Saint Peter of Poitiers

Peter of Poitiers (Latin: Petrus Pictaviensis) was a French scholastic theologian, born in Poitiers (or in the region) around 1125-1130. He died in Paris on September 3, 1205. After his studies in Paris, he began teaching in the Faculty of Theology in 1167. Two years later he succeeded Peter Comestor in the chair of scholastic theology at the cathedral school of Notre Dame. Part of a circle of scholars whose influence led to the foundation of the university and the formation of a theological curriculum based on the teachings of Peter Lombard, Peter of Poitiers helped introduce the technical language and methods of Aristotelian logic to the field of theology. In a text called the Four Labyrinths of France Gauthier de St-Victor famously denounced the dialectical method of scholasticism, naming Peter of Poiters along with Gilbert de la Porrée, Abelard, and Peter Lombard. Peter of Poitiers was also known for teaching biblical history as the basis of scriptural exegesis. For a generation of theologians invested in allegorical interpretation, the exact details of historical events were essential. In 1193 he succeeded Peter Comestor as chancellor of the cathedral. His death on September 3, 1205 is listed in the necrology of Notre Dame. The necrology calls him a "deacon", indicating that he was never ordained as a priest. His main theological work is his collection of sentences, divided into five books, written between 1168 and 1175. He expanded on topics that Peter Lombard had not touched on in his Sentences (above all, ethical subjects). Peter of Poitier’s other theological works include Distinctiones super psalterium (before 1196), one of the first of a type of commentary wherein lists of citations from church fathers are interpreted according to the four-fold mode of exegesis (literal, allegorical, analogical, tropological). Another one of his theological works, Allegoriae super tabernaculum Moysi, is an allegorical interpretation of the tabernacle (Ex.