Anselm de Craon
Anselm de Craon (* in Aosta ; † January 11, 1148 ), mostly called Anselm von San Saba , was an ecclesiastical dignitary of the High Middle Ages, who was the son of the later Grand Master of the Templar Order , Robert de Craon , and a sister of Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury was born. He was a monk, Benedictine , abbot of San Saba in Rome , then apostolic nuncio in England , abbot of Bury St Edmunds from 1121 to 1148 and elected bishop of London from 1136 to 1138 .
origin
On his father's side, Anselm von Craon comes from the French nobility , namely from the house of the Lords of Craon (later in the Mayenne department ), which descends from the Counts of Nevers from the Monceaux family. He was also related to the kings of France , since his great-great-grandfather, Rainald I , Count of Nevers (1028-1040) with Princess Adele (Adelheid) of France, Countess of Auxerre († after 1163), a daughter of King Robert II the Pious of France (987-1031), was married. He was thus a fourth cousin of King Philip II August of France (1180-1223).
Anselm was the only surviving son of Robert de Craon , also known as Robert le Bourguignon (the Burgundy), who entered the Knights Templar as a widower and headed this order as second grand master from 1136 to 1147.
On his mother's side, Anselm was of Lombard origin through his grandfather Gandulf, who was a relative of Count Humbert II of Maurienne ( House of Savoy ) and who was related to Countess Mathilde of Canossa . Anselm's grandmother, of whom only the first name Ermenberga is known, came from Aosta , which at that time was already owned by the Counts of Savoy , but belonged to the Holy Roman Empire as part of the Kingdom of Burgundy .
Anselm's mother Richhilde was the only sister of Anselm of Aosta, better known as Anselm of Canterbury , who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1097 , was known as the "father of scholasticism" because of his outstanding work as a philosopher and theologian "doctor magnificus" is valid, 1494 by Pope Alexander VI. (1492–1503) and canonized in 1720 by Pope Clement XI. was appointed Doctor of the Church .
While the origin of his mother as the sister of Anselm of Canterbury is well known, Anselm's paternal origin has remained largely unknown. He is mostly called by the name "Anselm von San Saba", which is misleading as it has nothing to do with his origin, but the name of an abbey that Anselm temporarily headed as Commendatarabbot . However, its origin can be clearly seen in the documentation "Les Templiers et les Croisades". There are u. a. citing two letters from Anselm of Canterbury to his brother-in-law Robert de Craon. In one he emphasizes the benefits of his nephew's spiritual calling, despite being the only surviving son of his sister and Robert de Craon. In the other letter he advised his brother-in-law Robert to undertake the pilgrimage he had planned to the Holy Land, despite leaving his wife (Anselm's sister of Canterbury) behind, in order to get rid of his sins, but to provide for his wife "just in case" .
Life
Adolescent years
Anselm von Craon - like his uncle Anselm von Canterbury - who was originally called Anselm von Aosta - was born in Aosta (today the capital of the Aosta Valley region in the Italian Alps) and thus in the home of his mother, where he grew up in his childhood and his first education received. He was the eldest son of his parents, but became the only child due to the early death of his siblings. Nevertheless, he was destined for a spiritual career - probably under the influence of his uncle Anselm. He entered the abbey of the Benedictine order Sacra di San Michele in the Susa Valley , in the northern Italian region of Piedmont , as a monk , but was then entrusted by his mother to her brother Anselm for further training.
He traveled to Normandy in 1059 and joined the Benedictine Abbey of Le Bec in 1060 as a monk in what is now Le Bec-Hellouin in the Eure department in Normandy, where he was promoted by Prior Lanfrank von Bec , who was also from Italy . In 1063 Lanfrank became abbot of St. Stephen's Abbey, whereupon Anselm succeeded him as prior of the Abbey of Le Bec and in 1079 was designated abbot of this abbey. Anselm von Craon received extensive theological and philosophical training there, as his uncle had developed the Le Bec monastery into an excellent center of learning in Europe and had published his first philosophical works there. Anselm also undoubtedly participated in the church reform movement, having witnessed his uncle's energetic political efforts to keep Le Bec Abbey under both secular influence - notably from Robert de Beaumont , the first Earl of Leicester - and spiritual control to keep the Archbishop of Rouen free. His uncle traveled repeatedly to England to inspect the monastery properties there and at the same time to visit his mentor Lanfrank, who had been Archbishop of Canterbury since 1070.
