Peter Lombard
Twelfth-century theologian whose Four Books of Sentences arranged the teaching of the Fathers by topic, from the Trinity to the sacraments. His list of seven sacraments is the one later defined by the Council of Trent.
Peter Lombard speaks of his purpose in the prologue of the Sentences. He compares his work to the poor widow’s offering to the treasury, says that he undertook it at the urging of studious brethren, and describes it as a short volume in four books that gathers the opinions of the Fathers so that a reader need not turn over many books (Peter Lombard, Sentences prologue).
In the fourth book he names seven sacraments of the new law: baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders and marriage (Peter Lombard, Sentences 4.2.1). The Council of Trent, in its seventh session, defined the same seven (Council of Trent Session 7, canon 1 on the sacraments in general).
In the timeline
- about 1150 to 1215, estimated dateThe Schools Become Universities
The schools of twelfth-century Paris grow into a self-governing body of masters and students, and an emperor’s law protects travelling scholars. Abelard, Gratian and Peter Lombard supply a method and books; kings and popes grant privileges.