · History of the Papacy · Ecumenical Councils · Timeline of the Roman Catholic Church · History of Christianity · History of Christian theology Church beginnings Epistles of Clement · Didache · Ignatius of Antioch · Epistle of Barnabas · Justin Martyr · Irenaeus · Tertullian · Origen · Antipope Novatian · Cyprian Constantine to Pope Gregory I Arianism · Pelagianism · Nestorianism · Monophysitism · Monothelitism · Pope Leo I · Ambrose · Augustine of Hippo Early Middle Ages Iconoclasm · Transubstantiation Dispute · Predestination Disputes John Scotus Eriugena High Middle Ages Thomas Aquinas · Thomism · Anselm of Canterbury · Peter Abelard · Decretum Gratiani · Bernard of Clairvaux · Peter Lombard · Hildegard of Bingen · Saint Dominic · Saint Francis of Assisi · Bonaventure · Albertus Magnus Mysticism & Reforms Duns Scotus · Dante Alighieri · William of Ockham · Catherine of Siena · Brigit of Sweden · Johannes Tauler · Heinrich Seuse · Nicholas of Kues · Thomas à Kempis Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation Thomas More · John Fisher · Thomas Cajetan · Johann Eck · Ignatius of Loyola · Francis Xavier · Teresa of Ávila · John of the Cross · Petrus Canisius · Robert Bellarmine · Francis de Sales Baroque Period to French Revolution Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet · Francisco Suárez · François Fénelon · Jansenism · Blaise Pascal · Saint Alphonsus Liguori · Saint Louis de Montfort · Alfonso Muzzarelli · Louis Thomassin · Jean de La Fontaine 19th century John Henry Newman · Gaetano Sanseverino · Giovanni Maria Cornoldi · Clemens Maria Hofbauer · Johann Michael Sailer · Johann Joseph von Görres · Wilhelm Emmanuel Freiherr von Ketteler · Giuseppe Pecci · Joseph Hergenröther · Tommaso Maria Zigliara 20th-21st century Romano Guardini · Sebastiaan Tromp · Raimondo Spiazzi · Gabriel Roschini · Hugo Rahner · Henri de Lubac · Pope Pius XII · Pierre Teilhard de Chardin · Hans Urs von Balthasar · Yves Congar · Karl Rahner · Edward Schillebeeckx · Marie-Dominique Chenu · Louis Bouyer · Étienne Gilson · Hans Küng · Jean Daniélou · Pope John Paul II · Pope Benedict XVI Pope Portal Catholicism Portal v • d • e List of Archbishops of Canterbury To the Norman conquest Augustine · Laurentius · Mellitus · Justus · Honorius · Deusdedit · Wighard · Theodore · Berhtwald · Tatwine · Nothelm · Cuthbert · Bregowine · Jænberht · Æthelhard · Wulfred · Feologild · Ceolnoth · Æthelred · Plegmund · Athelm · Wulfhelm · Oda · Ælfsige · Byrhthelm · Dunstan · Æthelgar · Sigeric · Ælfric · Ælfheah · Lyfing · Æthelnoth · Eadsige · Robert of Jumièges · Stigand To the Reformation Lanfranc · Anselm · Ralph d'Escures · William de Corbeil · Theobald · Thomas Becket · Roger de Bailleul · Richard · Baldwin · Reginald Fitz Jocelin · Hubert Walter · Reginald · John de Gray · Stephen Langton · Walter d'Eynsham · Richard le Grant · Ralph Neville · John of Sittingbourne · John Blund · Edmund Rich · Boniface · William Chillenden · Robert Kilwardby · Robert Burnell · John Peckham · Robert Winchelsey · Thomas Cobham · Walter Reynolds · Simon Mepeham · John de Stratford · John de Ufford · Thomas Bradwardine · Simon Islip · William Edington · Simon Langham · William Whittlesey · Simon Sudbury · William Courtenay · Thomas Arundel · Roger Walden · Thomas Arundel · Henry Chichele · John Stafford · John Kemp · Thomas Bourchier · John Morton · Thomas Langton · Henry Deane · William Warham · Thomas Cranmer · Reginald Pole Post-Reformation Matthew Parker · Edmund Grindal · John Whitgift · Richard Bancroft · George Abbot · William Laud · William Juxon · Gilbert Sheldon · William Sancroft · John Tillotson · Thomas Tenison · William Wake · John Potter · Thomas Herring · Matthew Hutton · Thomas Secker · Frederick Cornwallis · John Moore · Charles Manners-Sutton · William Howley · John Bird Sumner · Charles Thomas Longley · Archibald Campbell Tait · Edward White Benson · Frederick Temple · Randall Thomas Davidson · Cosmo Lang · William Temple · Geoffrey Fisher · Michael Ramsey · Donald Coggan · Robert Runcie · George Carey · Rowan Williams v • d • e Medieval philosophers Augustine of Hippo · Boëthius · Alkindus · Johannes Scotus Eriugena · Rhazes · Al-Jahiz · Alfarabi · Ibn Masarrah · Al Amiri · Ibn Miskawayh · Brethren of Purity · Alhazen · Ibn al-Rawandi · Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī · Avicenna · Ibn Hazm · Roscelin · Anselm of Canterbury · Algazel · Bernard of Chartres · Ayn-al-Quzat Hamadani · Avempace · Gilbert de la Porrée · Hugh of St Victor · Abélard · Gersonides · Hibat Allah Abu'l-Barakat al-Baghdaadi · Richard of St. Victor · Ibn Tufail · Averroës · Maimonides · Alexander of Hales · Mohammad Ibn Abd-al-Haq Ibn Sab’in · Alain de Lille · Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi · Abd-el-latif · Ibn Arabi · Robert Grosseteste · Albertus Magnus · Athīr al-Dīn al-Abharī · Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī · Zakariya al-Qazwini · Ibn al-Nafis · Roger Bacon · Bonaventure · Thomas Aquinas · Ramon Llull · Godfrey of Fontaines · Henry of Ghent · Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi · Giles of Rome · Rashid al-Din · Fakhr al-Din al-Razi · Ibn Taymiyyah · Duns Scotus · William of Ockham · Jean Buridan · Nicole Oresme · John Hennon · Ibn Khaldun · Gemistus Pletho · Basilius Bessarion · Francisco de Vitoria · Lambertus de Monte v • d • e Doctors of the Roman Catholic Church St. Gregory the Great · St. Ambrose · St. Augustine · St. Jerome · St. John Chrysostom · St. Basil · St. Gregory Nazianzus · St. Athanasius of Alexandria · St. Cyril of Alexandria · St. Cyril of Jerusalem · St. John Damascene · St. Bede the Venerable · St. Ephrem · St. Thomas Aquinas · St. Bonaventure · St. Anselm · St. Isidore · St. Peter Chrysologus · St. Leo the Great · St. Peter Damian · St. Bernard of Clairvaux · St. Hilary of Poitiers · St. Alphonsus Liguori · St. Francis de Sales · St. Peter Canisius · St. John of the Cross · St. Robert Bellarmine · St. Albertus Magnus · St. Anthony of Padua · St. Lawrence of Brindisi · St. Teresa of Avila · St. Catherine of Siena · St. Thérèse of Lisieux · v • d • e Philosophy of religion Related articles: Criticism of religion • Exegesis • History of religion  • Religion • Religious philosophy • Theology • Relationship between religion and science • Religion and politics • Faith and rationality • more... Concepts in religion Afterlife • Euthyphro dilemma • Faith • Intelligent design • Miracle • Problem of evil • Religious belief • Soul • Theodicy Theories of religion Acosmism • Agnosticism • Animism • Antireligion • Atheism • Brights • Dharmism • Deism • Divine command theory • Dualism • Esotericism • Exclusivism • Existentialism (Christian, Agnostic, Atheist) • Feminist theology • Gnosticism • Henotheism • Humanism (Religious, Secular, Christian)  • Inclusivism • Monism • Monotheism • Mysticism • Naturalism (Metaphysical, Religious, Humanistic) • New Age • Nondualism • Nontheism • Pandeism • Pantheism • Polytheism • Process theology • Religious fundamentalism • Spiritualism • Shamanism • Taoic • Theism • Transcendentalism • more ... Philosophers of religion Albrecht Ritschl • Alvin Plantinga • Anselm of Canterbury • Anthony Flew • Augustine of Hippo • Averroes • Baron d'Holbach • Baruch Spinoza • Blaise Pascal • Boethius • David Hume • Desiderius Erasmus • Emil Brunner • Ernst Cassirer • Ernst Haeckel • Ernst Troeltsch • Friedrich Schleiermacher • Gaunilo of Marmoutiers • Georg Hegel • George Santayana • Harald Høffding • Heraclitus • Immanuel Kant • J. L. Mackie • Johann Gottfried Herder • Karl Barth • Ludwig Feuerbach • Maimonides • Paul Tillich • Pico della Mirandola • Ramakrishna • Reinhold Niebuhr • Rene Descartes • Richard Swinburne • Robert Merrihew Adams • Rudolf Otto • Sigmond Freud • Søren Kierkegaard • Thomas Aquinas • Thomas Chubb • William Alston • William James • W.K. Clifford • William L. Rowe • William Whewell • William Wollaston • more ... Existence of god For Beauty · Christological · Consciousness · Cosmological · Degree · Desire · Experience · Love · Miracles · Morality · Ontological · Pascal's Wager · Proper basis · Reason  · Teleological · Transcendental · Witness Against 747 Gambit · Atheist's Wager · Evil · Free will · Hell · Inconsistent revelations · Nonbelief · Noncognitivism · Occam's Razor · Omnipotence · Poor design · Russell's teapot · Transcendental Portal · Category · Task Force · Discussion · Changes

Persondata
NAME	Anselm
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Anselm of Canterbury; Saint Anselm
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Archbishop of Canterbury; Abbot of Bec; Philosopher
DATE OF BIRTH	1033
PLACE OF BIRTH	Aosta, Burgundy
DATE OF DEATH	21 April 1109
PLACE OF DEATH	Canterbury, Kent