PETER
765
PETER
dedicating it to the pope. It caused a great stir
and aroused not a little enmity against its author.
Even the pope, who had at first praised the work,
was persuaded that it was exaggerated and his cold-
ness drew from Damian a vigorous letter of protest.
Meanwhile the question arose as to the validity of the
ordinations of simoniacal clerics. The prior of Fonte-
Avellana was appealed to and wrote (about 10.53) a
treatise, the "Liber Gratissimus", in favour of their
validity, a work which, though much combatted at
the time, was potent in deciding the question in their
favour before the end of the twelfth century. In June,
1055, during the pontificate of Victor II (q. v.),
Damian attended a synod held at Florence, where
simony and clerical incontinence were once more con-
demned. About two years later he fell ill at Fonte-
Avellana and nearly died, but suddenly, after seven
weeks of pain, recovered, as he believed, through a
miracle.
During his illness the pope died, and Frederic, abbot of Monte Cassino, was elected as Stephen X. In the autumn of 1057, Stephen X determined to create Damian a cardinal. For a long time he resisted the offer, but was finally forced, under threat of excom- munication, to accept, and was consecrated Cardinal- Bishop of Ostia on 30 Nov., 1057. In addition he was appointed administrator of the Diocese of Gubbio. The new cardinal was impressed with the great re- sponsibilities of his office and wrote a stirring letter to his brother-cardinals, exhorting them to shine by their example before all. Four months later Pope Stephen died at Florence and the Church was once more distracted by schism. The Cardinal of Ostia was vigorous in his opposition to the antipope Bene- dict X, but force was on the side of the intruder and Damian retired to Fonte-Avellana. (See NiCHO- L.\s II; Gregory VII.)
About the end of the year 1059 Peter was sent as legate to Milan by Nicholas II. The Church at Milan had been, for some time, the prey of simony and incontinence. So bad was the state of things, that benefices were openly bought and sold and the clergy publicly "married" the women they lived with. But the faithful of Milan, led by St. Ariald the Deacon and St. Anselm, Bishop of Lucca, strove hard to remedy these evils. At length the contest between the two parties became so bitter that an appeal was made to the Holy See to decide the matter. Nicholas II sent Damian and the Bishop of Lucca as his legates. But now the party of the irregular clerics took alarm and raised the cry that Rome had no authority over Milan. At once Peter took action. Boldly con- fronting the rioters in the cathedral, he proved to them the authority of the Holy See with such effect that all parties submitted to his decision. He exacted first a solemn oath from the archbishop and all his clergy that for the future no preferment should be paid for; then, imposing a penance on all who had been guilty, he re-instated in their benefices all who under- took to live continently. This prudent decision was attacked by some of the rigourists at Rome, but was not reversed. Unfortunately, on the death of Nicho- las II, the same disputes broke out; nor were they finally settled till after the martyrdom of St. Ariald in 1066. Meanwhile Peter was in vain pleading to be rcleasefl from the cares of his office. Neither Nicholas II nor Hildebrand would consent to spare him.
In July, 1061, the pope died and once more a schism ensued. Damian used all his powers to persuade the antipope Cadalous (q. v.) to withdraw, but to no pur- pose. Finally Hanno, the Regent of Germany, sum- moned a council at Augsburg at which along argument by St. Peter Damian was read and greatly contributed to the decision in favour of Alexander II (q. v.). In 1063 the pope held a synod at Rome, at which Damian was appointed as legate to settle the dispute between the Abbey of Cluny and the Bishop of Macon. He
proceeded to France, summoned a council at Chalon-
sur-Saone, proved the justice of the contentions of
Cluny, settled other questions at issue in the Church
of France, and returned in the autumn to Fonte-Avel-
lana. While he was in France the antipope Cadalous
had again become active in his attempts to gain
Rome, and Damian brought upon himself a sharp re-
proof from Alexander and Hildebrand for twice im-
prudently appealing to the royal power to judge the
case anew. In 1067 the cardinal was sent to Florence
to settle the dispute between the bishop and the monks
of Vallombrosa, who accused the former of simony.
