Anselm

ANSELM. b. Aosta, Italy, 1033; d. 21 April 1109. Anselm studied under Lanfranc at the Norman abbey of Bec where he became a monk in 1060, prior in 1063, and abbot in 1078. He was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093. A philosopher and theologian, he is famous for formulating the ontological argument for the existence of God: nothing greater than God can be imagined and reality consists of more than what is imagined, therefore God exists in reality. ‘Quid commisisti, dulcissime puer’*, translated into German as ‘Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen’* by Johann Heermann*, and thence into English as ‘Ah, holy Jesu, how hast thou offended’* by Robert Bridges*, appears in St Anselm’s...