the followers of Peter Lombard (q.v.), whose four Books of Sentences, on their appearance in 1162, at once acquired such authority that all the doctors began to expound them. They brought all the doctrines of faith, as well as the principles and precepts of practical religion, under the dominion of philosophy. They were held in the highest estimation, and attracted great numbers of eager listeners, which state of things continued down to the time of the Reformation. See Gardner, Faiths of the World, s.v.