Peter of Blois

Peter of Blois (; French: Pierre de Blois; ) was a French cleric, theologian, poet and diplomat. He is particularly noted for his corpus of Latin letters. Early life and education Peter of Blois was born about 1130. Earlier opinion tended to place the date later in the 1130s, but an earlier date is now considered more likely. His family were minor nobility of Breton origin. After an early visit to Paris, Peter received his literary education at the school attached to Tours Cathedral in the early 1140s probably accompanied and mentored by an older namesake and relative, Pierre de Blois. He studied under Bernard Silvestris, who, he later recalled, urged him to “take up in truth not fables, but history” and made him memorise the letters of Hildebert, a former Archbishop of Tours. It has been thought Peter also studied under the English philosopher and theologian John of Salisbury, but this is now generally discounted.