Gerard_of_Abbeville
Gerard of Abbeville (1220-1272) was a theologian from the University of Paris. He formally became a theologian in 1257 and from then was known as an opponent of the mendicant orders,[1] particularly in the second stage of the conflict,[2] taking part in a concerted attack that temporarily affected their privileges.[3]
His Contra adversarium perfectionis christianae of c. 1269, in support of William of St Amour, argued that extreme emphasis on poverty contradicted the Aristotelian doctrine of the mean[4] and undermined the basis of pastoral work.[5] It provoked replies from Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure.[6] From the Franciscan side, Bonaventure wrote Apologia pauperum, and John Peckham wrote his Tractatus pauperis.[7] The Dominican Aquinas wrote his case on the "state of perfection" in De Perfectione Vitae Spiritualis contra Doctrinam Retrahentium a Religione (1270).[8]
On trinitarian theology, however, Gerard was much closer to the emerging Franciscan view.[9] With Aquinas, he was one of the developers of the quodlibet genre of open philosophical discussion, flourishing for about a century from his time.[10] His polemics used a combination of quodlibets and sermons.[11]
He was a major benefactor to the Sorbonne library, leaving it around 300 books and manuscripts;[12] his collection was based on that of Richard de Fournival, outstanding in Europe in his time.[13]