Hugh of Saint-Cher

Hugh of Saint-Cher (born c. 1200, Saint-Cher, France—died March 19, 1263, Orvieto, Papal States [now in Italy]) was a French cardinal and biblical commentator best known for his work in correcting and indexing the Latin version of the Bible.

Hugh was lecturer in philosophy, theology, and canon law at the University of Paris when he became a Dominican in 1226. In 1230 he became master of theology in Paris. He twice served as provincial of his order in France (1227–30; 1236–44) and was vicar-general (1240–41); his leadership contributed largely to the Dominicans’ prosperity. He won the confidence of the popes Gregory IX, Innocent IV, and Alexander IV, and in 1244 he was made a cardinal. He played an important part in the Council of Lyon (1245), contributed to the institution of the Feast of Corpus Christi, and helped revise the Carmelite rule (1247). In 1255 Hugh was charged with the examination of the Introductorius in Evangelium aeternum of Gherardino del Borgo San Donnino, an exposition on the teachings of Joachim of Fiore, and in 1256 he examined William of Saint-Amour’s De periculis novissimorum temporum (“On the Dangers of Recent Times”), a condemnation of the mendicant orders. Both authors were condemned.

From 1256 to 1263 he directed the first revision, or Correctorium, of the Vulgate, begun in 1236 by the Dominicans. This Correctorium, which attracted vigorous criticism from Roger Bacon, after several revisions formed the basis of the celebrated Correctorium Sorbonicum. He started the first concordance of the Latin Bible—generally known as Concordantiae Sancti Jacobi, from the name of the Dominican house in Paris—and wrote numerous Postillae, or commentaries, on the Bible. His Sermones de tempore et sanctis are apparently only extracts. An eight-volume collection of his exegetical works was published in Venice in 1754.