Peter Monoculus (died 29 October 1185) was a Cistercian monk who served as the abbot of Igny (1169–1179) and Clairvaux (1179–1185). Peter was born in Italy to a noble family. He was sent to France to be educated and there chose to enter the Cistercian order. He became a novice at Igny, where he rose to be prior. He was eventually elected abbot of . While he was abbot of Valroy he was struck by a serious disease that caused him the loss of one eye, hence his nickname, ''monoculus'', 'the one-eyed'. He also suffered a

fistula A fistula (plural: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin ''fistula'', "tube, pipe") in anatomy is an abnormal connection between two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other hollow or ...

that a surgeon deemed inoperable, but he survived. In 1169, he was elected abbot of Igny and returned his original monastery. In 1177, during a visitation of Igny, Abbot Gerard of Clairvaux was murdered by a monk named Hugh of Bazoches. Hugh had been sent to Igny by Gerard for poor behaviour. Rather than punish him, Peter had him put in the infirmary. That same year, he had been one of ten men recommended for a

cardinalate The College of Cardinals, or more formally the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. its current membership is , of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Cardinals are appoi ...

to Pope Alexander III. In 1179, Peter was elected abbot of Clairvaux. In 1180, he was conducting his visitation of Trois-Fontaines Abbey when Abbot Alard was murdered in the church by one of the monks. In 1185, he was invited to visit

Pope Lucius III Pope Lucius III (c. 1097 – 25 November 1185), born Ubaldo Allucingoli, reigned from 1 September 1181 to his death in 1185. Born of an aristocratic family of Lucca, prior to being elected pope, he had a long career as a papal diplomat. His pa ...

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

, where he took the pope's confession and gave him communion. He died at Clairvaux on 29 October 1185. His biography was written by his friend, the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

Thomas of Reuil. He includes many anecdotes indicating Peter's sanctity. He is today regarded as

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

and his reputed miracles are listed in the ''

Acta Sanctorum ''Acta Sanctorum'' (''Acts of the Saints'') is an encyclopedic text in 68 folio volumes of documents examining the lives of Christian saints, in essence a critical hagiography, which is organised according to each saint's feast day. The project w ...

''. His feast day is 18 May. Some of his stories were incorporated into the Old Icelandic ''

Maríu saga ''Maríu saga'' is an Old Norse-Icelandic biography of the Virgin Mary. Because of the wide range of sources used by its compiler and the way theological commentary has been interspersed with biography, the work is considered "unique within the con ...

'' under the heading "Af Pétro Clarevallensis".

Notes

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , last=Wolf , first=Kirsten , title=The Legends of the Saints in Old Norse-Icelandic Prose , year=2013 , publisher=University of Toronto Press 1185 deaths Abbots of Clairvaux Benedictine beatified people French beatified people 12th-century French clergy