into notice under the rule, first, it should seem, of Bernard,
and then of his brother Theodoric; and thenceforward,
down to near the middle of the twelfth century, it enjoyed
a peculiar distinction among the schools of France. The
names of the two brothers are taken bv P Otto of Freisiny;
as a typical instance to illustrate the dangerous nimbleness of Breton wits, a characteristic of which Abailard
furnished a still more striking example : ( i Abailard himself
adduces them (if it be really to them that he refers) in
proof of the perverse theological views that could be
maintained by persons holding the highest rank as
teachers. Unlike Abailard, however, neither came into
conflict with the ecclesiastical authorities.
Bernard and Theodoric were both canons and in turn ichancellors of the church of Chartres. The latter, though his activity lasted long beyond his brother s lifetime, may be mentioned first. John of Salisbury distinguishes him as s a most diligent investigator of the arts, expressly as a logician ; of his skill as a teacher of rhetoric, John u s p ea k s in less favourable terms. If we are to credit a x curious story, which may not be altogether without authority, it will appear that it was this same scholar who attempted to instruct Abailard in the rudiments of mathematics. Time, as he is here called (the name is already softening into Thierry), is again doubtless one with the Terric, y a master of the schools, who took part in Abailard s trial at SSoissons, and the z Theodoric of Chartres who was present many years later at that of Gilbert of La Porree at Rheims. a Midway between these two dates he appears as an eminent teacher at Paris. A single treatise, one on the six days 01 creation, represents for us Theodoric s literary production; and of this only a few extracts have been printed.[1] These suffice, however, to shew us how boldly he pushed the
- ↑ See Haureau, Hist do la Philos. scol. 1. 393-403 [and Notices et Extraits de quelques Manuscrits LatinsdelaBibliothequeNationale, 1. 51-69; 1890. On Theodoric’s unpublished Heptateuchon see A.. Clerval Les Ecoles de Chartres au moyen Age, pp. 172, 221 .qq. ; 1895].