His efforts, however, were not successful, largely be-
cause he misjudged the case and threw the weight of
his authority on the side of the bishop. The matter
was not settled till the following year by the pope in
person. In 1069 Damian went as the pope's legate to
Germany to prevent King Henry from repudiating his
wife Bertha. This task he accomplished at a council
at Frankfort and returned to Fonte-Avellana, where
he was left in peace for two years.
Early in 1072 he was sent to Ravenna to reconcile its inhabitants to the Holy See, they having been ex- communicated for supporting their archbishop in his adhesion to the schism of Cadalous. On his return thence he was seized with fever near Faenza. He lay ill for a week at the monastery of Santa Maria degl' Angeli, now Santa Maria Vecchia. On the night pre- ceding the feast of the Chair of St. Peter at Antioch, he ordered the office of that feast to be recited and at the end of Lauds he died. He was at once buried in the monastery church, lest others should claim his relics. Six times has his body been translated, each time to a more splendid resting-place. It now lies in a chapel dedicated to the saint in the cathedral of Fa- enza in 1898. No formal ruimnization ever took place, but his cultus has existed .since his death at Faenza, at Fonte-Avellana, at Monte Ca.ssino, and at Cluny. In 1823 Leo XII extended his feast (23 Feb.) to the whole Church and pronounced him a Doctor of the Church. The saint is represented in art as a cardinal bearing a discipline in his hand; also sometimes he is depicted as a pilgrim holding a papal Bull, to signify his many legations.
Ada SS. Boll., Ill, Feb. (Venice, 1736), 406-27; Biron, St. Pierre Damien, 1007-72 (Paris, 1908) ; Capecelatro, Storia di San Pier Damiano (Rome, 1887); Kleinermanns, Der heilige Pelrus Damiani (Steyl. 1882); Ladekchi. Vita S. Petri Damiani (3 vols., Rome, 1702); Mabillon. Acta SS. O.S.B., SsBC. VI, P. ii (Venice, 1733), 253-273; Martin, Saint Leon IX, 1002-ei (Paris, 1904); Migne, Diclionnaire de PMrnloriie. V (Paris, 1864), 959-1000; P. L., CXUV. CXI V 'P-iri. isr,7); MiTTARELLi ET CosTADONi, Annates Cam'rl !l \-uice,
1756), 40-359; Neukirch, Dan Leben dcx I'. /' ; . . .
hi-tzuT . . . 1059 (Gottingen, 1875); Pfolk, /' .; .7 mit
Hildebrand in Stimmen aus Maria-Laach, Xl.l ,l.^',ll,. .'^1 307, 400-416. 608-525; Roth, Der heilioe Pelrus Damiani, O.S.B., in Studien 0. S. B.. VII (1886). i, 110-134; ii, 357-374; iii, 43-66; iv, 321-336; VIII (1887), i, 56-64; ii, 210-216.
Leslie A. St. L. Toke.
Peter de Blois, statesman and theologian, b. at Blois about 1 130; d. about 1203. He appears to have first studied at Tours, and was, iierhajis, the disciple of Jean de Salisbury, who taught in I':ais fmm 1 140 to 11.50; he studied law in Bologna, and theology in Paris, where he taught the liberal arts. In 1167 Count Ste- phen du Perche brought him to Sicily (1167). Here he became preceptor of the king, guardian of the royal seal, and one of the queen's principal counsellors. But the favouritism shown the foreigner excited the jealousy of the nobles and he was obliged to leave Sicily (1169). After several years in France, he went to England, where he became one of Henry IPs dip- lomatic agents and was charged with negotiations with the pope and the King of France. In 1176 he became chancellor of the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archdeacon of Bath. He l)ccame entangled in the disputes between the archbishop and the monks of his diocese and, in this connexion, was sent to Rome in 1177, and to Verona in 1187, on diplomatic
