Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033 – 21 April 1109) was an Italian, a Benedictine monk, a philosopher, and a prelate of the church who held the office of Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is famous in the West as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God. In 1720, Anselm was recognized as a saint by Pope Clement XI. __TOC__