It is likely that this gave Anselm de Craon the opportunity to accompany his uncle on his travels to England and to familiarize himself with the situation of the Church there. When his uncle Anselm was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1093 by William II the Red , King of England (1087-1100) - who was a son of William the Conqueror - and therefore went to England, his nephew Anselm should be in the Le Bec Abbey as there is no evidence of his relocation to England at the time.
Start of career
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A turning point in Anselm's career occurred as a side effect of the crisis in Western politics that had been smoldering since 1076: the investiture dispute between Rome and the princes of Europe, because this brought Anselm von Craon to Rome and was able to begin his career there.
As Archbishop of Canterbury, his uncle Anselm was clearly on the side of reform, namely to free the church from secular influence. This attitude led to the investiture controversy spreading to England. The Archbishop got into such a heated argument with his former protector Wilhelm II the Red (1087–1100) that in 1097 he was forced to go into exile in France. He stayed there until 1101 and presumably stayed mainly in his former abbey, Le Bec, and thus offered his nephew object lessons on the conflict between church and state. When Henry I "Beauclerc" (1100–1135) succeeded him as King of England in 1100, Anselm of Canterbury was still in exile in France, so that the coronation in Westminster Abbey had to be carried out by the Bishop of London.
Soon afterwards, however, Anselm of Canterbury was recalled to England by the king. He therefore returned to England in 1101, but was determined to enforce the prohibition laid down by Pope Gregory VII in 1099 on the hitherto customary enfeoffment of bishops with staff and ring against the King of England. This in turn led to controversy and in 1103 to the archbishop's renewed exile. During this second exile, he traveled to Rome to clarify with Pope Paschal II (1099–1118) how to proceed in the ongoing investiture dispute with England.
Abbot of San Saba
His nephew, Anselm von Craon, was allowed to accompany him on this trip, who thus came into contact with the Roman Curia . Probably not entirely without the intercession of his uncle, Anselm von Craon was appointed by the Pope as Commendatary Abbot of the San Saba Monastery , to which he owes his later name.
This abbey, of which only the (heavily modified) church remains today, was located on the small Aventine (today Piazza Gian Lorenzo Bernini) in the Roman Rione San Saba and, according to legend, stands on the square where the house of the mother of Church father and Pope Gregory the Great , Saint Silvia , who founded an oratory called Cella Nova in this house . At the time of his second exile, Anselm of Canterbury lived largely in Lyon, while his nephew - who was now called Anselm of San Saba - stayed in Rome. He stayed there even after his uncle returned to his office in England in 1105 after a compromise with King Henry I and also when he died on April 21, 1109 in Canterbury and was buried in the local cathedral.
Papal Legate
When, after the death of his uncle, his successor as Archbishop Ralph d'Escures sent an embassy to Rome with a request for the bestowal of the pallium , Anselm was entrusted with the honorable task of the Abbot of San Saba as legate of the Holy See to the newly elected Archbishop of Canterbury to bring the pallium, the sign of the participation of the metropolitan in the pastoral power of the Pope. This was also a particular pleasure for Anselm, since Ralph d'Escures had been his brother and fellow student in the Abbey of Le Bec in Normandy until 1079.
On the way he still had an assignment from the Pope to do: namely, to bring King Henry II a complaint from the Pope about the low income from St. Peter's in England and other territories under the king's control. Anselm met King Henry II in Normandy, did his job, and traveled on to England, where he presented the pallium to Archbishop Ralph d'Escures in July 1111. Anselm then returned to Rome.
In 1115 Anselm von Craon was given an important diplomatic mission by Pope Paschal II by making him permanent papal legate in England. Anselm therefore went to England, was received by King Henry I on September 15, 1115 in the Palace of Westminster , but was rejected in relation to his function as a permanent legate. Against this function was not only the king, who probably saw in him a permanent papal supervisor, but also the clergy. This was particularly true of his former brother, the now Archbishop of Canterbury, Ralph d'Escures, who - like his predecessors in office - Lanfrank and Anselm von Canterbury himself claimed this function.
Despite this resistance, Anselm tried to achieve his recognition as a permanent legate, so he visited King Henry I in Normandy, who, however, again refused this recognition. Since a direct encounter between King Henry I and the new Pope Calixtus II in Gisors in August 1116 brought about a general convergence of positions, but no change in the king's attitude towards the question of a permanent legate from Rome, Anselm had to abandon his mission and return to Rome, where he stayed until 1120.
