Anselm of Liège (1008 – c. 1056) was a chronicler of the eleventh century of the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial State, Imperial Estate, so the List of ...

Biography

He was educated at the episcopal school of

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, and became canon and dean of the cathedral, where he enjoyed the friendship of the

bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

, Wazo. His chronicle, regarded as one of the best of the period, both for literary merit and for historical value, is known as the ''Gesta Episcoporum Tungrensium, Trajectensium, et Leodiensium'', and is a continuation of the earlier work by

Heriger of Lobbes Herigerus ( – 31 October 1007) was a Benedictine monk, often known as Heriger of Lobbes for serving as abbot of the abbey of Lobbes between 990 and 1007. Remembered for his writings as theologian and historian, Herigerus was a teacher to numero ...

(d. 1007) that dealt with the first twenty-seven bishops, from St. Maternus (90) to

Remaclus Saint Remaclus (Remaculus, Remacle, Rimagilus; died 673) was a Benedictine missionary bishop. Life Remaclus grew up at the Aquitanian ducal court and studied under Sulpitius the Pious, bishop of Bourges. In 625 he became a monk at Luxeuil Abbe ...

(680). Anselm's work, written at the request of his godmother, the countess Ida, Abbess of St. Cecilia, Cologne, added the lives of twenty-five more bishops, down to Wazo, of whom he gave a very full and particular account. The "Gesta" is to be found in the ''

Monumenta Germaniæ Historica The ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica'' (''MGH'') is a comprehensive series of carefully edited and published primary sources, both chronicle and archival, for the study of Northwestern and Central European history from the end of the Roman Empire ...

'' (''Scriptores'', VII, 161-234; also ''Scriptores'', XIV, 107-120 (1883)). Anselm's style is clear, and his zeal for church reform is equalled by his critical intelligence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anselm Of Liege 1008 births 1050s deaths 11th-century historians from the Holy Roman Empire Writers from Liège People of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège