Peter of Blois

“ An accurate text is greatly needed, and there is a multitude of manuscripts waiting to be used. Meanwhile something can be done to straighten out Peter's own story, and to correct the mistakes of fact and date which mar the current accounts of his career.
Of the father of Peter of Blois we should know nothing had he not been unkindly spoken of after his death in a controversy concerning Peter's claim to the provostship of Chartres. Peter in his indignant rejoinder (Ep. 49) tells us that his father and mother were of good Breton stock ”

“ If Ep. 223 ('to the elect of Chartres') was written to John, as seems almost certain, it follows that Peter had never met him until his appointment was made known, and that then he had hastened to see him. After speaking of the need of such a bishop to restore the broken fortunes of the church of Chartres,. he begs him to 'give his voice the voice of power', [14] and to claim 'him, not half but whole, for the service of the glorious Virgin. But the bishop's first favour was shown to another Peter of Blois, whom our Peter describes as his double as well as his namesake (Ep. 114) . ”

“ They seem to bring those old times before us, to seat us by the fire-sides of our Norman forefathers, and in a pleasant, quiet manner enter into a gossip on the passing events of the day; and being written by a student and an amator librorum, they moreover unfold to us the state of learning among the ecclesiastics at least of the twelfth century; and if we were to take our worthy archdeacon as a specimen, they possessed a far better taste for these matters than we usually give them credit for. Peter of Blois was no ordinary man ”

“ He studied jurisprudence at Bologna and theology in Paris, and in 1167 he went to Sicily, where he became tutor to the young king William II., and keeper of the royal seal (sigilarius) . But he made many enemies and soon asked permission to leave the country; his request was granted and about 1170 he returned to France. After spending some t1me teaching in Paris and serving Rotrou de Perche, archbishop of Rouen, as secretary, Peter entered the employ of Henry II. of England about 1173. ”

“ Of other members of his family we hear only of William his brother, who had some talent in writing poems and plays, and who after being abbot for a short time of a monastery in Calabria returned to France; and of Ernald, a nephew, who became abbot of S. Laumer at Blois. [1]
Peter's name suggests that he was born at Blois: yet in a letter which he writes in 1176 to John of Salisbury, the bishop-elect of Chartres (Ep. 223) , he speaks of having received ' all the sacraments of the Christian faith ' in the church of the Virgin there ”

“ In this connexion it is interesting to note that Peter the chancellor of Chartres is recorded to have written a commentary on the Psalms. [15]
The re-foundation of the dean and chapter of S. Sauveur at Blois is the subject of another letter which belongs to this period (Ep. 78) . This was the work of a knight named Geoffrey, undertaken under the auspices of Bishop John. Peter indeed speaks of himself as 'first among the first' in the restoration: but this perhaps only means that he had urged it upon the new bishop. ”

“ If we resist the Devil, he will flee from us: if we give way to one temptation, we shall be more likely to fall again: so it was with Peter. "When he was gone out into the porch, after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And another maid saw him, and began to say to them that stood by, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. This is one of them." Peter now added to his sin, "for he denied with an oath, I do not know the man,"—thus calling upon God as a witness to the truth of what he was saying. ”

“ And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter spake the more vehemently, and said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said all the disciples."
Poor Peter little knew himself! No doubt he and all the disciples felt what they now said: but if men would bear in mind their weakness and proneness to sin, they would never feel sure of not doing wrong; but would watch and pray, so that the Devil may get no advantage over them. ”

“ Truly, at such a price salvation would seem dear to many of us! Yet the history of the early Church is full of saints whose fanaticism assumed this extraordinary type, the predilection for bodily filth. With all this piety, Charles de Blois was unrelentingly cruel and even immoral; for he began the siege of Nantes by cutting off the heads of thirty knightly partisans of Montfort and throwing them over the walls, and when he himself lay dead on the battlefield "a bastard son of his, called Sir Jean de Blois, was slain by his side." ”

“ Hear, O Apostolic Head, O shepherd of the sheep of Christ, set over them by God, O door-keeper of the kingdom of heaven, O rock of the faith, upon which the Catholic Church is built. For Peter art thou, who adornest and governest the See of Peter. To thee, said Christ our God, 'and thou, in thy turn, one day confirm thy brethren.' Behold the time, behold the place, help us, thou who art ordained by God for this. Stretch forth thy hand as far as may be: power thou hast from God, because thou art the chief of all. ”

“ Petrus andwyrde, "Untwylice þu lihst þæt þu God sy, nu ðu nast manna geðohtas." When Nero saw that, he imagined that he was the Son of God. Peter said that he was God's adversary, and guilty of false magic, and said that he was certainly the devil in human substance. Simon said, "It is not fitting that thou, king, shouldst listen to the words of a false fisher; but I will no longer bear this contumely: I will now command my angels to avenge me on this fisher." Peter said, "I fear not thy accursed spirits, but they will become terrified through the faith of my Lord." ”

“ Peter was so fascinated by this brilliant and versatile aristocrat, so deeply interested in the psychology of a great Roman prelate, a prince of the Church, that he forgot everything except that he was a creative artist—and a great sitter, a man worthy of his best, was to be portrayed.
He gave his whole heart to his task, and he brought to it a new sense of values, born of suffering. When he had finished, you could see the cardinal's soul looking at you from the canvas. The smile Peter prayed to catch curves his lips, a smile that baffles and enchants. ”

“ Peter was certainly an extraordinary compound of vices and virtues. His domestic life will not bear even the most superficial investigation, and M. Blanc has ripped it up unmercifully. The great reformer—we might almost say the founder—of the mighty empire of Russia, the conqueror of Charles of Sweden, was a drunkard and gross sensualist, a bad father, a cruel and unfaithful husband. Indeed some of his acts seem inexplicable otherwise than by that ferocious insanity manifest in more than one of his descendants. Even his rare impulses of mercy were apt to come too late to save the victim. ”

