Overview

St Anselm (d. 1109) is the most interesting theologian and philosopher of his time. In many respects, his career encapsulates the principal intellectual, religious, and political developments of high medieval Europe. In 1060, Anselm took monastic vows at the abbey of Bec, a reformist community in Normandy, where he was soon promoted to the office of prior and subsequently elected abbot. In 1093 he was elected archbishop of Canterbury, and became a dynamic representative of the new papal claims for the freedom of the Church from the control of lay rulers. Throughout, he wrote theological and spiritual treatises which still resonate today.Anselm was also an avid letter-writer, and his correspondence is one of our best testimonies to an active, cosmopolitan, and cultured life in the Middle Ages. His almost 500 surviving letters represent the man. They are an acute witness to his mind and action, illuminating his monastic teaching, intellectual journey, leadership, and positions respective to rivalries within the church and between ecclesiastical and lay rulers. The first volume of this new critical edition of Anselm's letters comprises his correspondence, 148 letters, from his Norman years. The letters demonstrate at first-hand how he emerged as a respected monastic leader, a distinguished author, and a powerful influence in Normandy with networks in France and England.The present volume includes a new critical edition, established from almost thirty manuscripts, and an English translation of the letters from Anselm's Norman years. A detailed commentary accompanies the text. The critical apparatus provides a means of studying the letters' reception up to c. 1140. The introduction comprises a systematic analysis of the text's transmission from Anselm and his followers to the present day, and a fresh account of his life before Canterbury.

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9780199697168

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Reviews

Sets an important standard for future editorial work on Anselm's works ... the Latin text is executed to the highest standards [...] The English translation strikes a good balance between readability and fidelity to its Latin source ... The reader -- or at least this reviewer -- cannot help but develop an appetite for the edition proper as soon as s/he starts delving into the introduction ... we can (and should) look forward to S. N.'s second instalment of Anselm's letters in due course. * Benjamin Pohl, Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique * Overall, the Letters of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury represents an important addition to the 'Oxford Medieval Texts' series. The translations of these letters are lucid and well supplied with a scholarly apparatus ... We can only look forward to the day when the second volume will be ready for publication! * Nicholas Morton, History * This volume is a worthy addition to a prestigious series. Perhaps the highest compliment to the editor is a wish to see the second book of letters in print. This monograph will be of immense interest to the numerous students of monasticism and ecclesiastical history in general and St Anselm in particular. * Michael Robson, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *

Sets an important standard for future editorial work on Anselm's works ... the Latin text is executed to the highest standards [...] The English translation strikes a good balance between readability and fidelity to its Latin source ... The reader - or at least this reviewer - cannot help but develop an appetite for the edition proper as soon as s/he starts delving into the introduction ... we can (and should) look forward to S. N.'s second instalment of Anselm's letters in due course. * Benjamin Pohl, Revue d'histoire ecclesiastique * Overall, the Letters of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury represents an important addition to the 'Oxford Medieval Texts' series. The translations of these letters are lucid and well supplied with a scholarly apparatus ... We can only look forward to the day when the second volume will be ready for publication! * Nicholas Morton, History * This volume is a worthy addition to a prestigious series. Perhaps the highest compliment to the editor is a wish to see the second book of letters in print. This monograph will be of immense interest to the numerous students of monasticism and ecclesiastical history in general and St Anselm in particular. * Michael Robson, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *

This volume is a worthy addition to a prestigious series. Perhaps the highest compliment to the editor is a wish to see the second book of letters in print. This monograph will be of immense interest to the numerous students of monasticism and ecclesiastical history in general and St Anselm in particular. * Michael Robson, Journal of Ecclesiastical History *

Author Information

Samu Niskanen is Associate Professor of Medieval History at the University of Helsinki, his alma mater. He is the Principal Investigator of the project Medieval Publishing from c. 1000 to 1500, funded by the European Research Council. His research is mainly concerned with medieval texts: their publication, transmission, and reception. His previous books include The Letter Collections of Anselm of Canterbury (2011) and the collaborative edition Ralph von Battle: Dialoge zur philosophischen Theologie (2015).

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