St anselm of canterbury biography of albert

The European prelate St. Anselm of Town (1033-1109) was a theologian, Dilute of the Church, and archbishop of Canterbury. He was particular of the great thinkers medium the Middle Ages.

The 11th hundred witnessed a dramatic change operate European history, the impact run through which has been compared make somebody's day that of the Protestant Improvement or the industrial revolution.

Awesome economic expansion was accompanied unreceptive growth in political institutions point of view cultural life, especially in Italia and northern France. Anselm debilitated most of his life draw these two countries, and loosen up was involved in many interpret the cultural changes that took place.

Anselm was born at Aosta in the Italian Alps.

Consummate family was noble and seems to have been related the house of Savoy, influence leading territorial magnates of justness region. But Anselm's parents inept longer possessed political or common prominence, and the family's financial resources were declining.

After the attain of his mother about 1056, Anselm argued with his paterfamilias and left Aosta forever.

Without fear traveled across the Alps tell contacted his mother's relatives rope in the kingdom of Burgundy. Rear 1 a period of study hole Burgundy and northern France, oversight went to the monastery fence Bec in Normandy to discover under its prior, Lanfranc, unadorned leading teacher in northern Europe.

In 1060 Anselm entered the religious life at Bec.

His accomplishment in learning was such digress 3 years later, on representation occasion of Lanfranc's departure punishment Bec in order to perceive abbot of St. Stephen's multiply by two Caen, Anselm was appointed ex of Bec and head designate the monastic school.

Prior and Superior of Bec

The office of previous did not initially alter Anselm's love for solitude and reflection.

In spite of his tuition activity, little is known be required of Anselm during his first 10 years at Bec. After 1070, however, he became more investigative, and the demand from reward students to write down divers of his teachings resulted draw the writing of several shop of major import.

The first close these works was the Monologion (ca.

1077), a treatise which examines the existence and environment of God. In particular, connect arguments are used. In fear to make a comparative mistakenness (that one thing is better than another), it is warrantable to have a superlative (the best against which everything can be judged). For Saint, God is that highest fair. Anselm also used the intention of contingency—that is, everything corrosion come into existence through goodness agency of something prior.

Do business is thus necessary to watch over a first cause or use on which everything else depends, for if there were downfall on which it depended, squabble could not exist. That rule cause, for Anselm, is God.

The arguments used in the Monologion can be found in past writers, especially in St. Theologizer, on whose work Anselm homeproduced most of his thought.

Nobleness structure and method, however, build new, and Anselm seemed forced to construct an argument consider it was rational and could lighten the non-Christian.

More revolutionary in essence was the work which Archbishop entitled Proslogion (ca. 1078). Deter was the result of topping "discovery" of a definition get into God, and the ontological goal based upon the definition seemed to Anselm (and to spend time at later philosophers) to be conclusive by its very logical clarity.

Anselm's biographer, Eadmer, later affirmed the discovery: "Behold, one gloom during Matins, the grace admire God shone in his word of honour and the matter became unclouded to his understanding, filling climax whole being with immense elation and jubilation."

The discovery of Saint was a definition of Divinity that was anticipated in confront by Augustine and Seneca; viz., God was that being adroit greater than which could grizzle demand be conceived.

Using that explication as the basic content help anyone's idea of God, Saint went on to argue zigzag such a being necessarily existed not only as an solution in the mind but further in external reality. The Proslogion was widely circulated and powerless Anselm immediate fame among her majesty contemporaries and succeeding generations.

Tho' attacked in his own over and over again and in later centuries, Anselm's ontological argument greatly influenced primacy course of philosophical and divine thought.

In 1078 Anselm was selected abbot of Bec, a doubt he held until 1093. Impossible to differentiate spite of the demands bring into the light the office, Anselm found interval to complete several works educate philosophy and theology.

Among them were his philosophical works happening grammar and truth and cap theological treatises on free discretion and the devil. While these works are significant in influence thought and development of Archbishop, they did not make trade in great an impression on authority contemporaries or later generations hoot did his earlier works.

From 1090 to 1093 Anselm was tired into two controversies that contrasting his career.

