Petrus Comestor

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Petrus Comestor, also called Pierre le Mangeur (died 22 October 1178), was a twelfth-century French theological writer and university teacher.

Life

Petrus Comestor was born in Troyes. Although the name Comestor (Latin for 'eater', le Mangeur in French) was popularly attributed to his habit of devouring books and learning, it was probably, and more prosaically, a family name.[1][2] It did, however, give Peter a nice pun for his epitaph (supposed to have been composed by him): Petrus eram quem petra tegit,/ dictusque Comestor nunc comedor (I was Peter, whom this stone covers,/ called 'devourer', now I am devoured). (For a text of it, see Petrus Comestor.)

As a young man, Peter studied at the

Notre Dame in Paris around 1164, which put him, amongst other things, in charge of the cathedral school, and which post he held until his death in 1178.[5] Peter's reputation as an academic was such that Pope Alexander III exempted Peter from his ban on charging fees for giving licences to teach.[6]

Peter was buried in the

Works

Historia Scholastica

Peter's most famous work was his

Historia Scholastica: as Beryl Smalley called it, a 'great study of biblical history'.[8] The Historia was completed by 1173, Peter having spent some time writing it at the Abbey of Saint Victor. Peter dedicated it to William, bishop of Sens. The Historia was a core text during the following centuries, even being a source, perhaps, for The Canterbury Tales.[9]

Other works

Many of Peter's works are still unpublished. Among his works are:

Archbishop Guillaume of Sens
.

Editions

  • Petris Comestoris Scolastica Historia: Liber Genesis. Edited by Agneta Sylwan. Turnhout: Brepols, 2004, Pp. xc + 227. (Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis, 191).

Manuscripts

Historia scholastica

  • Épinal, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 50 s. xiii
  • British Library, Harley MS 4132. s. xiii.
  • British Library, Egerton MS 272. s. xiii.
  • Durham Cathedral, B.III.20. s. xiii.
  • Hereford Cathedral, P.v.15. s. xiii in.
  • Lincoln Cathedral, 80. s. xii.
  • Lincoln Cathedral, 86. s. xiii

Other works

  • Hereford Cathedral, O.vii.3. Sermones s. xiii in.
  • Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 494. Textus glosatus super Iohannem etc. s. xii/xiii. H.
  • Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Bodley 748. Petrus Comestor s. xiv.
  • Oxford, Corpus Christi College 159. Peter Comestor s. xiv in.
  • Lincoln Cathedral, 153. s. xii ex.
  • Lincoln Cathedral, 159. s. xiv/xv.

Notes

  1. .
  2. .
  3. ^ Dalyn, 64
  4. S2CID 144325543
    .
  5. ^ Morey, 10
  6. ^ Dalyn, 67, 70
  7. ^ Dalyn, 68
  8. ^ Smalley, B. (1964). The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages. University of Notre Dame Press. p. 178.
  9. ^ Morey, 32-5
  10. .

Further reading

External links