“ Peter was not magnificent to-day; in his plain green uniform and short hair he looked like a European foot soldier and utterly out of place in this great hall hung with scarlet, carpeted with Eastern tapestries, and decorated with jasper and silver, malachite and lacquer. The silver throne stood on a dais under a crimson canopy, and on the steps of it sat Peter, his hands clasped round his knees. The boyars had gone with their breastplates and caftans, robes, and caps, and there remained only the Duke of Croy, the German who commanded the army, and Mentchikoff. ”

“ His bony hands trembled incessantly, and his face had the chalky pastiness native to the opium eater.
Peter, reflecting upon the honor which that uniform had always meant for him, felt like knocking this chattering, wild-eyed creature down and trampling upon him. But he bowed respectfully. The door clanged behind him, and his eye absorbed in an instant the details of the ponderously high-powered electrical apparatus.
"Speak God's language, eh?" whined the man. "Sit down and don't stare so. Sit down. Sit down."
"A mandarin never seats himself, O high one, until thrice invited." ”

“ Night brings counsel, say the French. Only in sleep does one mine the gold of truth, said Confucius.
When Peter was aroused by the golden dawn streaming through the swinging port-glass upon his eyes the cobwebs were gone from his brain, his eyes were clear and of a bright sea-blue, and he was bubbling with enthusiasm for the new-born day. ”

“ Peter, unless, perhaps, that unfortunate man who is unwilling to bear the yoke of the Lord and subjects himself to the burden of the devil, refusing to be among the number of Christ's sheep? It will help him little to his wretched liberty, indeed, that he shake from his proud neck the divinely granted power of Peter. For the more any one, through pride, refuses to bear it, the more heavily shall it press upon him unto damnation at the judgment. ”

“ Now, on the part of the citizens of Blois this was a culpable piece of disrespect, for Monsieur was, after the king--nay, even perhaps, before the king--the greatest noble of the kingdom. In fact, God, who had granted to Louis XIV., then reigning, the honor of being son of Louis XIII., had granted to Monsieur the honor of being son of Henry IV. It was not then, or, at least, it ought not to have been, a trifling source of pride for the city of Blois, that Gaston of Orleans had chosen it as his residence, and held his court in the ancient Castle of the States. ”

“ When Peter would prove himself no disciple of Christ, he cursed and swore. ”

“ Peter quitted the Golden Lamb as joyously as if he had obtained there the golden fleece itself. The only circumstance that now disturbed his happiness was, that he had not the magic root yet in his possession; and when he considered that the black woodpecker did not build its nest in those parts, he became as melancholy as if suddenly roused from a delightful fairy vision. Recovering himself, however, he struck a light, and, taking pen and ink, set down, from beginning to end, the whole process of obtaining the treasure, so that not a tittle might escape his memory. ”

“ How different the spirit and behaviour of Peter were from that of his pretended successors! He does not command and domineer, but exhort. He does not claim sovereignty over all pastors and churches, nor style himself prince of the apostles, vicar of Christ, or head of the church, but values himself upon being an elder. All the apostles were elders, though every elder was not an apostle. 3. It was the peculiar honour of Peter, and a few more, to be the witnesses of Christ's sufferings; but it is the privilege of all true Christians to be partakers of the glory that shall be revealed. ”

“ However, she remembered to call for her godfather, and she said, "Come to my help, oh! my godfather." Saint Peter appeared to her at once, and asked her, "Why are you in tears? have patience, for it is thus we should bear all things." The girl recounted to Saint Peter all that had happened to her with the queen, and what her majesty had told the king out of revenge to try and disgrace her. Saint Peter then said to her, "Very well, now listen to me. To-morrow they will buy some fish, and you must go and ask the servant whose duty it is to prepare and open the fish, to allow you to do it." ”

“ Paul would not have rebuked Peter to his face about some very important points had Peter been the recognised head of the Church. [83:7] Peter was a coward, braggart, and traitor, and was reproved again and again by Jesus Himself, [83:8] who would not have chosen such a person to be the head of the Church. There is not a single [84] reference in the New Testament to show that Peter ever attempted to exercise a primacy over his companions. He called himself a fellow "elder." [84:1]
3. Peter's presence in Rome. ”

“ They whispered in awe of the Southern Cross, which sparkled like frost on the low horizon. She confessed that at night the moon was her god, and Peter, feeling exalted under the influence of her exquisite charm, the touch of the light fingers upon his arm which tingled and burned under the subtle pressure, became bold and recited that verse of "Mandalay" wherein "I kissed her where she stood." ”

“ Through the front gate to the road, braving the hideous vapor—
Sought him in lane and on pike, called him in orchard and meadow,
Clamoring "Peter!" in vain, vainly outcrying for Peter.
Joining the search came the rest, brothers and sisters and cousins,
Venting unspeakable fears in pitiful wailing for Peter!
And from the neighboring farms gathered the men and the women,
Who, upon hearing the news, swelled the loud chorus for Peter. ”

“ His remains were sent to the king of Sweden, who gave them a magnificent burial; a vain and melancholy return to an old servant, for a life of suffering, and so deplorable an end!
Peter was satisfied with having got possession of Livonia, Esthonia, Carelia, and Ingria, which he looked upon as his own provinces, and to which he had, moreover, added almost all Finland, which served as a kind of pledge, in case his enemies should conclude a peace. He had married one of his nieces to Charles Leopold, duke of Mecklenburg, in the month of April of the same year, (1715.) ”