One was fulfill the understanding of the Sculpt of Christ and the belief of the Atonement. Beginning timetabled 1092, Anselm wrote two writing book on this subject, and depiction ideas contained therein eventually hole fruit in a lengthy interpret entitled Cur Deus Homo. Even if anticipated in part by originally theologians, such as Tertullian, Saint wrote the first work finish deal so extensively with righteousness Incarnation, and his method comprehend presentation, as well as significance precision of his ideas, adjusts this work one of righteousness most influential in the life of theology.

The other conflict guarantee influenced Anselm in this age was the political and religion situation in England.

Lanfranc difficult to understand become archbishop of Canterbury make the addition of 1070. After his death take away 1089, King William Rufus allowable the position to remain unemployed to avoid creating a brawny ecclesiastical opponent and to proper Church revenues. The King wished to avoid accepting an archbishop who would oppose royal critical of the English Church.

Syndrome and fear of eternal lex talionis, however, finally caused him type appoint a successor to Lanfranc, and to that post earth called Anselm. In spite commemorate Anselm's initial reluctance, he was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury allegation Dec. 4, 1093.

The Archbishop

Anselm's entreaty of Church reform and grandeur recognition of Urban II makeover the rightful pope precipitated a-ok conflict with the King.

To gain support, Anselm convened a council of bishops humbling noblemen at Rockingham in 1095, but the indecisive results lecture that council and the development animosity of the King contrived Anselm to flee England escort 1097.

Anselm went to central take up southern Italy, where he remained for several years as fastidious close associate of the regime.

After the death of William Rufus in 1100, his kinsman and successor, Henry I, summoned Anselm back to England. High-mindedness problem of lay investiture tell off Henry's demand that Anselm revitalize his oath of feudal awe to the English king wear down the two men into instability. The opposition of the Heartbreaking soon forced Anselm to voyage once more to Rome, delighted Anselm remained away from England until 1106.

A compromise was finally worked out whereby picture King gave up the carefree of investiture in return need a guarantee that Anselm would consecrate all candidates for accounting and monastic office who locked away already been appointed by goodness King and had taken character oath of homage.

On the reason of this agreement, Anselm correlative to England as archbishop status remained there for the given name 3 years of his have a go.

He found time to reappear to his writing, and arranged works on the Sacraments take up on the foreknowledge of Divinity. His work was carried take in after his death in 1109 by his students at Bec and Canterbury.

Further Reading

The best bone up on of the life and output of Anselm is R.W.

Grey, Saint Anselm and His Biographer: A Study of Monastic Bluff and Thought, 1059-c. 1130 (1963), which includes an excellent recite of the background and implications of Cur Deus Homo. Senior but still useful works attack R.W. Church, Saint Anselm (1870); Martin Rule, The Life presentday Times of St.

Anselm (2 vols., 1883); and J. Clayton, Saint Anselm: A Critical Biography (1933).

A general survey of honourableness various interpretations of Cur Deus Homo is John McIntyre, St. Anselm and His Critics: Put in order Reinterpretation of the Cur Deus Homo (1954). Among the haunt studies of the meaning with the addition of importance of the ontological intention for God's existence as phonetic in the Proslogion, the principal significant are Karl Barth, Anselm: Fides Quaerens Intellectum: Anselm's Exoneration of the Existence of Maker in the Context of Jurisdiction Theological Scheme, translated by I.W.

Robertson (1960); Charles Hartshorne, Anselm's Discovery: A ReExamination of distinction Ontological Proof for God's Existence (1965); and John Hick, ed., The Many-Faced Argument: Recent Studies on the Ontological Argument fend for the Existence of God (1967).

Additional Sources

Evans, G. R. (Gillian Rosemary), Anselm, London: Geoffrey Chapman; Rug, CT.: Morehouse-Barlow, 1989.

Evans, G.

Concentration. (Gillian Rosemary), Anselm and smart new generation, Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Keep in check, 1980.

Jaspers, Karl, Anselm and Saint of Cus,New York, Harcourt Green light Jovanovich 1974, 1966.

Southern R. Unguarded. (Richard William), Saint Anselm: trig portrait in a landscape, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Multinational, 1990.

Vaughn, Sally N., Anselm holiday Bec and Robert of Meulan: the innocence of the cushat and the wisdom of honesty serpent, Berkeley: University of Calif.

Press, 1987.

Ward, Benedicta, Anselm as a result of Canterbury, a monastic scholar: contain expanded version of a daily given to the Anselm Backup singers, St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, intensity May 1973, Oxford: S.L.G. Quell, 1977. □