Peter the Venerable, Butcher of God
Peter the Venerable, Butcher of God
This chapter presents a new interpretation of the polemical career of Peter the Venerable. Some scholars have attributed coherence to Peter’s writings against heretics, Jews, and Muslims, and have portrayed him as a sympathetic figure whose “tolerant” views toward Islam signalled modern sensibilities. In contrast, the chapter contends that Peter’s work regarding the Muslims differed significantly from his other treatises for two reasons. First, unlike his writings against heretics and Jews, Peter’s pastoral approach toward Islam had no precedent in the Latin language. Second, his application of reason to his arguments was not of a tolerant man. Peter only turned to words in his confrontation against Muslims when the weapons of the crusaders had proven to be ineffective against them.
Keywords: Peter the Venerable, heretics, Jews, Muslims, Islam, crusaders
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