Anselm and Henry Working Together

As mentioned here, the relationship between Archbishop of Canterbury Anselm and King Henry I of England was not completely adversarial. Henry wanted desperately to rule England, even if his elder brother Robert Curthose had a valid claim, and Henry wanted allies. He even apologized in a letter to Anselm (who was on the continent, having been exiled by Henry's other brother, King William II) for being crowned by Bishop Maurice of London, rather than waiting for the archbishop, as was traditional.

Anselm also approved the marriage of Henry to Matilda of Scotland, after convening a council to decide if Matilda, although she had been living in a convent as a nun for many years, had actually become a nun. Anselm helped Henry deal with some of his enemies: he supported Henry deposing Ranulph Flambard, the Bishop of Durham who had been loyal to William II but not to Henry; Anselm also threatened Robert Curthose with excommunication, when Robert (then as Duke of Normandy) wanted to invade England and take the throne from Henry. Anselm was involved in persuading Robert to accept the Treaty of Alton.

There was one crucial item where Anselm and Henry did not see eye-to-eye, and that was the question of authority between church and king. Henry still wanted approval of clerical positions (lay investiture), including that of archbishop. Anselm had to pull out his "big gun" if he was to resolve this: he made clear that Henry was facing excommunication, also sending the message obliquely through Henry's sister, Adela. For Henry, not being seen as a faithful member of the Catholic Church would undermine his attempt to be seen as a "good king" after the corruption of his predecessor.

Henry had to compromise. Henry was willing to leave investing of bishops and priests to the Church, but if those positions held lands, they needed to acknowledge that the lands were held in trust from the king and do him homage as landowners. (Anselm and Pope Paschal both agreed to this, but still hoped to eliminate this homage in the future.) Henry also asked that the excommunication of his advisors (see the first link above) be lifted. This Anselm did himself (though later Paschal criticized him for "overturning" the pope's decision without consulting him.)

Anselm was not satisfied, however, and would not return to Canterbury until the king met with him. Henry traveled to Bec in August 1106. Anselm demanded the return of all lands once belonging to Canterbury that William had confiscated. Henry had taxed married clergy, but after Anselm had forbidden clerical marriage, Henry made up for the loss of revenue by taxing all clergy. Anselm forced Henry to make clergy exempt for three years from tax. These changes were enough to satisfy Anselm, who returned. He lived two more years, attending to the duties of Archbishop of Canterbury.

Before concluding Anselm's life, we are going on a side quest. I (and far more consequential historians) have written much about William the Conqueror's sons Robert, William, and Henry. He had other children, and they also had influence. I want to introduce you Henry's older sister, Adela, who was very likely instrumental in convincing him to accept Anselm's demands. See you tomorrow.