The Fruits of Exile. Anselm of Canterbury and Lyons

Abstract

Modern historians have given considerable interest and scrutiny to the political and papal circumstances surrounding Anselm of Canterbury’s exiles, casting a particular eye on the influences and events by which it was realised. Significantly less attention, however, has been given to what Sir Richard Southern has dubbed ‘the fruits of exile’, a concept expanded here to include the effective governance of the church of Canterbury from across the English Channel. Anselm’s dedication to ecclesiastical affairs in absentia, evidenced through his residence at Lyons (in Burgundy) from May 1099 to August 1100 and again from December 1103 to March 1105, is intriguing, unprecedented, and deserving further investigation. This paper examines Anselm’s governance of Canterbury from afar, his intimate relationship with the archbishop of Lyons, and the extent of his clerical activity in Burgundy -factors which help realise the true nature of exile and friendship in the High Middle Ages.