- Anselm of Havelberg
Anselm of Havelberg [ Anselm von Havelberg, Anselmus Havelbergensis, Anselmus episcopus Havelbergensis.] (c.1100-1158) was a German
bishop andstatesman , and a secular and religious ambassador toConstantinople . He was aPremonstratensian , a defender of his order [ [http://www.domcentral.org/study/aumann/cs/cs06.htm] : "Anselm of Havelberg (+ 1158), in his Apologetic Epistle, showed that the active life and the contemplative life - later referred to as the "mixed life" can be perfectly blended in the life of the canons".] [ [http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/anichols/epiphany/epiphch8-2.htm] : :The first treatise on the mixed life was that of the regular canon Anselm of Havelberg, who argued that the supreme model of religious life, Christ, practiced contemplation and action equally".] and a critic of themonastic life of his time, and a theorist of Christian history. According toFriedrich Heer , "the peculiar course of Anselm's life made this much-travelled man the theologian of development, of progress, of the right of novelty in the Church". ["The Intellectual Life of Europe" (English translation, 1966), p.90.]Life
Anselm's birthplace is uncertain. He was a pupil of
Norbert of Xanten atLaon , and then was appointed to theBishopric of Havelberg in theNorthern March . BecauseHavelberg was then controlled by thePolabian Slavs , Anselm's provisional seat was inJerichow . He served aspapal legate and overall commander of the 1147Wendish Crusade . After Havelberg was recovered by theSaxons during the campaign, cathedral construction was begun. [ [http://transromanicaserver.de/en/699bda17-85eb-9386-a856-ea9b030ed87b.html TRANSROMANICA - The Romanesque Routes of European Heritage ] ]Anselm was sent by
Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor , to Constantinople in 1136. [ [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/8ch0410.txt] : "Again in 1135 Lothair III had sent as ambassador to John Comnenus a Premonstratensian Canon Anselm afterwards Bishop of Havelberg, who held a debate with Nicetas Archbishop of Nicomedia. According to the report which he subsequently drew up at the request of Eugenius III, the points discussed were the procession of the Holy Ghost, the use of unleavened bread and the claims of Rome".] in the hope of a Byzantine alliance. He held theological discussions withNicetas of Nicomedia [I. S. Robinson, "The Papacy 1073-1198" (1990), p.182.] , an account of which he wrote later as his Dialogues, at the request ofPope Eugenius III . His account tended to play down the theological differences, including thefilioque clause [ [http://www.scoba.us/resources/filioque-p02.asp] ] , but was more stark on the political issues. A later encounter withBasil of Achrida in 1154 proved fruitless. [ [http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/Walter_Berschin_35.html Walter Berschin - 5. The Metropolis Constantinople ] ]Anselm also served as
Archbishop of Ravenna from 1155-8. [ [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12662b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Ravenna ] ] He died inMilan .Works
Anselm's works include "De ordine canonicorum regularium", "Apologeticum pro ordine canonicorum regularium", and the three "Dialogi" (Greek title "Antikeimenon" [Online text [http://www.clausius-claperone.de] .] ), in the "
Patrologia Latina ".References
* "Dialogues/Anselme de Havelberg" (1966, Paris: Les editions du Cerf)
* Carol Neel, "Philip of Harvengt and Anselm of Havelberg: The Premonstratensian Vision of Time", Church History, Vol. 62, No. 4 (Dec., 1993), pp. 483-493
* Jay T. Lees (1998) "Anselm of Havelberg: deeds into words in the twelfth century"
*Sebastian Sigler (2005), "Anselm von Havelberg: Beiträge zum Lebensbild eines Politikers, Theologen und königlichen Gesandten im 12. Jahrhundert"Notes
External links
* [http://www.sources-chretiennes.mom.fr/index.php?pageid=auteurs_anciens&id=7#elements_biographiques] fr icon
* [http://www.dekanat-wittenberge.de/] de icon
* [http://www.vaticarsten.de/theologie/theologiedokumente/nkige/anselm_v_havelberg.pdf PDF] de icon
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.