Anselm of Canterbury

Anselm of Canterbury (born Aosta, c. 1033 – died Canterbury, April 21, 1109) was a Benedictine monk, abbot of Bec Abbey in Normandy, and later Archbishop of Canterbury. A pivotal figure in scholastic philosophy and Christian theology, he is renowned for his formulation of the ontological argument for the existence of God in his work *Proslogion*, as well as for his treatise on the Incarnation, *Cur Deus Homo*. Canonized in 1494, he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Clement XI in 1720. His approach, "faith seeking understanding" (fides quaerens intellectum), profoundly influenced medieval thought.