| Profile | Major Works | Resources |
Peter the Chanter, c.1150-1197.
Peter the Chanter (or Peter Cantor), was a French Scholastic philosopher, and a notable and influential teacher at Paris.
Originally from Beauvais, Peter was taught at the cathedral schools of Rheims and later at the school of Notre Dame of Paris, where he is listed as a canon from 1171, and professor of theology,. Peter gathered a circle of notable followers, such as Robert of Courçon and Thomas of Chobham. He became a chanter at Notre Dame in 1184, which lent him his nickname. His election as Bishop of Tournai in 1191 was annulled because of an irregularity. Elected later as Bishop of Paris, he refused the position and became the dean of the cathedral school at Rheims.
Peter the Chanter is known for his extensive Scholastic glosses on the Old and New Testament, the moral work Verbum Abreviatum, addressed to the daily life of monks and clergy, which includes several economic considerations, such as the distinction between "useful" and "not useful" crafts. According to Peter, crafts which transform raw materials to something of greater utility, e.g. tanning, shoemaking, weaving, etc. are "useful", whereas decorative goldsmithing, carving and painting are "not useful". He also wrote two smaller works, a summary of Church sacramental practice and a brief Scholastic dictionary, the Distinctiones..
|
Major Works of Peter the Chanter
|
Top|
Resources on Peter the Chanter
|
All rights reserved, Gonçalo L. Fonseca