The archbishop and philosopher who framed "faith seeking understanding" and devised the ontological argument for God — a founder of scholastic theology.
Life
Anselm (1033–1109), an Italian who became a monk in Normandy and later archbishop of Canterbury, was among the foremost thinkers of the Middle Ages. He wrote the Monologion, the Proslogion (with its ontological argument), and Cur Deus Homo on the atonement, while clashing with English kings over church rights.
Struggles & Trials
As archbishop he was twice driven into exile in conflicts with William II and Henry I over investiture and church liberty, struggling to defend ecclesiastical independence.
Teachings & Character
Anselm sought to understand faith by reason — arguing for God's existence from the concept of a greatest conceivable being, and explaining the incarnation as satisfaction for sin; he founded the method later called scholasticism.
Mission & Conflicts
Anselm fought no war; his conflicts were the investiture disputes with the English crown, waged through argument, appeal to Rome, and exile.
Contested & Debated
His ontological argument has been debated by philosophers from Aquinas and Kant to the present — accepted, refuted, and revived in turns — one of the most discussed arguments in the history of thought.
Legacy
Anselm is honored as a Doctor of the Church and a father of scholastic theology; his ontological argument and account of the atonement remain central reference points in philosophy and Christian theology.