Anselm of Canterbury: Communities, Contemporaries and Criticism

This volume explores the work of Anselm of Canterbury, theologian and archbishop, in light of the communities in which he participated. Featuring thirteen essays from leading historians, theologians, and literary scholars, the collection ranges from Anselm’s immediate contemporaries to the reception of his work, and formation of his posthumous reputation, by later medieval readers.Individual essays consider the role of friendships in his career, his relations with students, correspondence with women, interventions in the political sphere, and influence as leader of the monastic communities at Bec and Canterbury. Together, these essays present a new profile of the archbishop, revealing an individual whose work emerged from a vibrant culture of debate, criticism, and collaboration.Contributors are: Giles E. M. Gasper, Bernard van Vreeswijk, David Whidden, Hiroko Yamazaki, Bernd Goebel, Thomas Barrows, Hollie Devanney, Stephanie Britton, Sally Vaughn, George Younge, Christian Brouwer, Daniel Coman, Margaret Healy-Varley, and Severin Kitanov.

Margaret Healy-Varley, Ph.D. (2011), Harvard University, is Associate Professor of English at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island. She publishes on the reception of Latin texts in English vernacular literature, particularly the influence of Anselm in English intellectual culture until the Reformation.Giles E. M. Gasper, Ph.D. (2001), University of Oxford, is Professor of High Medieval History at Durham University. He has published widely on medieval cultural and intellectual history, including co-editing the first of six volumes on the scientific works of Robert Grosseteste.George Younge, Ph.D. (2012), University of Cambridge, is Lecturer in Medieval Literature at the University of York. His published work focuses on literary transformations in Britain during the High Middle Ages (1000-1300), including the shift from Old to Middle English and the rise of written French.