the semantic pitfalls that plagued contemporary theo-
logians; his Trinitarian views were solemnly ratifi ed at
the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.
See also Anselm of Laon; Aquinas, Thomas;
Bernard of Clairvaux
Further Reading
Peter Lombard. Commentariu sin psalmos davidicos. PL
191.55–169.
——. Collectanea in omnes b. Pauli epistolas. PL 191.1297–696
and PL 192.9–520.
——. Sententiae in IV libris distinctae, ed. Ignatius Brady.
3rd ed. rev. In Spicilegium Bonaventurianum. Grottafer-
rata: Editiones Collegii S. Bonaventurae ad Claras Aquas,
1971–81,Vols. 4–5.
——. Sermons (printed under the name of Hildebert of Lavar-
din). PL 171.339–964. [See list in J. de Ghellinck, “Pierre
Lombard.” In Dictionnarie de théologie catholique. Vol. 12
(1935), cols. 1961–62.] Bertola, Ermenegildo. “Pietro Lom-
bardo nella storiografi a fi losofi ca medioevale.” Pier Lombardo
4 (1960): 95–113.
Colish, Marcia L. Peter Lombard. Leiden: Brill, 1993.
——. “Systematic Theology and Theological Renewal in the
Twelfth Century.” Journal of Medieval and Renaissance
Studies 18 (1988): 135–56.
——. “From sacra pagina to theologia: Peter Lombard as
an Exegete of Romans.” Medieval Perspectives 7 (1991):
1–19.
——. “Psalterium Scholasticorum: Peter Lombard and the
Emergence of Scholastic Psalms Exegesis.” Speculum 67
(1992): 531–48.
Delhaye, Philippe. Pierre Lombard: sa vie, ses æuvres, sa morale.
Montreal: Institut d’Études Medievales, 1961.
Theresa Gross-Diaz
PETER OF POITIERS (d. 1205)
Master in theology at Paris from ca. 1167, successor
(1169) to the chair in theology held by Peter Comestor,
and chancellor of the schools of Paris from 1193. Peter
of Poitiers (to be distinguished from another contem-
porary Peter of Poitiers, a regular canon of the abbey
of Saint-Victor at Paris) was a leading fi gure in the
Parisian schools in the last third of the 12th century. A
student under Peter Lombard and a strong supporter of
the Lombard’s theology when it came under attack in
the last decades of the 12th century, Peter of Poitiers
was a determined advocate of the usefulness of dialectics
in theology.
He was also infl uenced by the Victorine tradition,
represented by Hugh and Richard of Saint-Victor, Peter
Comestor, and Peter the Chanter, that emphasized both
historical study and the importance of biblical allegory.
Four of Peter’s works reveal these infl uences and also
Peter’s distinctive contributions to theological, histori-
cal, and exegetical-homiletic studies in the schools of
Paris.
Peter’s Sententiarum libri quinque (probably before
1170) is modeled directly on the dialectical method as
used by Peter Lombard in his Quattuor libri sententia-
rum and also draws upon its content. Peter’s work is not,
however, a commentary on the Lombard’s but is his own
formulation of a “compendium of theology” to instruct
those who are beginning the study of Scripture. Peter’s
faithfulness to the Lombard’s thought earned him the
distinction of being included with the Lombard, Gilbert
of Poitiers, and Abelard as one of the “four labyrinths
of France” in Walter of Saint-Victor’s antidialectical
polemic.
Three of Peter’s works on scriptural interpretation
deserve mention. Allegoriae super tabernaculum Moysis
explicates the four senses of scriptural interpretation
(history, allegory, tropology, and anagogy) and presents
a detailed allegorical interpretation of the materials,
construction, associated objects, and other aspects of
the Tabernacle of Moses. Compendium historiae in
genealogia Christi is a work of historical explication in
service of biblical exegesis. By means of a grand genea-
logical schematic, with accompanying text, extending
from Adam and Eve to Jesus Christ, Peter sketched out
the essentials of biblical history for beginning students.
Tradition held that he was the fi rst to draw genealogical
“trees” on animal skins and hang them on classroom
walls in order to instruct students. Finally, Distinctiones
super psalterium is part of a move within the schools
to make resources for biblically based preaching more
accessible to students and preachers. The Distinctiones
takes a word from a psalm and gives a set of meanings,
the distinctio, all supported by references to other pas-
sages of Scripture. Thus, the reader had ready at hand a
compendium of many symbolic interpretations of such
words as “bed,” “fi re,” or “stone.” Some manuscripts
present the work as a continuous prose text; others have
a schematic structure, with the “key word” in the margin
and a series of red lines connecting with the meanings.
Such a handbook would be of great use to preachers
searching for allegories, and Peter’s book is similar in
its intent to Peter the Chanter’s Summa Abel and Prae-
positinus of Cremona’s Summa super psalterium.
See also Hugh of Saint-Victor; Peter Comestor;
Peter LombardFurther Reading
Moore, Philip S. The Works of Peter of Poitiers, Master in The-
ology and Chancellor of Paris (1193–1205). Notre Dame:
University of Notre Dame Press. 1936.
—— and James Corbett, eds. Petri Pictaviensis Allegoriae su-
per tabernaculum Moysis. Notre Dame: University of Notre
Dame Press, 1938.
—— and Mathe Dulong, eds. Pern Pictaviensis Sententiarum
libri quinque. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press,
1943, Vol. 1.PETER OF POITIERS