Anselm II, Bishop of Aosta

Anselme II d'Aoste, apparently is NOT the same as Anselm of Canterbury who died in 1109.

Anselme II d'Aoste évêque d'Aoste d'origine inconnu vers 1075-1090

Biographie Anselme II qui siège comme évêque d'Aoste vers 1075 à 1090 est chancelier de la chancellerie d'Aoste. Il n'est connu que par un seul document daté d'environ 1075 où il apparaît: « Ego Gosfredus vic Anselmi épiscopi sive cancellari ». Un obiit du martyrologue de la cathédrale d'Aoste, du 15 juillet d'une année indéterminée, relève également la mort de son père « Obiit Bovo pater Anselmi episcopi Augusten ». On sait qu'un Bovo avait occupé la charge de chancelier de 1032 à 1060

  [Three] siblings: 

-http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/burgkgenev.htm#AnselmMAldiud

1. ANSELM [II] (-before [1019]). "Otto…imperator augustus" donated property "in pago Bibligouue in comitatu Anshelmi in villa Chupinga" to the bishopric of Chur in exchange for property "predii…Adalberto filio Liutuuardi…in pago Suerzza in comitatu Gotefridi in villa Alemuntinga" by charter dated 22 Apr 966[275]. "…Anselmus episcopus Augustensis…Anselmus pater Anselmi episcopi, Rotbertus frater eius…" witnessed the charter dated [20 Oct 1002/19 Oct 1003] under which Rudolf III King of Burgundy confirmed a donation to Romainmotier[276]. A charter dated Jan 1006 records that "Vuillelmus de monte Ioveto" donated property to "S. Egidio" of which one was "in valle Mugnana", in which "Anselmus" held three parts and "Uldricus comes" held the fourth, and the other "in loco Intola" in which "Uldiricus comes" held two parts[277].

m ALDIUD, daughter of ---. Her marriage is confirmed by the charter dated 19 Aug [1019] of "Burchardus sancta Viennensis archiepiscopus et Udolricus frater meus et advocatus meus" granted property "in pago Genevensi…in villa Marischa…a circio Lemani lacus" made "pro remedio animarum…genitore nostro Anselmo sive pro genetrice nostra Aaldui"[278]. A series of documents, including this charter, shows that Aldiud had been the mistress of Conrad I King of Burgundy, probably before her marriage to Anselm, and that she gave birth to Burchard Archbishop of Lyon by the king. This is established as follows. Firstly, the Chronicon Hugonis names the king’s son, the archbishop of Lyon, as "Burchardus, Rodulfi regis frater, Conradi ex concubina filius"[279]. Secondly, Burchard’s mother’s name is confirmed as Aldiud by a charter dated 14 Feb 1005, which records that "Burchardum Lugdunensem archiepiscopum" donated property "in loco Oponlongis infra comitatum Ottingen" which he had "ex patre matris suæ Aldiud quod rex Chuonradus ei præbuit" to Anselm bishop of Aosta[280]. Thirdly, the name of the father of Anselm Bishop of Aosta is confirmed as Anselm in the charter of Rudolf III King of Burgundy for Romainmotier dated [20 Oct 1002/19 Oct 1003], which was witnessed by "…Anselmus episcopus Augustensis…Anselmus pater Anselmi episcopi…"[281]. Fourthly, a charter dated 1 Nov 1002, noted by Rivaz in his compiled index of Burgundian charters, confirms that Anselm Bishop of Aosta and Burchard Archbishop of Lyon were brothers: "Burchard archévêque de Lyon et abbé de Saint-Maurice" [Aldiud%E2%80%99s illegitimate son] granted property "dans les comtés de Valais et de Vaud" to "Gauslin", with the consent of "Anselme son frère évêque d'Aoste et prévôt de ladite abbaye"[282]. Fifthly, Anselm and Aldiud were also parents of Burchard Archbishop of Vienne and Udalrich his avocatus, as shown by the charter dated 19 Aug [1019] referred to above[283]. The conclusion therefore is that the only way in which Burchard Archbishop of Lyon could have been the brother of the three brothers Anselm, Burchard and Odalric is if they shared the same mother, who gave birth to them by different fathers. Aldiud’s relationship with the earliest counts of Savoy is indicated by Rodolfus Glauber who describes Burchard, son of Count Humbert "aux Blanches Mains", as nepos of Aldiud's illegitimate son[284]. This relationship is explained by Count Humbert's wife being the legitimate daughter of Anselm and Aldiud, as shown below. The Chronicon Hugonis specifies that the king’s son Burchard was appointed archbishop (dated to 978) when still a child[285]. This presumably dates Aldiud’s relationship to the King Conrad to [965/70], which is probably before she married Anselm.

  Anselm [II] & his wife had four children: 

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by Sandro Magister

ROME, April 23, 2009 – To celebrate the "doctor magnificus" Anselm at the ninth centenary of his death, Benedict XVI sent as his delegate a bishop theologian like himself, Cardinal Giacomo Biffi.

And the cardinal carried out his task in his own way. In the cathedral of Aosta, the birthplace of the saint, in the homily for his liturgical feast on April 21, he defended the extraordinary relevance of the great Anselm: "a formidable thinker" and a man of faith among the many false teachers of doubt, absolutely faithful to the successor of Peter among the many, including bishops, who left him alone.

Cardinal Biffi's homily is presented in its entirety further below.

For the occasion, pope Joseph Ratzinger sent two messages: the first, to the abbot primate of the Benedictine Confederation, Notker Wolf, and the second to Cardinal Biffi, his special envoy for the celebrations.

The second of these messages was read at the cathedral of Aosta on April 21, immediately after Biffi's homily. A link to the complete text can be found at the bottom of this page.

One of Anselm's savings has become famous: "Non quæro intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam"; I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand.

But even more famous in the history of thought is his way of asserting the existence of God: as the evident, undeniable equivalence of "that than which no greater can be thought" and the being that cannot be thought of as not existing.

This argument was criticized and rejected by Thomas Aquinas and by Kant, but considered valid by Duns Scotus, Descartes, Leibniz, and Hegel. But properly speaking, the reformulation that Descartes and others after him made of this "ontological argument" does not correspond to Anselm's authentic thought.

According to the most attentive students of his work, for Anselm the existence of God is not something that must be "demonstrated." The evident "proof" instead concerns the denial of his existence: those who deny the existence of "that than which no greater can be thought" trap themselves in an insurmountable contradiction, cutting off the possibility of all thought.

Anselm was a man of Europe. His name is associated with Aosta, beneath the peaks of the Alps, with the Benedictine abbey of Bec in Normandy, of which he was abbot, and with Canterbury, of which he was bishop. The celebrations involve all three of these places