Peter of Blois - Definition and Overview

Peter of Blois (1135 (?) - 1203 (?)) was a French poet and diplomat who wrote in Latin.

Peter of Blois studied law and theology at the Sorbonne. It was probably during his student years that he composed a number of Latin sequences after the manner of the Goliards, some of which were preserved in the Carmina Burana collection.

Peter became the tutor to King William II of Sicily in 1167. In around 1173 he went to England, where he served Henry II and Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, as a Latin secretary. He later served as Latin secretary to Eleanor of Aquitaine, Henry's widow. Many of his letters still survive.