Anselm of Laon ( la, Anselmus; 1117), properly Ansel ('), was a French

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and founder of a school of scholars who helped to pioneer

biblical hermeneutics Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of hermeneutics, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, for ...

Biography

Born of very humble parents at

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. ...

before the middle of the 11th century, he is said to have studied under

Saint Anselm Anselm of Canterbury, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also called ( it, Anselmo d'Aosta, link=no) after his birthplace and (french: Anselme du Bec, link=no) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of th ...

at Bec, though this is almost certainly incorrect. Other potential teachers of Anselm have been identified, including

Bruno of Cologne Bruno of Cologne, O.Cart. (german: Bruno von Köln, it, Bruno di Colonia;c. 1030 – 6 October 1101), venerated as Saint Bruno, was the founder of the Carthusian Order. He personally founded the order's first two communities. He was a celebrate ...

and Manegold of Lautenbach. By around 1080, he had moved back to his place of birth and was teaching at the cathedral school of Laon, with his brother Ralph. Around 1109, he became dean and chancellor of the cathedral, and in 1115 he was one of Laon's two archdeacons. His school for theology and

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

rapidly became the most well known in Europe. Famously, in 1113, he expelled

Peter Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed des ...

from his school. The ''Liber Pancrisi'' () names him, with his brother Ralph,

Ivo of Chartres Ivo of Chartres (also Ives, Yves, or Yvo; la, Ivo Carnutensis; 1040 – 23 December 1115), also known as Saint Ivo in the Roman Catholic Church, was the Bishop of Chartres, France from 1090 until his death, and an important canonist during the ...

, and William of Champeaux, as one of the four modern masters.

Works

Anselm's greatest work, an interlinear and marginal gloss on the 'Scriptures', the

Glossa ordinaria The ''Glossa Ordinaria'', which is Latin for "Ordinary .e. in a standard formGloss", is a collection of biblical commentaries in the form of glosses. The glosses are drawn mostly from the Church Fathers, but the text was arranged by scholars dur ...

, now attributed to him and his followers, was one of the great intellectual achievements of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. It has been frequently reprinted. The significance of the gloss, which was most likely assembled after Anselm's death by his students, such as

Gilbert de la Porrée Gilbert de la Porrée (after 1085 – 4 September 1154), also known as Gilbert of Poitiers, Gilbertus Porretanus or Pictaviensis, was a scholastic logician and theologian and Bishop of Poitiers. Life He was born in Poitiers, and completed ...

, and based on Anselm's teaching, is that it marked a new way of learning — it represented the birth of efforts to present discrete

patristic Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...

and earlier medieval interpretations of individual verses of Scripture in a readily accessible, easily referenced way. This theme was subsequently adopted and extended by the likes of

Hugh of St. Victor Hugh of Saint Victor ( 1096 – 11 February 1141), was a Saxon canon regular and a leading theologian and writer on mystical theology. Life As with many medieval figures, little is known about Hugh's early life. He was probably born in the 1090s ...

Peter Lombard Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096, Novara – 21/22 July 1160, Paris), was a scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of '' Four Books of Sentences'' which became the standard textbook of ...

and later

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, Dominican Order, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino, Italy, Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest who was an influential List of Catholic philo ...

, who gave us 'handbooks' for what we would now call

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

. Other commentaries apparently by Anselm have been ascribed to various writers, principally to Anselm of Canterbury. The works are collected in

Migne Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...

. Some of his ''Sententiae'' were edited at Milan by G. Lefevre in 1894. The commentary on the Psalms attributed to

Haymo of Halberstadt Haymo (or Haimo) (died 27 March 853) was a German Benedictine monk who served as bishop of Halberstadt, and was a noted author. Biography The exact date and place of Haymo's birth are unknown. He entered the Order of St. Benedict at Fulda as a yo ...

by Migne''PL'', Vol. CXVI. has also been identified as possibly being the work of Anselm.

References

11th-century births 1117 deaths Year of birth unknown People from Laon French Christian theologians Scholastic philosophers Medieval French theologians French male writers 12th-century French writers 12th-century Latin writers 12th-century French philosophers Latin-language writers from France {{Christian-theologian-stub