PETER CANTOR. - Theologian and preacher, b. in the first half of the 12th century, d. at Longpont on 22 September 1197. Master at Paris from 1171, cantor of the Chapter (cantor Parisiensis) from 1184, elected bishop of Tournai in 1191; owing to the opposition of the metropolitan, William of Champagne, archbishop of Reims, his appointment was contested as irregular. Elected bishop of Paris in 1196, he did not accept; he accepted instead the offer of the deanship of Reims made to him by William of Champagne, and it was precisely on the journey to Reims that he fell ill at the abbey of Longpont, where he died after having taken the Cistercian habit.
He wrote important works: Verbum abbreviatum, also called Viaticum tendentis in Jerusalem and Summa de vitis et virtutibus (PL 205, 21-554): a kind of examination of conscience for the use of ecclesiastics, with a valuable development of penitential material and a brief mention of the Last Things; Summa de Sacramentis et animae consiliis (two recensions: Paris, Bibl. nat., lat. 9593 and 14.521; Bibl. of Troyes, 276): the work, in the Troyes recension, comprises two books, of which the first is devoted to the dogmatic and moral doctrine of the Sacraments, the other to casuistry on various subjects (vows, simony, Matrimony, Baptism, Eucharist); Summa Abel (Paris, Bibl. nat., lat. 455; 613 etc.), a broad alphabetical dictionary beginning with the word Abel (whence the name), comprising 1250 distinctiones on theological and liturgical subjects; the work enjoyed great popularity (some passages are scattered, in the form of glosses, in the supposed Clavis Melitonis, ed. by G. B. Pitra, Spicilegium Solesmense, III, Paris 1858, pp. 1-276); De tropis loquendi or De tropis theologiae (Paris, Bibl. nat., lat. 14.455) is also called De contrarietatibus Scripturae, because it constitutes a genuine attempt to resolve biblical antinomies; Glossae super unum ex quatuor: a harmony of the four Gospels; he also wrote brief glosses on Acts, on the Pauline and Catholic epistles, on the Apocalypse and on several books of the Old Testament (the latter of doubtful authenticity).
P. C. was also an eloquent preacher, by whom the famous Fulk of Neuilly was inspired, but almost nothing remains of his sermons. His entire output is governed by practical concerns, and accordingly P. C.'s style is simple, closely suited to the needs of his audience, his erudition is extensive but used sparingly, his exegesis is averse to flourishes and superfluous questions.