Gerard of Abbeville was a theologian at the University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

, from 1257. He is known as an opponent of the mendicant orders

Mendicant Orders

The mendicant orders are religious orders which depend directly on the charity of the people for their livelihood. In principle, they do not own property, either individually or collectively , believing that this was the most pure way of life to copy followed by Jesus Christ, in order that all...

, taking part in a concerted attack that temporarily affected their privileges.

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, and undermined the basis of pastoral work. It provoked replies from Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

 and Bonaventure

Bonaventure

Saint Bonaventure, O.F.M., , born John of Fidanza , was an Italian medieval scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he was also a Cardinal Bishop of Albano. He was canonized on 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the...

. From the Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

 side, Bonaventure wrote Apologia pauperum, and John Peckham

John Peckham

John Peckham was Archbishop of Canterbury in the years 1279–1292. He was a native of Sussex who was educated at Lewes Priory and became a Franciscan friar about 1250. He studied at Paris under Bonaventure, where he later taught theology. From his teaching, he came into conflict with Thomas...

 his Tractatus pauperis. The Dominican

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

 Aquinas wrote his case on the "state of perfection" in De Perfectione Vitae Spiritualis contra Doctrinam Retrahentium a Religione (1270).

On trinitarian theology, however, Gerard was much closer to the emerging Franciscan view. With Aquinas, he was one of the developers of the quodlibet

Quodlibet

A quodlibet is a piece of music combining several different melodies, usually popular tunes, in counterpoint and often a light-hearted, humorous manner...

genre of open philosophical discussion, flourishing for about a century from his time. His polemics used a combination of quodlibets and sermons.

He was a major benefactor of the Sorbonne

Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...

 library, leaving it around 300 books and manuscripts; his collection was based on that of Richard de Fournival

Richard de Fournival

Richard de Fournival or Richart de Fornival was a medieval philosopher and trouvère perhaps best known for the Bestiaire d'amour .-Life:...

, outstanding in Europe of his time.

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