St Anselm of Canterbury
The philosopher-saint as politician
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11892181 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sally N Vaughn (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1975 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 279-305 |
| Publication date | 1975-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Medieval History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0304-4181 • E-ISSN: 1873-1279 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1016/0304-4181(75)90004-4 |
| OpenAlex | W2053119578 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 10 |
From the beginning of Anselm's career as abbot of Bec he was a shrewd and skilful politician. Eadmer describes him as using a certain ‘holy guile’, having great psychological insight, and using methods of kindly persuasion supplemented by logical argument to gain his ends.This pattern is reflected in the church-state controversies in England. Anselm outlined this method to his successor at Bec, showing him an effective way of advancing and enriching his monastery.Anselm had a definite program of reform for the English church. From the beginning he had a vision of the archbishop of Canterbury as primate of Britain, a co-ruler of the kingdom. Anselm also claimed certain specific rights: to recognize and contact the papacy; to hold councils for the reform of the church; to receive the archbishopric free from simony; to hold the lands of Canterbury free from the king's control or from extraordinary taxes; and to ban lay investitute.During his rule Anselm accomplished all these goals, one by one, by taking advantage of times when the kings were faced with political crises and pressing his claims just then. He acted shrewdly, at times with ‘holy guile’, at times with skilful negotiation, but always aware of the potent effect of public opinion. Thus Anselm reflected the growing concept of raison d'état in the Anglo Norman state, and thereby used his raison d'église more effectively
Abbé · Appeasement · Archbishop · Argument (complex analysis · Art history · Negotiation · Persuasion · Political science · Politics · Ruler · SAINT · State (computer science · Successor cardinal · Theology · Classics · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Medieval Philosophy and Theology · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Religious studies · Religious Studies
| Citations per year | 0.04 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1977 - 1980 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |