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 contemporary Peter of Poitiers, a regular
canon of the abbey of Saint-Victor at Paris) was a leading figure 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 influenced 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 influences and also Peter’s distinctive contributions to theological, historical, 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 sententiarum 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 Abélard
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 genealogical 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 first 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 passages of Scripture. Thus, the reader had
ready at hand a compendium of many symbolic interpretations of such words as “bed,”
“fire,” 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 Praepositinus of Cremona’s Summa super psalterium.
Grover A.Zinn
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1364