Anselm was born in 1033 to noble parents in a place called Aosta in Italy. He and his mother always had a strong relationship, but his relationship with his father was quite different. They never did get along well at all. Anselm knew at an early age that he wanted to be a monk. While a child, he imagined that heaven rested in the mountains of Jupiter high above his home and this possibly helped to foster that dream. Anselm later went through a brief period in which he no longer wanted to become a monk, but at the age of fifteen he tried to become a monk and failed. With the death of his mother and an ever-deteriorating relationship with his father, Anselm left home in 1056 to study with Lanfranc. During the time that Anselm was under Lanfranc, he studied to the extent that the late nights and cold, and hunger that he endured were making him quite weak. In 1060, Anselm turned to corporate religion and became monk at Bec, and three years later was elevated to the position of prior. These years were considered years of silence for Anselm. During this time he wrote nothing for the public but instead spent his time in devotion to teaching his pupils in the monastery, and immersing himself in the studies of St. Augustine and the Bible.In 1070, Anselm began his writing. First came his letters and prayers, then earlier works such as Monologion and Proslogion, then in September of 1078, he was elected abbot of Bec. After the first of Anselms writings, his theology and writing style developed. While his earlier works were poetic and endearing, Anselm gradually matured in his thinking, leaving behind some of the poetic beauty, but picking up a sense of himself and how to deal with the religious issues that faced him. By the time of his death, Anselm was so devoted to his writings that on his deathbed he was still hoping that he would be able to write a book on the origin of the soul a book that would never be written,With so...
