According to Friedrich Heer, "the peculiar course of Anselm's life made this much-travelled man the theologian of development, of progress, of the right of novelty in the Church".
His account tended to play down the theological differences, including the filioque clause,[8] but was more stark on the political issues.
In his Epistola apologetica (c. 1145/46), his first major work, Anselm defended the emerging movement of regular canons against the criticism of traditional monastic orders such as the Benedictines.
[11] Anselm's refutation of such critics consists in a detailed analysis of how the Triune God (particularly the third person, i.e. the Holy Spirit) reveals Himself through historical renewal and progress.
Books II and III of the Dialogues present Anselm's (certainly more or less idealized and remodelled) account of his theological discussions with Nicetas of Nicomedia about the questions that had led to the Schism of 1054.