118. To The Monks Of Bec.
282 The Letters of St. Anselm
118. TO THE MONKS OF BEC.
Anselm writes from England during his second visit. He thanks his brothers for their information about Dom Hugh's inheritance and praises them for handling the matter. He informs them that his dealings are progressing but that he has to wait until the Whitsun court before being able to obtain a royal charter to confirm the abbey's possessions. He exhorts them to live according to their monas tic vows and greets Dom Hugh, Dom Odo, Lady Eva, and Lady Basilia.
TO HIS FELLOW-MONKS AND DEAREST BROTHERS, THE SERVANTS
OF GOD LIVING AT BEC: BROTHER ANSELM,1 THEIR SERVANT,
WISHING THAT THEY MAY ALWAYS PROGRESS WITH HUMILITY
TOWARDS BETTER THINGS AND NEVER FALL AWAY.
YOU DID WELL TO INLORM ME about the affairs of the late Dom Hugh2 and about these matters concerning your selves; and by telling me that you and yours are being pro tected by God's grace, you have given me, who has always desired this, great joy. Since however, I know that you are equally interested in finding out everything that concerns me, you should know that since I left you, with your prayers accompanying me, everything has, through God's mercy, turned out favorably for me and those who are with me.
Lor wherever I either travel or tarry I am, by God's gift, just as if on our own lands.
In what concerns the goods of Dom Hugo which you took possession of, I have spoken with his nephew Roger,3 and with the king, as I knew fit. But although they replied with words of encouragement, I have not yet attained the goal for which I am striving. Wherefore, if anybody else ap propriates what you took possession of, then you should do no more than you have already done; but keep the moveable goods you already have from there. Since the king was willing to confirm our charter for the property we have in England,4 but only in the donors' presence, who were not all in attendance at the Easter Court, he ordered me to wait at Court until Pentecost,5 when everyone would once again convene at the same time. Once this confirmation has been enacted, God having granted your prayer, I wish to return to those who long for me and for whom I long.
The Letters of St. Anselm
My beloved ones, your goodness knows well that my desire is that your religion be pure and unblemished before God the Father6 and my joy in this world is your virtuous life.
If, therefore I have deserved anything from your charity for this good will, not to mention the reward for living vir tuously, which is even greater, I pray, I beseech you, that absent or present you may gladden my heart by living vir tuously and satisfy my longing and my joy by your goodness. And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding watch over your hearts and minds7 so that you strive more and more to preserve what you now are by the grace of God, and [to preserve] the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.8
Greet on our behalf, as kindly as you can, our most be loved Dom Hugh of Gournay9 and Dom Odo10, our old friend and new fellow-soldier, and our dearest ladies and mothers Lady Eva11 and Lady Basilia.12 Comfort them by serving and honoring them as befits you and them, and as you know I would wish. If I have to remain longer than
I said, bear with it, because—as I trust God—it will not be without some profit.
Shortly after Easter 1086.
NOTES 1. Anselm's second visit to England lasted from mid-Lent (the middle of March) to shortly after Whitsun, 24 May 1086; see Epp 108, 116.
2. Dom Hugh was Count Hugh of Meulan before he became a monk at Bee in 1077. He was one of the last two to be received by Abbot
Herluin, one hundred thirty-sixth or seventh in the Bee professionroll. He died 15 October 1080; see A. Poree, Histoire de VAbbaye du
Bee I: 166, 332, 339.
3. Dom Hugh's sister, Adeline, was married to Roger de Beaumont. Be ing a loyal baron and trusted advisor to William, Duke of Normandy and King of England, he was invested with the castle of Brionne; see
Rule 1:220, 298.
4. For the possessions of Bee in England, see M. Morgan, The English Lands of the Abbey of Bee (Oxford, 1946); M. Chibnall, 'The Relations of St An selm with the English Dependencies of Bee 1079-1093', Spicilegium Beccense I (Paris 1959) 521-530; M. Chibnall, 'The English Possessions of Bee in the Time of Anselm', Spicilegium II (Paris, 1984) 273-82.