Transmission des autorités et auctorialité : le cas d’Anselme de Canterbury
Transmission of authorities and auctoriality: the case of Anselm of Canterbury

Author(s): Brower Cristian
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Literary Texts, Cultural history, History of ideas, Middle Ages
Published by: Editura Pro Universitaria
Keywords: Anselm of Canterbury; Benedictine monastic tradition; authority; author; friendship; rational inquiry; knowledge-sharing
Summary/Abstract: The personality of Anselm of Canterbury dominates the second half of the eleventh century. First prior (1063) and later abbot (1078) of the Abbey of Bec in Normandy — one of the foremost centres of learning in the West — he went on to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 until his death in 1109. His teaching within monastic context placed a strong emphasis on rational inquiry. In his Monologion he undertook to reconstruct Christian doctrine with reason alone, and in Why God Became Man? he set apart what had been said about Christ to answer the objections of the infidels. This paper seeks to show how he managed to combine this with the respect of authorities, both written and ecclesiastical. To do that, it will examine his conception of authority, and his relations with figures of authority such as Lanfranc of Bec and Archbishop Hugh of Lyon, and the friendship implied between them. The second part of the paper will explore how Anselm tried to control the process of publishing of his works and if he acquired some kind of authority for himself. It is asking what it is to become an author in the Middle Ages.

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