Anselm (c.1033-1109)

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Synopsis

ANSELM OF CANTERBURY, b. in 1033, at Aosta in Piedmont; d. at Canterbury, April 21, 1109; the father of mediaeval scholasticism, and one of the most eminent English prelates. He belonged to a rich family of old Lombard nobility, but felt himself so strongly drawn towards a life of study and contemplation, that, in spite of his father’s protest, he entered the Monastery of Bec, in Normandy, where he studied under the tuition of his celebrated countryman, Lanfranc, and finally took holy orders. In 1063 he was chosen prior, and in 1078, abbot of Bec; and under his guidance and by his teaching the fame of the school of the place steadily increased. In 1093 he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury; and, though he was a very mild and meek man, he had adopted the Gregorian views of the relation between Church and State, and followed them out in practice with unswerving consistency. Strife soon broke out between him and the king, William Rufus, who exiled him in 1097. Under William’s successor, Henry I., he returned; but the strife soon broke out again. Once more he went into exile; and a reconciliation was not brought about until 1106, when the king renounced the right of investiture with ring and staff, and the archbishop consented to take the oath of allegiance for his feudal possessions.

In the history of theology Anselm stands as the father of orthodox scholasticism. He was called the second Augustine. Of the two theological tendencies at that time occupying the field, - the one more free and rational, represented by Berengarius; anti the other confining itself more closely to the tradition of the church, and represented by Lanfranc, - he chose the latter; and he defines the object of scholastical theology to be the logical development and dialectical demonstration of the doctrines of the church such as they were handed down through the Fathers. The dogmas of the church are to him identical with revelation itself; and their truth surpasses the conceptions of reason so far, that it seems to him to be mere vanity to doubt a dogma on account of its unintelligibility. Credo ut intelligam, non quaero intelligere ut credam, is the principle on which he proceeds; and after him it has become the principle of all orthodox theology. As a metaphysician he was a Realist; and one of his earliest works, De Fide Trinitatis, was an attack on the Nominalist Roscellin’s doctrine of the Holy Trinity. His two most celebrated works are Proslogium, written before 1078, and setting forth the ontological proof of the existence of God, and Cur Deus Homo, finished at Capua in 1098, and developing those views of atonement and satisfaction which still are held by orthodox divines. his Meditationes and Orationes are of an edifying and contemplative character rather than dialectical, but are often very impressive.

Philip Schaff, ed., A Religious Encyclopaedia or Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology, 3rd edn, Vol. 1. Toronto, New York & London: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1894. p.90.

Primary Sources

	Anselm's Basic Works (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)
	St Anselm, Basic Writings, 2nd edn. Open Court Publishing Company, 1962. Pbk. ISBN: 0875481094. pp.328.
	Edward S. Prout, Cur Deus Homo? Why God Became Man?, 2nd edn. London: The Religious Tract Society, [1886]. Hbk. pp.182.
	Anselm of Canterbury, The Major Works. Brian Davies & G.R. Evans, eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Pbk. ISBN: 0192825259. pp.542.
	Maxwell John Charlesworth, St Anselm's Proslogion. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965. pp.vi + 196.
	Anselm of Canterbury, St. Anselm's Proslogion With a Reply on Behalf of the Fool. University of Notre Dame Press. Hbk. ISBN: 0268016968.
	E.R. Fairweather, A Scholastic Miscellany: Anselm to Ockham. Westminster John Knox Press, 1982. Pbk. ISBN: 0664244181. pp.457.
	Desmond P. Henry, The De Grammatico of St Anselm. University of Notre Dame Publications in Medieval Studies, 18. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1964.
	Eadmer, Life of St. Anselm. R. W. Southern, translator. Oxford University Press Reprints distributed by Sandpiper Books, 1972. Hbk. ISBN: 0198222254. pp.386.

