Book description
Mostly written between 1070 and 1080, before he became Archbishop of
Canterbury, the prayers and meditations of Anselm of Aosta created a
tradition of intimate, intensely personal devotional works written in
subtle and theologically daring prose. While the Prayer to God is based
on the Lord's Prayer, the Prayer to Christ is inspired by ardent private
emotion and other prayers invest saints with individual attributes, with
John the Baptist as the friend, Peter as the shepherd and Mary Magdalene
as the forgiving lover, among many others. The meditations include a
searching exploration of the state of the soul and a lament on the loss
of purity, and the Proslogion discusses the mysteries of faith. With
their bright imagery, beautiful language and highly original thought,
the works of Anselm have secured a lasting place in both religious and
secular literature. Translated and with an introduction by Benedicta
Ward with a foreword by R. W. Southern
