Przeklęty pastorał i błogosławiony habit, czyli dlaczego Anzelm z Lukki nie chciał być biskupem

Abstract

Cursed crosier and blessed habit: why did Anselm of Lucca not want to be a bishop? Vita Anselmi is a hagiographic piece that presents the life of Anselm, Bishop of Lucca and close collaborator of Pope Gregory VII. The Vita was written shortly after the bishop’s death, probably in 1087, and serves as an important source of information about the Gregorian party in Tuscany and Lombardy. The author is anonymous, but we know that he lived at the court of Matilda of Canossa and was very familiar with the mentality and ideas of the countess’ entourage. In one of the most significant passages of the text the author writes that in 1075 Anselm, tormented by having received investiture with the ring and crosier from the king, left the Bishopric of Lucca and retired to a monastery. Historians who have studied the Vita (C. Violante, E. Pásztor, K. Cushing, P. Golinelli) believe in the veracity of this account; in their opinion Anselm realised that he would be unworthily elevated to episcopal office after the Lateran Synod of 1075, at which he had promulgated a decree against lay investiture. The research of some German scholars (R. Schieffer, J. Englberger) and the analysis of other sources make us understand, however, not only that the Roman Synod had not prohibited investiture “de manu regis” but also that it was by Gregory’s will that Anselm received the episcopacy from Henry IV. The Bishop of Lucca, therefore, must have renounced his office for other reasons. The aim of the paper is to find the real reason for his abdication. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to answer to a more general question: why did some reforming bishops of the eleventh century want to renounce episcopacy? The answer can be found in the letters of Peter Damian, who also asked the pope to be allowed to abandon his episcopal see.