Bec

a famous Norman abbey. The name is derived from a beck or rivulet by which a pious knight fixed his hermit-age. His fame for piety attracted followers until a religious community was formed according to the Rules of St. Benedict. Lanfranc, a Lombard scholar of noble ancestry, became a lay brother. Under his influence the monastery acquired a reputation for learning. Anselm came to study and remained to become abbot. Under these men, both of whom became archbishops of Canterbury, Bec, says Green in his History of the English People, became for a time the most famous school in Christendom. The school of Bec flourished during the eleventh century. Bec is now a mere ruin. See Anselm