While he would have preferred the simple, quiet life of the monastery—teaching, reading, thinking, and writing about God—Anselm of Canterbury spent much of his life dealing with powerful kings, consulting with popes, and serving reluctantly as archbishop of Canterbury. Through Anselm's story, Simonetta Carr teaches what life was like in medieval Western Europe. Young readers will learn of the tempestuous relationship between church and state during this era, and the significance of Anselm's writings about why God became man and the relationship between faith and reason.

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