A letter from Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury (1070-1089)

Translated letter:

Lanfranc, unworthy archbishop of the holy church of Canterbury, sends greetings and his blessing to Margaret, the glorious queen of the Scots. In the brief span of a letter I cannot hope to unfold the joy with which you flooded my heart when I studied the letter that you sent me, o Queen beloved of God. With what holy cheer the words flow on which are uttered by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit! I am convinced that what you had written was said not by you but through you: by your mouth of a truth he spoke, who says to his disciples, ‘Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.”(1) It is as a result of Christ’s teaching here that you, who are born of a royal line, brought up as befits a queen and nobly wedded to a noble king, are choosing me as your father--a foreigner of neither birth nor worth, who is ensnared in sin: and you ask me to accept you as my spiritual daughter,(2) I am not what you think me to be; but may I be so because you think it. Do not continue under that misapprehension: pray for me that I may be a father fit to pray to God for you and have my prayers granted. Let there be a mutual exchange between us of prayers and good works. Those that I render are small indeed; but I am confident that I shall receive far greater benefits in return. From now on then may I be your father and be you my daughter. I am sending your glorious husband and yourself our very dear brother Dom Goldwin as you asked me to, and two other brothers with him; for he could not accomplish single-handed what is required in God’s service and your own.(3) I do most urgently entreat you to strive to complete the work that you have begun for God and your souls’ welfare as quickly and effectively as you can. Should you be able to achieve it with the help of others, or wish to do so, we most fervently desire that our own monks should return to us, for in the positions they held they were really indispensable to our church. But let it be your decision: in all respects we entirely desire to render you obedience. May the Lord almighty bless you and mercifully free you from all your sins.

Original letter:

Lanfrancus indignus sanctae Cantuariensis aecclesiae antistes gloriosae Scotorum rigine M. salutem et benedictionem. Explicare non potest epistolaris breuitas quanta cor meum laetitia perfudisti, perlectis litteris tuis quas michi Deo amabilis regina misisti. 0 quanta iocunditate uerba profluunt quae diuino Spiritu inspirata procedunt! Credo enim non a te sed per te dicta esse quae scripseras. Reuera per os tuum locutus est ille qui discipulis suis ait, 'Discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde.' De hac Christi disciplina processit quod regali stirpe progenita, regaliter educata, nobili regi nobiliter copulata, me hominem extraneum uilem ignobilem peccatis inuolutum in patrem eligis, teque michi in filiam spiritualiter habendam precaris. Non sum quod putas, sed sim quia putas. Ne decepta remaneas ora pro me, ut sim dignus pater orare Deum et exaudiri pro te. Orationum et benefactorum sit inter nos commune commercium. Parua quidem tribuo, sed multo maiora me recepturum esse confide. Dehinc igitur sim pater tuus, et tu mea filia esto. Mitto glorioso uiro tuo et tibi carissimum fratrem nostrum domnum Goldeuuinum secundum petitionem tuam, alios quoque duos fratres; quia quod de seruitio Dei et uestro fieri oportet solus ipse per se explere non posset. Et rogo multumque rogo quatinus quod pro Deo et pro animabus uestris coepistis instanter et efficaciter perficere studeatis. Et si possetis aut uelletis opus uestrum per alios adimplere, multo desiderio uellemus hos fratres nostros ad nos redire, quia ualde in officiis suis necessarii erant aecclesiae nostrae. Fiat tamen uoluntas uestra, quia in omnibus et per omnia desideramus oboedire uobis. Omnipotens Dominus uos benedicat, et ab omnibus peccatis clementer absoluat.

Historical context:

Lanfranc responds reverentially to Margaret's letter asking him to be her spiritual father and to help her to establish an abbey.(4)

Scholarly notes:

(1) I Matt. II:29.
(2)Cf. the aristocratic Eva Crispin, who yet treats Lanfranc’s nephew as her spiritual son (no. 20, lines 13-17).
(3) For Queen Margaret’s establishment of Holy Trinity, Dunfermline see G. W. S. Barrow, The Kingdom of the Scats (London, 1973), pp. 193-5, with references.
(4) Lois Huneycutt mentions Margaret and her daughter Matilda and two other queens in "Images of Queenship in the High Middle Ages," The Haskins Society Journal, Studies in Medieval History 1 (1989), 61-71, in a discussion of their political and cultural roles, in which she notes, among other things, the close working relations between queens and bishops.

Printed source:

Letters of Lanfranc Archbishop of Canterbury, ed. and transl. by Helen Clover and Margaret Gibson (Oxford: Clarendon, 1979), ep.50, p.160-63, date 1070-89 (also in PL150 ep.61, c549-50).

Date:

1070-1089