Peter Cantor (died 1197) was a French Roman Catholic theologian.
He received his education at Rheims, and later moved on to Paris, where, in 1183, he became Chanter

Cantor (church)

A cantor is the chief singer employed in a church with responsibilities for the ecclesiastical choir; also called the precentor....

 (hence his name) at Notre Dame. He was elected dean at Rheims in 1196, but died in the following year in the abbey of Longpont

Longpont

Longpont is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-See also:*Longpont Abbey*List of medieval bridges in France*Communes of the Aisne department...

, some time after 29 January 1197.
He commented on Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 and New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

 books. His work on the sacrament

Sacrament

A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...

 of penance

Penance

Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...

 is especially noteworthy. His work reflects Scholastic

Scholasticism

Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...

 perspectives.

Medievalist Jacques Le Goff

Jacques Le Goff

Jacques Le Goff is a prolific French historian specializing in the Middle Ages, particularly the 12th and 13th centuries....

 cites Cantor when locating the "birth of purgatory

Purgatory

Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...

" in the 12th century, based on Cantor's use of the term purgatorium as a noun in 1170.