Abbot of Bury St. Edmunds
In 1121 Anselm went to England because he had been offered the management of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Edmunds in the town of the same name in the county of Suffolk . He accepted this offer because this abbey had long been famous as the burial place of Edmund the Martyr (* around 841; † November 20, 869), who had ruled the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia from 855 to 869 as king . He was defeated in the battle against Danish Vikings under Ivar Ragnarsson and was eventually killed because he refused to give up his belief. As a result, he was therefore venerated as a martyr and saint , which quickly led to a growing flow of pilgrims as well as numerous donations and legacies that made Bury St Edmunds one of the richest abbeys in England. The many years of upbringing and the example of his uncle ensured that the abbey under the direction of Anselm experienced a significant intellectual upswing which made Bury St Edmunds the spiritual center of East Anglia.
However, Anselm also proved to be an important client. In 1125 he founded St. Mary's Church in the monastery area and had St James's Church built there, which was completed in 1135. It is the current cathedral of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich , St Edmundsbury Cathedral, which belongs to the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Canterbury. The reason for the foundation of St James's Church was Abbot Anselm's wish to undertake a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela to the tomb of St. James the Elder along the Way of St. James . Since this did not come about, he had a church built in his monastery, which is dedicated to St. Jacob. It was the first church in England to be dedicated to this saint.
While the abbey church, which was completed by his predecessor Abbot Baldwin in 1095 and, with a length of 154 meters and 75 meters wide, was one of the largest churches in the country, only remains of the wall today, the two churches donated by Abbot Anselm still exist today, albeit heavily rebuilt.
Bishop of London
Due to his services as abbot, Anselm was elected Bishop of London on March 22, 1136 by the majority of the cathedral chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London and was enthroned the following year. In the meantime, however, the political situation had changed. King Henry I died in 1135 without a male heir and therefore had his daughter Matilda (Maud) (* 1102, † 1167), the widow of the Roman Emperor Henry V (1111–1125) recognized by the barons as successor and Queen of England let, which should become the first ruling ruler in English history.
However, you grew up in Stephan von Blois (* 1097 , † October 25, 1154 ) a dangerous rival, as he was a grandson of William the Conqueror as the son of Count Stephan II of Blois and Adela of Normandy , therefore claimed higher rights to have on the English throne. He grew up at the court of his uncle King Henry I of England and took power in England in 1135, as the rival Queen Mathilde did not come to England until 1139 to assert her claims. King Stephen knew Anselm as an advocate of the reform-oriented papal standpoint and wanted to avoid a flare-up of the disputes that his predecessor had with Anselm's uncle - Anselm of Canterbury. He therefore refused Anselm recognition as Bishop of London and the handover of worldly goods. Anselm was elected and enthroned, but was unable to exercise his episcopate as a result. His hope for papal support remained in vain, as Pope Innocent II (1130–1143 ) urgently needed the support of the King of England in view of the election of an antipope Anaclet II (Petrus Pierleoni) (1130–1138). He therefore gave Anselm no support, but canceled his election as Bishop of London in 1138. Anselm then retired to his Bury St Edmunds Abbey, where he died on January 11, 1148.
literature
- Joseph-Marie Henry: Histoire populaire religieuse et civile de la Vallée d'Aoste. Imprimerie Marguerettaz, Aoste 1929, réédition en 1967, chapitre n ° 72: «L'abbé Anselme, neveu de Saint Anselme évêque élu de Londres. Sa mort en 1148. » Pp. 90-91.
Web links
- Histoire de l'Ordre du Temple, Les Templiers et les Croisades
- British History Online Bishops of London
Individual evidence
- ↑ Detlev Schwennicke, European Family Tables Volume III.4 (1989) Table 719ff
- ↑ Detlev Schwennicke, European Family Tables Volume II (1984) Table 11
- ↑ a b Histoire de l'Ordre du Temple, Les Templiers et les Croisades
- ^ Véronique Gazeau: Normannia monastica (Xe-XIIe siècle) . Préf. David Bates and Michel Parisse. II: Prosopography des abbés bénédictins . Publications du Crahm, Caen 2007, ISBN 978-2-902685-44-8 , pp. 10-13 (French, 403 pages).
- ↑ Joachim Schäfer: Art. Anselm von Canterbury , in: Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon
- ^ Luigi Devoti: San Saba. (PDF; 8.69 MB) In: Roma per noi. April 10, 2006, p. 18 , archived from the original on May 11, 2006 ; Retrieved July 6, 2017 (Italian).
- ^ Lomax, First English Pilgrims. In: Studies in Medieval History , p. 174
- ↑ British History Online Bishops of London ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Gilbert Universalis |
Elected Bishop of London 1136–1138 |
Robert de Sigillo |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Anselm de Craon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Anselm of San Saba |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | church dignitary of the high Middle Ages |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 11th century or 12th century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Aosta |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 11, 1148 |