Peter of Cornwall facts for kids

Peter of Cornwall (born around 1139 or 1140, died July 7, 1221) was an important scholar from the Middle Ages. He was also the leader, called a prior, of a monastery named Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate in London.

Peter was born near a town called Launceston, Cornwall, in England. His father was Jordan of Trecarrel. Peter went to school in London and studied under a teacher named Master Henry of Northampton. After 1170, he joined the Augustinian canons at Holy Trinity Priory. Canons were a type of priest who lived together in a community.

Peter of Cornwall: A Medieval Scholar

Peter's first major work was inspired by a church meeting in London. There, he heard the bishop of London, Gilbert Foliot, give a speech. This led Peter to create a huge book called the Pantheologus.

His Important Writings

The Pantheologus

The Pantheologus was a collection of information from the Bible. It was like a helpful guide or sourcebook for other preachers. Peter finished this important work in 1189.

Visions of the Otherworld

Peter also put together another large book called the Liber revelationum. This book was a collection of many stories about visions people had of the afterlife or the "next world." He worked on this book between 1200 and 1206. The Liber revelationum includes some personal stories that tell us a lot about Peter's own life. For example, it has stories like the "Visions of Ailsi," who was Peter's grandfather.

The book also contains two significant visions connected to a famous place called St. Patrick's Purgatory. One of these is the well-known Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii, which was written earlier, between 1135 and 1154. The other vision was told to Peter by a monk from Mellifont Abbey, who had heard about it secondhand. This second vision happened around 1170.

A Leader and Advisor

In 1197, Peter became the prior, or leader, of Holy Trinity Priory. He stayed in this important role until he died on July 7, 1221.

Peter was also involved in important events. In 1210, he was one of two people who tried to help King John of England and Stephen Langton, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury, talk to each other. They were trying to end a serious church ban, called an interdict, that had been placed on England. Unfortunately, their talks did not succeed in ending the ban at that time. Peter showed his support for Stephen Langton by dedicating one of his books, called Liber disputationum contra Symonem Iudeum, to the Archbishop when Langton was living in exile.

His Legacy

Peter of Cornwall was buried in the chapel of the Blessed Virgin at Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate. The priory itself was closed down in 1532. Today, almost nothing remains of the original buildings, except for a few old arches that can be seen in an office building on the same site.