Anselm of Canterbury

Lore & Background

Anselm was born in or around Aosta in Upper Burgundy sometime between April 1033 and April 1034. His father Gundulph was a Lombard noble; his mother Ermenberge was patient and devoutly religious. After his mother's death, his father repented his own earlier lifestyle and entered a monastery.

Anselm, at age 23, left home with a single attendant, crossed the Alps, and wandered through Burgundy and France for three years. He entered Bec as a novice at age 27. Probably in his first year, he wrote his first work on philosophy, a treatment of Latin paradoxes called the Grammarian. He was elected prior of Bec in 1063 and abbot in 1078.

Under his direction, Bec became a foremost seat of learning. He composed the Monologion and Proslogion, and later dialogues on truth, free will, and the fall of Satan. He is regarded as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God and of the satisfaction theory of atonement.

The Archbishop's Stand Against the Crown

As Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 until his death in 1109, Anselm found himself locked in a bitter struggle with the English monarchy over the rights of the Church. The Investiture Controversy placed him directly against both William II and Henry I, and his refusal to yield to royal demands cost him his seat on two separate occasions. His first exile stretched from 1097 to 1100, and a second followed from 1105 to 1107, during which he traveled to the Council of Bari. There he played a key role in persuading the Greek Catholic bishops of southern Italy to embrace the Roman Rite, extending his influence well beyond English shores.

Back in England, Anselm pressed the claim that Canterbury held primacy over both the Archbishop of York and the bishops of Wales. By the time he died, this position appeared to be firmly established. Yet the matter was not settled in his favor: Pope Paschal II subsequently overturned the papal decisions and restored York to its earlier standing, undoing what Anselm had achieved in his final years.

Father of Scholastic Thought and the Ontological Argument

During his years at the Benedictine abbey of Bec, Anselm began composing dialogues and treatises that blended mystical devotion with rigorous philosophical reasoning. This dual approach led later scholars to credit him as a founding figure of Scholasticism, a designation he never enjoyed in his own lifetime.

His most celebrated intellectual contributions include the ontological argument for the existence of God and the satisfaction theory of atonement, both of which he is famously regarded as having originated. His earliest known work, a treatment of Latin paradoxes called the Grammarian, was likely written during his first year at Bec, suggesting that his philosophical mind was already active before the Rule of Saint Benedict fully reshaped his thinking over the following decade. Despite the enduring fame of his arguments, Anselm's recognition as a systematic philosopher came only after his death, and his legacy in this field rests on a body of work that married contemplative faith with logical inquiry in a way that would influence centuries of Western thought.

From Aosta to Bec: A Young Man's Search

Born in or around Aosta in Upper Burgundy between April 1033 and April 1034, Anselm grew up in a household shaped by political upheaval and conflicting temperaments. His father, a Lombard noble named Gundulph, was known for being overgenerous and careless with the family's wealth, while his mother Ermenberge, a patient and devout woman, managed the estates with prudence. At fifteen, Anselm felt a powerful call to monastic life but was turned away by the abbot because his father would not consent. The disappointment reportedly triggered an illness, and he drifted into a carefree existence.

After his mother's death and his father's subsequent conversion to a severity the young man found equally unbearable, Anselm finally left home at twenty-three with a single attendant. He crossed the Alps and wandered through Burgundy and France for three years before reaching Normandy in 1059, drawn by the reputation of Lanfranc, prior of Bec. After his father's death, Lanfranc directed him to Archbishop Maurilius of Rouen, who persuaded him to enter Bec as a novice at the age of twenty-seven.

Saint, Doctor, and Enduring Influence

Anselm's posthumous recognition grew steadily over the centuries following his death in 1109. He was canonized as a saint, and the Church commemorates him each year on 21 April. In 1720, Pope Clement XI elevated him further by proclaiming him a Doctor of the Church through a papal bull, a distinction reserved for figures whose theological and philosophical contributions are held in the highest regard.

Throughout his life he was known by several names reflecting his origins and affiliations: Anselm of Aosta after his birthplace in what is now the Republic of Italy, and Anselm of Bec after the Norman monastery that shaped his intellectual development. His identity as a Benedictine abbot, philosopher, and theologian who served as Archbishop of Canterbury for sixteen years made him a figure of extraordinary range. Yet it was his written works—dialogues and treatises that wove together mystical contemplation and rational argument—that secured his place in the Western intellectual tradition, ensuring that his voice would continue to resonate long after the political disputes of his archiepiscopate faded from memory.

Reader's Guide

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm defended the Church's interests in England amid the Investiture Controversy. For his resistance to the English kings William II and Henry I, he was exiled twice: once from 1097 to 1100 and then from 1105 to 1107.

While in exile, he participated in the Council of Bari, where he helped convince the Greek Catholic bishops of southern Italy to adopt the Roman Rite. In England, he asserted the primacy of Canterbury over the Archbishop of York and over the bishops of Wales, and at the time of his death he appeared to have been successful in this. However, Pope Paschal II later reversed the papal decisions on the matter and restored York's earlier status.