Peter Cantor

Who was Peter Cantor?

Peter Cantor was a French Roman Catholic theologian. He received his education at Rheims, and later moved on to Paris, where, in 1183, he became Chanter at Notre Dame. He was elected dean at Rheims in 1196, but died in the following year in the abbey of Longpont, some time after 29 January 1197. He commented on Old Testament and New Testament books. His work on the sacrament of penance is especially noteworthy. His work reflects Scholastic perspectives.

Medievalist Jacques Le Goff cites Cantor when locating the "birth of purgatory" in the 12th century, based on Cantor's use of the term purgatorium as a noun in 1170.