Summa contra hereticos

Book excerpt: Peter of Verona is a critical bridge between the founding generation of the Dominican Order and its achievements in the schools of the late 13th century. A dynamic preacher and peacemaker, Peter was intimately involved in the anti-heretical efforts of his order and of the papacy. The Summa contra hereticos, here edited and translated for the first time, is a product of the initial flush of Dominican efforts in academic work, dating between 1235-1238. The introduction to this work attempts to establish Peter's authorship as strongly as possible. The text testifies to the efforts of the Church in defense of orthodoxy in the early 1200s, as well providing insight into the nature of the friars' intellectual project at that time. Fiercely polemical, it reads as if the author certainly had firsthand knowledge of the struggles. It represents a significant window into Dominican life between the early foundation and the work of Albert and Thomas.