Life of Anselm

…and clerical authorities, and the Vita Anselmi (c. 1124), an authoritative biography of Anselm’s private life. Edmer’s importance in historiography rests on his powers of critical observation and description, a novel emphasis on psychological factors in biographical writing, and a clear recognition of the implications of the Investiture Controversy.

…the saints’ lives, like Eadmer’s Life of Anselm, contain anecdotal materials that give some human flavour to their subjects; the 13th-century French nobleman Jean, sire de Joinville’s life of St. Louis (Louis IX of France), Mémoires, offers some lively scenes. The three most interesting biographical manifestations came early. Bishop Gregory…