Peter of Auvergne

Abstract

Peter of Auvergne was both master of the Faculty of Arts and of the Faculty of Theology at the University of Paris in the last three decades of the thirteenth century. He is one of the major promoters of medieval Aristotelianism and the most productive commentator from the Faculty of Arts at that time. His substantial body of work consists mainly of Aristotelian commentaries pertaining to nearly all books taught at the Paris Faculty of Arts. His interpretations on natural philosophy and especially his groundbreaking commentary on the Politics, shaped later readings of this text. Like all of the Paris scholars of arts in the late thirteenth century, Peter was strongly influenced by Thomas Aquinas’ interpretations of Aristotle. However, his own interpretations should be understood not only as expanding or continuing Thomas’ commentaries but as adding a particular accent of his own (Flüeler 1992; Galle 2003; Toste 2007). After more than two decades as a teacher in the Faculty of Arts, Peter secured a chair at the theological faculty. In the years that followed, his teaching duties led to the production of six Quodlibeta, which also found a wide audience.