A letter from Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury (1102)

Translated letter:

Anselm archbishop: to his dearest daughters, the lady abbess Athelits(1) and the nuns serving Christ under her, greeting and blessing. Did I not love you greatly I would not rebuke you strongly because, after you yourselves sent your messenger to me and requested our advice on what you sbould do about the dead man whom certain people wished to have as a saint(2) you did not stand by our advice but in addition showed yourselves disobedient to our command. Therefore, I order and command you that if you do not wish to be suspended from divine office, you take away from the dead man from now on all honor of the kind due to a saint, and do not make any offering to him, nor accept any made for your benefit. You should drive away from the village his son who lies at his tomb(3) and loiters there, and take from him any possibility of his remaining there any longer. Farewell.(4)

Original letter:

Anselmus archiepiscopus: filiae carissimae, domnae abbatissae Athelits, et sanctimonialibus sub ea Christo famulantibus salutem et benedictionem. Si vos multum non amarem, multum vos increparem, quia, postquam vos ipsae ad me nuntium vestrum misistis et de illo mortuo, quem quidam volunt pro sancto haberi, quid vobis faciendum esset nostrum consilium requisistis, in consilio nostro non stetistis, sed insuper praecepto nostro inoboedientes exstititis. Quapropter mandans praecipio vobis ut, si a divino officio suspendi non vultis, omnem amodo honorem cuivis sancto debitum illi mortuo auferatis, et ei nec oblationem faciatis nec factam ad opus vestrum suscipiatis. Filium autem eius, qui ad tumbam ipsius decumbit et ibi moratur, a villa depellite, nec ei amplius aliquam inibi facultatem manendi relinquite. Valete.

Historical context:

Archbishop Anselm reprimands the abbess and her nuns for asking his advice and then disobeying him by continuing to worship the Anglo-Saxon Earl Waltheof, who had been executed for treason, as a martyr and saint. He wrote to Stephen (ep.236), archdeacon of Winchester, at the same time, commanding him to go to the abbess and tell her and the nuns that they will be put under interdict unless they prevent any worship of the Earl who had presumably been their patron.

Scholarly notes:

(1) Athelits was abbess of the community of Saint Mary at Romsey, Heads 219, which seems to have been a community of Anglo-Saxon ladies who had fled from Norman violence into the safety of the cloister, see epp.168,169. In ep.276, Athelits is addressed as abbess of Winchester. (2) Earl Waltheof, see ep.236, was the only Anglo-Saxon of high rank to be executed during the reign of William I. This severity caused many to regard him as a martyr, OV II: 320, and most writers supported his cause. Within one generation the story of Earl Waltheof had passed into the sphere of hagiography and romance, see OV II: 312-322, 346-348. (3) There seems to have been a shrine in honor of Earl Waltheof at Romsey; his tomb, however, was at Crowland Abbey, see ep.236 note 4. (4) The translation is reproduced with the permission of the translator and the publisher, Cistercian Publications Inc. Editorial Offices, Institute of Cistercian Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008. All rights are reserved; downloading and copying for any purpose other than private research is prohibited.

Printed source:

Sancti Anselmi Cantuariensis Archiepiscopi, Opera Omnia, ed. F.S. Schmitt (Edinburgh: T. Nelson, 1946-63), ep.237, 4.144-45; translation and annotation from The Letters of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, trans. Walter Frohlich, Cistercian Studies 97, 3v (Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1990-94), 2.213-14.

Date:

1102