Master at Chartres in 1114 under Bishop Ivo, he became chancellor in 1119. His teaching was mainly on the language arts (grammar, rhetoric and dialectic), explanations of classical authors and neoplatonic philosophy. Glosses on Plato’s Timaeus are attributed to him. He died in 1124/1126, bequeathing his library to the cathedral school. His students include William of Conches, Richard l’Evêque and Gilbert de la Porrée. John of Salisbury tells about some of his teachings, such as his maxim concerning the ancients:
“We are dwarfs perched on the shoulders of giants. We can see more and further than they did, not because our sight is superior, or because we are taller than they, but because we are raised up and borne on high by their giant stature.”