Anselm of Canterbury and his Theological Inheritance (review)

This thorough, scholarly, yet concisely and clearly-argued work will become essential reading for students of Anselm and of the thought world of the Middle Ages. It is particularly useful for contributing to the greater awareness of Greek influence on theology in the West, for deepening understandings of the library holdings and scholarly world of the time, and for presenting Anselm not just as a philosopher but as a thinking man of God. In this latter respect, it is a valuable companion piece to another Ashgate volume: David S. Hogg's Anselm of Canterbury: The Beauty of Theology.

As Gasper himself puts it, 'the purpose of this book is to raise possibilities hitherto not considered concerning the intellectual inheritance available to Anselm, and specifically concerning the writing of the Fathers of the Church …[and] whether Anselm might have had access to the Greek Fathers, in Latin translation' (p. xiii). Although Gasper wisely does not seek to diminish the influence of Augustine on Anselm, he successfully shows that Anselm was heir to a much richer tradition of thought than has previously been attributed to him.

Gasper raises important points about how Anselm is understood. Much of his life is only known through the works of Eadmer, which are not particularly concerned with his intellectual life, and much modern history distinguishes philosophy and theology as separate branches. Thus Anselm's intellectual world remains either an 'unknown' or is confined to consideration of him as philosopher: a categorization which must, by necessity, exclude studies of his possible Greek Patristic inheritance.

Anselm apparently had little interest in Greek as a language (p. 32) but Greek theology was absorbed through Latin translations. Indeed, many translations were made between the fourth and sixth centuries. The Latin theologians of that period – Hilary, Ambrose, Augustine and possibly Gregory the Great – all had first-hand knowledge of Greek theology which is manifest in their own writings. The Latin Church thus imbibed patristic thought through both Latin theologians as well as Latin translations of the Greek. In subsequent centuries, Greek writings were almost naturalized by their incorporation into Latin and therefore acquired a 'catholicity'. Although there was a surge of translations from Greek in the twelfth century, Gasper shows that their appearance was no novelty.

Anselm may not always have cited his source, but lack of citation, or an imprecise paraphrase, does not necessarily mean he was unaware of his Greek sources. Anselm has absorbed theological arguments since his youth, and his writings reflect that unconscious background of different voices. One does not reference what is simply a part of the theological fabric of one's world. Writing in a hurry, as he sometimes did, he did not always check his sources.

Of course, ideas are transmitted orally as well as through manuscripts and along with the manuscripts, and Gasper's book traces much of these peregrinations to uncover the complex web of international connections and ideas. Patristic material, especially monastic texts, dominated Norman library catalogues in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and there is a useful appendix of these as well as a provisional list of books likely to have been in Bec in the eleventh century. Gasper considers libraries at Cluny and Bec in detail in chapters two and three, and discusses Monte Casino in chapter six.

This empirical evidence provides a solid foundation for a deeper exploration of Anselm's theology, particularly his Faith Seeking Understanding, the subject of chapter four. Here Gasper examines Anselm's attitude to theology, to the human mind and psychology and draws some connections with, for instance, Clement of Alexandria's notion that faith is the foundation of rational choice. That faith must precede understanding, and that God is the one who confers knowledge is a point made by Clement, Gregory, Athanasius and Hilary of Poitiers. Gasper highlights, too, the joy in Anselm's writing of God, and uncovers similarities of thoughts in Gregory Nazianzen; for both, theology is not...