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