PETER CANTOR

Theologian, glossarist; b. probably Reims, France; d. Longpont Abbey, Sept. 22, 1197. In 1171 he was canon and professor of theology at the cathedral school in Paris, and from 1184 held the office of cantor in the cathedral of Paris, whence his name. His reputation as an ecclesiastic and a theologian soon spread beyond Paris. The people and clergy of Tournai chose him in 1191 for their bishop, but his election was opposed by William of Champagne, archbishop of Reims, on grounds of irregularity. In 1196 he accepted the office of dean of the cathedral chapter of Reims. He died in the Cistercian abbey of Longpont. His works cover a wide range of subjects: dogmatic and moral theology, Sacred Scripture, canonical legislation, and monasticism. They are Verbum Abbreviatum, first published in 1693 and reproduced in Migne (Patrologia Latina, 205:21–554); Summa de sacramentis et animae consiliis; Distinctiones Abel; De tropis theologicis; and glosses on most of the books of the Old and the whole of the New Testament. With the exception of Verbum Abbreviatum, his works have remained unpublished.

Bibliography: Chartularium universitatis Parisiensis, ed. h. denifle and e. chatelain, 4 v. (Paris 1889–97) 1:46. m. grabmann, Geschichte der scholastischen Methode, 2 v. (Freiburg 1909–11) 2:478–485. f. s. gutjahr, Petrus Cantor Parisiensis (Graz 1899). n. iung, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al., 15 v. (Paris 1903–50; Tables générales 1951– ) 12.2:1901–06.

[g. m. grabka]