Secondary Sources

	Albert Anderson, "Anselm and the Logic of Religious Belief," Harvard Theological Review 61.2 (1968): 149-173.
	Anselm Studies, Vol I: An Occasional Journal. Fifth International St Anselm Conference. Kraus International Publications, 1983. Hbk. ISBN: 0527036625. pp.273.
	Christopher Armstrong, St. Anselm and His Critics: Further Reflections on the Cur Deus Homo," Downside Review 86(285) (1968): 354-376.
	F.B.A. Asiedu, "Anselm and the Unbelievers: Pagans, Jews, and Christians in the Cur Deus Homo," Theological Studies 62.3 (2001): 530-548.
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	Frank Burch Brown, "The Beauty of Hell: Anselm on God's Eternal Design," Journal of Religion 73.3 (1993): 329-356.
	E. Caird [1835-1908], "Anselm's Argument for the Being of God - Its History and What it Proves," Journal of Theological Studies 1 No 1 (Oct. 1899): 23-39. pdf [This material is in the Public Domain]
	Richard James Campbell, From Belief to Understanding: A Study of Anselm's of Anselm's Prologion Argument on the Existence of God. Canberra: Faculty of Arts, Australian National University, 1976. Pbk. ISBN: 0708101429. pp.229.
	Richard Campbell, "Anselm's Theological Method," Scottish Journal of Theology 32 (1979): 541-
	Richard Campbell, "Anselm's Background in Metaphysics," Scottish Journal of Theology 33 (1980): 317-
	Richard William Church [1815-1890], Saint Anselm. London: Macmillan & Co., 1885. Hbk. pp.303. pdf [This material is in the Public Domain]
	M.T. Clanchy, "Abelard's Mockery of St. Anselm," Journal of Ecclesiastical History 41.1 (1990): 1-23.
	Joseph Clayton, Saint Anselm. Milwaukee: Bruce, 1933. pp.xxvi + 165.
	Jos Decorte, "Saint Anselm of Canterbury on Ultimate Reality and Meaning," Ultimate Reality and Meaning 12.3 (1989): 177-191.
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	Giles Gasper, Anselm of Canterbury and His Theological Inheritance. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004. Hbk. ISBN: 0754639118. pp.240.
	Gillian R. Evans, Anselm and Talking About God. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978. Hbk. ISBN: 0198266472. pp.222.
	Gillian R. Evans, "St. Anselm and Knowing God," Journal of Theological Studies 28.2 (1977): 430-444.
	Gillian R. Evans, "St. Anselm and St. Bruno of Segni: The Common Ground," Journal of Ecclesiastical History 29.2 (1978): 129 - 144.
	Gillian R. Evans, "A Theology of Change in the Writings of St. Anselm and His Contemporaries," Recherches De Theologie Ancienne Et Medievale 47 (1980): 53-76.
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	Gillian R. Evans, ed. Concordance to the Works of St. Anselm. Kraus International Publications, 1983. Hbk. ISBN: 0527036617.
	G.R. Evans, "Making the Theory Fit the Practice: Augustine and Anselm on Prayer," Epworth Review 18.3 (1991): 78-81.
	G.R. Evans, "Making the Theory Fit the Practice: Augustine and Anselm on Prayer, Part II," Epworth Review 19.1 (1992): 57-68.
	George Cadwalader Foley [1851-1935], Anselm's Theory of the Atonement. The Bampton lectures 1908. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1909. Hbk. pp.327. pdf [This material is in the Public Domain]
	John D. Hannah, "Anselm on the Doctrine of Atonement," Bibliotheca Sacra 135: 540 (1978): 333-344.
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	Desmond P. Henry, The Logic of St. Anselm. Oxford: 1967. hbk. ISBN: 0198266138.
	Desmond P. Henry, Commentary on De Grammatico: The Historical-Logical Dimensions of a Dialogue of St Anselm's. Synthese Historical Library, 8. Dordrecht & Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1974. Hbk. ISBN: 9027703825. pp.360.
