... In 1063 he was elected prior of Bec, succeeding Lanfranc, who had been called to the abbey of St.-Etienne in Caen; in 1078 he was chosen abbot, in spite of his disinclination to assume the office. He showed even more reluctance and protestation when selected as archbishop of Canterbury in 1093, again in succession to Lanfranc. Anselm's subsequent quarrels with William II (son of William the Conqueror) and with his brother and successor Henry I are well known. He contested William's exercise of jurisdiction over the church, in particular William's claim that he alone, as king, was entitled to convoke future reform synods and had the right to decide which rival for the papacy - Urban II or Clement III - to recognize. Relations became so tense that Anselm, acting on his own initiative, chose to leave England for three years (November 1097-September 1100) to consult with Urban II in Rome. ...

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