Anselm of Canterbury
Benedictine monk, Archbishop of Canterbury, and father of scholastic theology.
Anselm of Canterbury was an Italian-born Benedictine monk who became Abbot of Bec in Normandy and, in 1093, Archbishop of Canterbury. He is regarded as the father of scholastic theology and the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God, presented in his Proslogion of 1077-1078 AD. Less well known but equally important is his collection of prayers and meditations, the Orationes sive Meditationes, written for the spiritual use of friends and patrons. The prayers are among the finest examples of medieval Latin devotional writing, characterized by sustained self-examination, theological precision, and a willingness to acknowledge spiritual weakness honestly. Anselm's prayers were used in the English Church before the Reformation and have been recovered ecumenically since the 20th century by Catholics, Anglicans, and Protestants interested in the contemplative tradition.