Peter of Blois

Peter of Blois or Petrus Blesensis (c. 1135 – c. 1203) was a French poet and diplomat who wrote in Latin. Peter studied law in Bologna and theology in Paris. It was probably during his student years that he composed a number of Latin sequences after the manner of the Goliards, some of which were preserved in the "Carmina Burana" collection.

Peter went with Stephen du Perche and Walter of the Mill to Sicily in 1166 and there became the tutor to King William II in 1167. He was one of the few Frenchmen to survive the tumult of Stephen's years as chancellor of Sicily. Around 1173, he went to England, where he served Henry II and successive archbishops of Canterbury as a Latin secretary. He later served as Latin secretary to Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry's widow. Many of his letters still survive. He is incorrectly associated with Pseudo-Ingulf's "Croyland Chronicle".

External links

* [http://www.leeds.ac.uk/history/weblearning/MedievalHistoryTextCentre/Peter%20of%20Blois.doc Some Letters of Peter of Blois concerning Sicily]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11765a.htm Catholic Encyclopaedia article]
* [http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/p/petrus_v_blo.shtml BBKL article (German language)]