Consistory
Although the council probably ended on 1 April, Eugene asked a number of attendees to stay after the formal close of the council to consider the case of Gilbert of Poitiers, who was under investigation for heresy, connected with his teachings. The main concern against Gilbert seems to have been his convoluted vocabulary and style of writing, which led to his writings being easily misunderstood. The specific problem came when Gilbert's writings attempted to explicate the relationship between God and his "divinity", which led to his opponents claiming that Gilbert was attempting to create two Gods, rather than just one. His opponents claimed that this occurred in Gilbert's treatise on Boethius' theological work De Trinitate.
Gilbert had previously been investigated by Eugene at Paris in April 1147, but this hearing came to nothing for two reasons. One was that Gilbert's opponents were not unified in what they opposed in Gilbert's teachings. The second reason was that no one had a copy of the treatise on Boethius by Gilbert that was in dispute. Prior to the second hearing at Reims, Bernard of Clairvaux, who was opposed to Gilbert's teachings, held a private meeting with a number of the attendees, where Bernard attempted to pressure them to condemn Gilbert. This offended the various cardinals in attendance, who then proceeded to insist that they were the only persons who could judge the case.
Although connected with the council, Gilbert was tried after the council closed, at a consistory held in the Archbishop of Reims' chambers. A consistory was a specialized form of trial held to investigate questionable theological teachings, and was beginning to be used for this purpose in this period. The consistory lasted two days, and included John of Salisbury, who had previously been a student of Gilbert's, but was now in Eugene's service. The trial likely took place on 2–3 April 1148, as it lasted took two days, and most accounts state that it took place during the week before Palm Sunday, which was 4 April that year. As the consistory took place after the closing of the council on 1 April, that only allows 2 and 3 April for the trial. However, if the council closed earlier than 1 April, then the trial could have taken place on 29–30 March 1148. In the end, no verdict of heresy was placed against Gilbert, who remained Bishop of Poitiers until his death in 1154.
Besides Bernard, other ecclesiastics in opposition to Gilbert were Robert of Melun and Peter the Lombard. Robert was a teacher at both Paris and Melun, and later became Bishop of Hereford. Another opponent was Otto of Freising, who was unable to attend the trial.
No official records of the trial were kept, which led to considerable confusion in the future.
Read more about this topic: Council Of Reims (1148)