	David S. Hogg, Anselm of Canterbury: The Beauty of Theology. The Great Theologians Series. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005. Pbk. ISBN: 0754632326. pp.256.
	Jasper Hopkins, A Companion to the Study of St. Anselm. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1972. Hbk. ISBN: 0816606579. pp.304.
	Jasper Hopkins & Herbert Richardson, Complete Treatises, Vol. 4: Hermeneutical and Textual Problems in the Complete Treatises of St Anselm. Edwin Mellen Press, 1976. Hbk. ISBN: 0889465517. pp.210.
	Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) (The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
	G. Stanley Kang, "Fides Quarens Intellectum in Anselm's Thought, Scottish Journal of Theology 26 (1973): 40-
	Brian Leftow, "Anselm on the Necessity of the Incarnation," Religious Studies 31.2 (1995): 167-185.
	A.E. McGrath, "Rectitude the Moral Foundation of Anselm of Canterbiry's Soteriology," Downside Review 336 (1981): 204-213.
	John McIntyre, St. Anselm and His Critics: A Re-Interpretation of the Cur Deus Homo. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1954. pp.214.
	E.L. Mascall, "Faith and Reason: Anselm and Aquinas," Journal of Theological Studies 14 (1963): 67-90.
	Perry C. Mason, "The Devil and St. Anselm," International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 9.1 (1978): 1-15.
	John Morreall, "The Aseity of God in St. Anselm," Studia Theologica 36.1 (1982): 37-46.
	Aidan Nichols, "Anselm Of Canterbury And The Language Of Perfection," Downside Review 103(352) (1985): 204-217.
	Joan M. Nuth, "Two Medieval Soteriologies: Anselm of Canterbury and Julian of Norwich," Theological Studies 53.4 (1992): 611-645.
	M.J.A. O'Connor, "New Aspects of Omnipotence and Necessity in Anselm," Religious Studies 4.1 (1968): 133-146.
	John O'Neill, "The Same Thing Therefore Ought to Be and Ought Not to Be : Anselm on Conflicting Oughts," The Heythrop Journal 35.3 (1994): 312-314.
	Ted Peters, "The Atonment in Anselm in Anselm and Luther: Second Thoughts About Gustaf Aulen's Christus Victor," Lutheran Quarterly 24.3 (1972): 301-314.
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	Michael Root, "Necessity and Unfittingness in Anselm's Cur Deus Homo," Scottish Journal of Theology 40 (1987): 211-
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	Thomas Smith [1817-1906], Anselm of Canterbury, The Evangelical Succession. A Course of Lectures Delivered in St. George's Free Church Edinburgh, 1881-1882. Edinbugh: MacNiven & Wallace, 1882. Hbk. pp.141-170. pdf [This material is in the Public Domain]
	Frederick Sontag, "Anselm and the Concept of God," Scottish Journal of Theology 35.3 (1982): 213-218.
	Richard W. Southern, Saint Anselm and His Biographer, new edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Pbk. ISBN: 0521438187. pp.523.
	Richard W. Southern, Saint Anselm: A Portrait in a Landscape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Pbk. ISBN: 0521438187. pp.513.
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	C.R. Walker, "St. Anselm - A Revelation," Scottish Journal of Theology 5 (1952): 362-
	Gordon Watson, "Karl Barth and St. Anselm's Theological Programme," Scottish Journal of Theology 30 (1977): 31-
	Gordon Watson, "A Study in St. Anselm's Soteriology and Karl Barth Theological Method," Scottish Journal of Theology 42 (1989): 493-
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	Stephen D. Wigley, "Karl Barth on St. Anselm: The Influence of Anselm's 'Theological Scheme' on T.F. Torrance and Eberhard Jüngel," Scottish Journal of Theology 46 (1993): 79-
	Saint Anselm (Thomas Williams)
	Josef Zumr & Vilem Herold, eds. The European Dimension of St Anselm's Thinking. Edwin Mellen Press, 1995. Pbk. ISBN: 077349006X. pp.186.