Prayers and Meditations of St. Anselm with the Proslogion

CONTENTS FOREWORD by R. W. Southern 9 PREFACE 17 ABBREVIATIONS 23 INTRODUCTION 25 1. BACKGROUND TO THE PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS 27 1. The Liturgy 27 The Divine Office 27 The Kalendar and the Mass 29 2. The 'Preces Privatae' 35 3. 'Meditari aut legere' 43 4. John of Fécamp 47 2. THE PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS 51 1. The Anselmian Pattern of Prayer 51 'In cubiculum meum' 51 'Excita Mentem' 52 'Compunctio Cordis' 53 'In Caelis' 56 2. The Content of the Prayers 56 3. The Prayers 59 4. Meditations 1 and 2 73 5. Meditation on Human Redemption and Proslogion 75 6. Conclusion 81 Notes 82 THE PRAYERS AND MEDITATIONS 87 Preface 89 Letters to the Countess Mathilda 90 1. Prayer to God 91 2. Prayer to Christ 93 3. Prayer before Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ 100 4. Prayer to the Holy Cross 102 A Letter to Gundolf 106 5. Prayer to St Mary (1) 107 6. Prayer to St Mary (2) 110 7. Prayer to St Mary (3) 115 8. Prayer to St John the Baptist 127 9. Prayer to St Peter 135 10. Prayer to St Paul 141 11. Prayer to St John the Evangelist (1) 157 12. Prayer to St John the Evangelist (2) 163 A Letter to Adelaide 172 13. Prayer to St Stephen 174 A Letter to Prior Baldric 183 14. Prayer to St Nicholas 184 15. Prayer to St Benedict 196 16. Prayer to St Mary Magdalene 201 17. Prayer by a Bishop or Abbot to the Patron Saint of his Church 207 18. Prayer for Friends 212 19. Prayer for Enemies 216 A Letter from Durandus 220 Meditation 1 221 Meditation 2 225 Meditation on Human Redemption 230 Proslogion 238 Notes 268 APPENDIX - THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRAYERS 275 1. The Circulation and Influence of the Prayers 275 2. Early Additions to the Collection 278 Ralph of Battle 278 Elmer of Canterbury 283 Notes to the Appendix 286