William Perault, (c. 1190 – 1271), also spelled Perauld; Latinized Peraldus or Peraltus, was a Dominican writer and preacher.

Life

He was born at Peyraud,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He studied at the Sorbonne University of Paris, and there, being drawn to the religious life by the preaching perhaps of

Jordan of Saxony Jordan of Saxony, (referred to in Latin as Jordanis, also known as de Alamania; c. 1190 – 1237), was one of the first leaders of the Dominican Order. His feast day is February 13. Life Jordan belonged to the noble German family of the Cou ...

, he was received into the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of ...

. It is thought that Perault was somewhat advanced in years when he embraced the religious state, although the precise date of his entrance into it is also unknown. He entered the order at

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, but was destined, according to a custom then existing, for the convent at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

s. At Lyons, where he passed his life, at once contemplative and active, he rendered service to the Church by the brilliancy of his writings and preaching and by the charm and splendour of his virtues. His part in ecclesiastical affairs was for a time also very important. For fully ten years he performed all the episcopal functions of the Church of Lyons, having been chosen for this work during the vacancy of the see by

Philip I, Count of Savoy Philip I (1207 – 16 August 1285) was Count of Savoy from 1268 to 1285. Before this, he was Bishop of Valence (1241–1267) and Archbishop of Lyon (1245–1267). Ecclesiastical career Philip was born in Aiguebelle, Savoy, as the eighth and la ...

who, although not in Holy orders, bore the title of

Archbishop of Lyon The Archdiocese of Lyon (Latin: ''Archidiœcesis Lugdunensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lyon''), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archbishops o ...

from 1245 to 1267. Because of Perault's long labours in ministering to the needs of the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

, he himself came to be known as the Bishop or Archbishop of Lyon. This error was further emphasized by the title of bishop which a later hand added to many of his writings. Authors such as Gerson, Père Alexandre,

Jacques Échard Jacques Échard (22 September 1644, in Rouen – 15 March 1724, in Paris) was a French Dominican and historian of the order. As the son of a wealthy official of the king he received a thorough classical and secular education. He entered the Domin ...

, and

Hurter The von Hurter family belonged to the Swiss nobility; in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries three of them were known for their conversions to Roman Catholicism, their ecclesiastical careers in Austria and their theological writings. Friedr ...

say that William Perault was never Archbishop of Lyons, as the ''

Gallia christiana The ''Gallia Christiana'', a type of work of which there have been several editions, is a documentary catalogue or list, with brief historical notices, of all the Catholic dioceses and abbeys of France from the earliest times, also of their occupan ...

'' asserts,

Dupin Dupin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * André Marie Jean Jacques Dupin (1783–1865), French advocate * C. Auguste Dupin, a fictional detective * Charles Dupin (1784–1873), French Catholic mathematician * Jacques Du ...

is not justified in saying that he was never more than a religious of the Order of Preachers (cf.

Antoine Touron Antoine Touron (5 September 1686 – 2 September 1775) was a French Dominican biographer and historian. He was born at Graulhet, Tarn, France, the son of a merchant, and seems to have joined the Dominicans at an early age. After the completion o ...

, ''Hist. des hommes illust.,'' 1, l.2, 184). Known and reverenced far and wide for singular gifts of nature and grace, he was a man truly powerful in word and work-well deserving the triple title given him by all, of monk, doctor, and apostle. He died at Lyons.

Writings

His most important works are: *''Summa de virtutibus et vitiis'' (Cologne, 1497, 1618, 1629; Venice, 1492, 1497; Rome, 1557; Lyons, 1668) *''Sermones de tempore et de sanctis,'' which appeared under the name of William III of Paris (Paris, 1494; Cologne, 1629) *''De eruditione seu de institutione religiosorum'' (Paris, 1512; Louvain, 1575; Lyons, 1585) *''De regimine principum,'' which, as in the Roman edition of 1570, was attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas and of which, in fact, St. Thomas wrote a part: "Speculum religiosorum seu institutionum vitae spiritualis", which appeared under the name of Humbert de Romans, Master-General of the Order of Preachers.

References

External links

Guillelmus Peraldus
in Bibliotheca Augustana
Lewis E 166 Summa de virtutibus (Treatise on the virtues); Summa vitiorum (Treatise on the vices) at OPenn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perault, William French Dominicans University of Paris alumni 1190 births 1271 deaths 13th-century Latin writers 13th-century French writers