The biographical and historical works of Eadmer, secretary of Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, look back to the Anglo-Saxon past and reflect contemporary realities of Norman society. The Lives of Saints Oda, Dunstan and Oswald, newly edited here with a modern English translation, provide many insights into the wider political history of the pre- and post-Conquest periods, as well as important evidence for the cults of the saints in Canterbury andWorcester.
"This book describes the roots of a set of ideals that effected a radical transformation of eleventh-century European society that led to the confrontation between church and monarchy known as the investiture struggle or Gregorian reform. Ideas cannot be divorced from reality, especially not in the Middle Ages. I present them, therefore, in their contemporary political, social, and cultural context."—from the Preface
In this magisterial account of the life and work of St Anselm, now in paperback, Sir Richard Southern provides a study in depth of one of the most fascinating minds in Christian history.
William II (1087-1100), or William Rufus, will always be most famous for his death: killed by an arrow while out hunting, perhaps through accident or perhaps murder. But, as John Gillingham makes clear in this elegant book, as the son and successor to William the Conqueror it was William Rufus who had to establish permanent Norman rule. A ruthless, irascible man, he frequently argued acrimoniously with his older brother Robert over their father's inheritance - but he also handed out effective justice, leaving as his legacy one of the most extraordinary of all medieval buildings, Westminster Hall.
The letters of Anselm of Canterbury (a 1109) provide the clearest insight into his mind and action, and they also constitute one of our finest vantage points to observe the formation of those profound forces moulding Europe in the late eleventh- and early twelfth centuries. The focus of the present study is the transmission of Anselm's correspondence. It argues that many of the conclusions of earlier scholarship have been constructed on flawed foundations. Using evidence from all known manuscripts and printed editions, the study seeks to demonstrate precisely how Anselm's letters have survived and how the surviving witnesses relate to one another. The study also aims to define the historical contexts within which our key manuscripts were copied and edited. Only when equipped with this store of information can we begin to understand the editorial processes that shaped the textual tradition of Anselm's letter collections before and after his death.
Mother of Mercy, Bane of the Jews explores a key moment in the rise of the cult of the Virgin Mary and the way the Jews became central to her story. Benedictine monks in England at the turn of the twelfth century developed many innovative ways to venerate Mary as the most powerful saintly intercessor. They sought her mercy on a weekly and daily basis with extensive liturgical practices, commemorated additional moments of her life on special feast days, and praised her above all other human beings with new doctrines that claimed her Immaculate Conception and bodily Assumption. They also collected hundreds of stories about the miracles Mary performed for her followers in what became one of the most popular devotional literary genres of the Middle Ages. In all these sources, but especially the miracle stories, the figure of the Jew appears in an important role as Mary's enemy. Drawing from theological and legendary traditions dating back to early Christianity, monks revived the idea that Jews violently opposed the virgin mother of God; the goal of the monks was to contrast the veneration they thought Mary deserved with the resistance of the Jews. Kati Ihnat argues that the imagined antagonism of the Jews toward Mary came to serve an essential purpose in encouraging Christian devotion to her as merciful mother and heavenly Queen. Through an examination of miracles, sermons, liturgy, and theology, Mother of Mercy, Bane of the Jews reveals how English monks helped to establish an enduring rivalry between Mary and the Jews, in consolidating her as the most popular saint of the Middle Ages and in making devotion to her a foundational marker of Christian identity.
John of Salisbury (d. 1180), a scholar, author and diplomat, was numbered among the eruditi, the learned clerks in service to Theobald and to Thomas Becket, successive archbishops of Canterbury. Indeed, John was a member of Becket's household and present in the cathedral when the archbishop's infamous murder occurred, albeit from a rather ignominious position, concealed in the shadows of the darkening church. Within two years of that fateful event, John composed a brief Life of his friend, the martyr. This would be his second biography of a saint. The first was written at the behest of Archbishop Thomas Becket early in 1163 for inclusion in the dossier presented to Pope Alexander III at the Council of Tours petitioning the pope to canonize Anselm (1033-1109), a former archbishop of Canterbury. Although neither of these biographies has secured the universal acclaim that modern scholars have bestowed on John of Salisbury's other writings, both certainly warrant scholarly attention. This translation of the Lives of Anselm and Becket finally makes available in English all the known writings of John of Salisbury. These two works are his only contributions to the genres of biography and hagiography. In them we see how this notable Christian humanist employed his considerable rhetorical skills to create lasting literary memorials to figures of great importance in English ecclesiastical history. His profound concern for the freedom of the Church, his loathing of tyrants and tyrannical behavior, his affection for the classics and Sacred Scripture, are themes woven into his accounts of the lives and activities of two archbishops of Canterbury who endured indignity and exile for the sake of Church liberty. One authored renowned treatises in philosophy and theology; the other suffered a cruel martyrdom and secured undying fame. Both are canonized saints.
