ABSTRACT
Shortly after his 1079 election as abbot of Bec in Normandy, probably in 1080, Anselm visited England, where, as a good abbot, he needed to look after Bec’s many lands “for the common good of the brethren” of Bec. But he also wished to go to England for another reason, no less strong: his desire to see his Bec teacher and dear friend Archbishop Lanfranc of Canterbury. The monks of Canterbury welcomed him joyfully and showed him great honor, whereupon he preached a sermon to them on the greater good of loving another, as they had shown their love for him, than of receiving such a gift of love. Then the Canterbury monks received him into their community, where he lived among them as one of them, talking to them daily in the chapter house and cloister. Moreover, he began preaching to England’s people throughout the land on the virtues of living a good life. 1 Thus Abbot Anselm of Bec in Normandy became a monk of Canterbury long before he became England’s archbishop, and immediately assumed duties appropriate to his future archiepiscopal functions.
