Thomas of Chobham

Who was Thomas of Chobham?

Thomas of Chobham, English theologian and subdean of Salisbury, was born c. 1160, presumably in Chobham, Surrey, England, and died between 1233 and 1236 in Salisbury, England.

Thomas Chobham studied in Paris in the 1180s, likely under Peter the Chanter. He is best known for his influential work on penance which combines Canon law, theology, and practical advice for confessors. It is known by many titles, and there has been much confusion over both author and incipit, which is often related as Cum miseratione domini. More fully and correctly, this should be "Cum miserationes domini sint super omnia". The title is based on Psalm 144:9.

Flacius Illyricus, for example, in his entry on Thomas Aquinas in his Catalogus Testium Veritatis 1556, considers this work to be by Aquinas and gives the incipit: "Commiserationes Domini sunt super omnia".