RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Peters Petersen
At first a free gift, Peter's pence later became a legal duty,- so that Gregory VII. could use it as a basis for his claim to the full dependence of England as a vassal of the Holy See. The bishops were required to attend to the collection of Peter's pence, but delegated their task to the archdeacons; and Alexander III. expressly forbade the use of stern measures in raising the money. The clergy, however, frequently tried to free themselves from their duty, and the archdeacons often sent an insufficient amount to Rome. The whole tribute, from the middle of the twelfth century on, seems to have been fixed at 299 marks in silver. The later English kings, however, refused payment of this tax, and finally it was annulled by an act of Parliament on July 9, 1533.
Attempts were made with varying success to introduce this custom into other countries. It is found in Denmark as early as the eleventh century (though it seems to have been paid only irregularly after the fifteenth century), and about the same time in Poland. The connection between Poland and Prussia through the supremacy of the Teutonic Knights gave John XXII. an excuse to demand Peter's pence from Prussia, but the payment was resisted and never became general. It was introduced into Sweden in 1 152 by Nicholas Breakspear, afterward Hadrian IV., and from there the custom spread to Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. Gregory VII. tried to introduce it into France in 1081, basing his appeal on ancient customs, but he was as unsuccessful here as in his similar attempt in Spain. With the sixteenth century the payment of Peter's pence was abandoned. It did not, however, end altogether with the Reformation, for a Lutheranizing bishop in Iceland, Gissurus of Skaholt, continued to collect it in 1539-48, apparently without sending it to Rome.
The modern Peter's pence has nothing in common with the ancient system except the name. It originated in 1860 as a free-will offering to the pope, a kind of compensation for the loss of his territories. It was introduced first in Vienna, whence it spread to Ireland, Germany, and other parts of the Roman Catholic world. The amount is so considerable that it enabled Pius IX. to reject the offer of the Italian government of a yearly pension of 3,500,000 francs. In 1861-68 it is supposed to have amounted to 71,000,000 francs, and during the later years of the pontificate of Pius it was estimated at from 20,- 000,000 to 25,000,000 francs. No exact records are kept, or at least published. During the pontificate of Leo XIII. the sum produced by this contribution fell considerably, so that in 1901 it was said to have amounted only to about 2,300,000 francs.
(O. ZoCKLERf.) Bibliography: P. Fabre, Recherches sur le denier de Saint Pierre en Angleterre au moyen-dge, Paris, 1892; L. Thomassin, Vetus et nova ecclesiw disciplina, III., 1. 1, chap, xxxii., 3 vols., Paris, 1728; L. A. Muratori, Antiquitates Italicce, v. 851 sqq., 6 vols., Milan, 1723-51; L. T. Spittler, Von der ehemaligen Zinsbarkeit der nordischen Reiche an den papstlichen Stuhl, Hanover, 1797; F. Hurter, Geschichte Innocenz III., iii. 121-122, 134-135, Hamburg, 1836-42; William of Malmesbury, De gestis regum Anglicorum, book ii., ed. T. D. Hardy, p. 152, London, 1840; R. W. Thompson, Papacy and the Civil Power, New York, 1877; P. Woker, Das kirchliche Finanzwesen der Papste, Nord-
lingen, 1878; C. Du Cange, Glossarium media! et infince latinitatis, ed. C. A. L. Henschel, iii. 62-63, Niort, 1883; A. M. von Steinle, Der Peterspfennig, Frankfort, 1893; O. Jensen, Der englische Peterspfennig und die Lehenssteuer aus England und Irland an den Papststuhl im Mittelalter, Heidelberg, 1903; Ranke, Popes, i. 11, 26; DC A, ii. 1628-29; the article of the French Assembly suppressing Peter's Pence is in Reich, Documents, p. 414.
PETERSEN, FREDRIK: Norwegian theologian; b. at Stavanger (190 m. w.s.w. of Christiania), Norway, Apr. 23, 1839; d. at Christiania Jan. 9, 1903. He studied theology at the University of Christiania (candidate in theology, 1863) and Berlin, and pursued postgraduate studies in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark (1866-68); was university stipendiary in Christiania (1868-72); ordained (1873); and professor of theology at the University of Christiania (1873-1902). He was very popular with the students, knowing how to enlist their sympathies for the researches of a modern-conservative theology, though he was unjustly blamed for the liberal thinking now existing in the University of Christiania. He was neither a disciple of any school, nor did he create a school. His position was that of a progressive conservative eclectic, combining scientific method with Christian piety. His efforts at reconstructing the doctrine of inspiration, of the atonement, and of the theory of restitution are notable. As a youth he had been attracted to the writings of the Danish philosopher S. Kierkegaard, and his first theological production was a study of Kierkegaard, Dr. Soren Kierkegaards Christendoms forkyndelse (1877). Though he protested against Kierkegaard's dualism respecting faith and thought, he agreed with him in holding that faith is independent, and regarded the objects of faith as mysteries which, independent of anything else, possess the ability of creating certainty. Petersen became a circumspect but enthusiastic apologist, on the basis of positive Christianity. His two leading apologetic works are Om Skabelsen, Opholdelsen og Styrelsen, vol. i., Forskningen (1883), vol. ii., Theologien (1885), revised ed., Forskningen og den Kristelige Tro (1886); and Fritankerne og Kristentroens moralske Vdrd (1891). Of his lesser works may be mentioned Hvorfor jeg tror pact Jesus Kristus, indicating a development from a hearsay belief passing through doubt over to independent faith in Christ. Of the larger works, just mentioned, the first deals with materialism in its opposition to the Christian conception of creation and preservation; the second treats of the attitude of evolution to revelation and the atonement. Petersen's knowledge of the various schools of thought, combined with his effort to harmonize faith and belief, arrested the attention of a wide circle of readers. He did not escape the criticism of the old-orthodox party, nor of liberal theology and infidelity. John O. Evjen.
PETERSEN, JOHANN WILHELM: German Lutheran, mystic, and chiliast; b. at Osnabriick (74 m. w.s.w. of Hanover) June 1, 1649; d. near Zerbst (22 m. s.e. of Magdeburg) Jan. 31, 1727. He was educated at the universities of Giessen (1669- 1671) and Rostock (1671-72), and was then adjunct in the philosophical faculty at the latter institution in 1672-74. Receiving a stipend from the Lubeck council in recognition of his attainments, he was
Petersen