Peter IV Spanish Pedro known as Peter the Cruel (b. Sept. 5, 1319, or Sept. 15, 1317, Balaguer, Catalonia—d. Jan. 5, 1387, Barcelona) King of Aragon (1336-87). He took the Balearic Islands and Roussillon from Majorca (1343-44), defeated the Aragonese nobles (1348), and became duke of Athens and Neopatras (1380). He waged war against Castile (1356-66) but failed to gain any territory; after 1369 France favoured Castile over Aragon. Peter tried to maintain neutrality in the Hundred Years' War, and he quarreled with his heir, the future John I, who became the tool of French intrigues.
Peter, Saint See Saint Peter the Apostle
Peter Damian Vda-me-3n\, Saint (b. 1007, Ravenna—d. Feb. 22, 1072, Faenze; feast day February 21) Italian cardinal and Doctor of the Church. He was prior of Fonte Avellana in the Apennines before being named a cardinal in 1057. A leading monastic reformer and ascetic, he played an important role in the promotion of apostolic poverty and in sup¬ port of papal reformers who sought to enforce clerical celibacy and abolish simony. He defended Pope Alexander II against the antipope Honorius II and reconciled Alexander with the city of Ravenna. He was also sent as a papal legate to resolve disputes in Milan and Cluny, Burgundy, and he played a key role in the formulation of the papal election decree of 1059.
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Peter Lombard ► petition I 1481
Peter Lombard (b. c. 1100, Novara, Lombardy—d. Aug. 21/22, 1160, Paris) French bishop and theologian. He studied in Bologna and taught the¬ ology in the school of Notre-Dame, Paris. He was consecrated bishop of Paris in 1159. His Four Books of Sentences (1148-51), a systematic col¬ lection of teachings of the Church Fathers and opinions of medieval theo¬ logians, served as the standard theological text of the Middle Ages. In it Peter touched on every doctrinal issue, from God and the Trinity to the four “last things” (death, judgment, hell, and heaven). He asserted that sacra¬ ments are the cause and not merely the signal of grace and that human actions may be judged good or bad according to their cause and intention.
Peter the Apostle, Saint orig. Simon (d. c. ad 64, Rome) Disciple of Jesus, recognized as the leader of the Twelve Apostles. Jesus called him Cephas (Aramaic for “Rock”; rendered in Greek as “Petros”) and said “Upon this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). When Jesus was arrested, according to the biblical account, Peter denied him three times, as Jesus had foretold. Accounts of Peter’s life and ministry rely on the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the epistles of Peter, and the epistles of St. Paul. Peter worked with Paul in Antioch and later carried on missionary work in Asia Minor. According to tradition, he eventually went to Rome, where he suffered martyrdom by being crucified upside down. Saint Peter's Basilica is said to have been built on the site of his grave in Rome. In Roman Catholicism he is regarded as the first in the unbroken succession of popes. Jesus’ promise to give him the “keys of the kingdom” led to the popular perception of Peter as the gatekeeper of heaven. The Roman Catholic church celebrates five feast days in honour of Peter, and in each the name of Paul is associated.
Peter the Cruel See Peter IV
Peter the Great See Peter I (Russia), Peter III (Aragon)
Peter the Great Bay Inlet, Sea of Japan (East Sea), northwestern Pacific Ocean, in extreme southeastern Russia. It extends for 115 mi (185 km) from the mouth of the Tumen River northeast across to Cape Povorotny. The bay reaches inland for 55 mi (88 km) and contains the port of Vladi¬ vostok. The bay freezes from early December to mid-April.
Peter the Hermit (b. c. 1050, probably Amiens—d. July 8, 1115, Huy, Flanders) French ascetic and one of the most important preachers of the First Crusade. A charismatic ascetic, he preached widely in Europe in sup¬ port of the First Crusade and led his enthusiastic followers to Constan¬ tinople in 1096. They advanced to Nicomedia, but Peter was unable to maintain discipline; he returned to Constantinople to ask for help from Alexius I, and in his absence his army was annihilated by the Turks. Peter reached Jerusalem in 1099 and afterwards returned to France, where he became prior of an Augustinian monastery.
Peter the Venerable (b. c. 1092, Montboissier, Auvergne, Arles—d. Dec. 25, 1156, Cluny, Burgundy) French abbot of Cluny (from 1122). He joined Bernard de Clairvaux in supporting Pope Innocent II and weakened the position of the antipope Anacletus II. He befriended Peter Abelard and reconciled him to Bernard and the pope. Peter’s reforms restored Cluny to its prominence among the religious establishments of Europe. He also wrote numerous letters and treatises against heresy, the Jews, and the Muslims and commissioned the first Latin translation of the Qur’an.
Peterhof See Petrodvorets
Peterloo Massacre (Aug. 16,1819) Brutal dispersal of a meeting held on St. Peter’s Fields in Manchester, Eng. Called to protest unemployment and high food prices and demand parliamentary reform, the meeting drew about 60,000 people, including many women and children. Alarmed by its size, city officials ordered the city’s volunteer cavalry to arrest the speakers. The untrained cavalry also attacked the peaceable crowd with sabres, and professional soldiers were sent to join the attack. After a 10-minute rout, about 500 people lay injured and 11 were dead. The inci¬ dent (likened to Waterloo) came to symbolize Tory tyranny.
Peters, Carl (b. Sept. 27, 1856, Neuhaus an der Elbe, Hanover—d. Sept. 10, 1918, Bad Harzburg, Ger.) German explorer and colonizer in East Africa. After studying British principles of colonization, he founded the Society for German Colonization (1884) and made treaties with chiefs in East Africa to cede their territories to him. He helped establish the Ger¬ man East African protectorate of Tanganyika and formed the German East Africa Company in 1885. He served as imperial high commissioner for Kilimanjaro (1891—97) and explored the Zambezi River (1899-1901), where he discovered relics of ancient cities and gold mines.
Peter's Pence In medieval England, an annual tax of a penny paid by landowners to the papal treasury in Rome. Peter’s Pence was instituted during the 7th or 8th century and continued until the 16th century. It also existed in several northern European kingdoms.
Petersburg Campaign (1864-65) Series of military operations in southern Virginia at the end of the American Civil War. The rail centre of Petersburg, Va., was a strategic defense point near the Confederate capi¬ tal of Richmond. In June 1864 the Union army began a siege of both cit¬ ies, and each side built fortifications 35 mi (56 km) long. Confederate troops under Robert E. Lee held the cities, but supplies were scarce and Lee’s 50,000 troops were immobilized by lack of horses. In April 1865 the 120,000 Union troops under Ulysses S. Grant drove the Confederates behind Petersburg’s inner defenses, forcing the evacuation of both cities. Soon thereafter the Confederates surrendered at Appomattox Court House.
Peterson, Oscar (Emmanuel) (b. Aug. 15, 1925, Montreal, Que., Can.) Canadian jazz pianist and composer. Peterson grew up in Montreal and studied classical piano. His jazz playing, influenced by Art Tatum and Nat King Cole, is characterized by cascades of notes and an effervescent swing. After his Carnegie Hall debut in 1949 he became one of the busi¬ est pianists in jazz, in demand as an accompanist, solo pianist, and leader of his own trio. An outstanding, extroverted improviser and sensitive accompanist, Peterson demonstrates in his performance his roots in swing as well as bebop.