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Thomas Aquinas's Years of Study
In the 1210s European scholasticism and mendicant studia rapidly took shape, laying the institutional and intellectual foundations for Thomas Aquinas…
Timeline
- 1215Paris · ParisIn the 1210s the Franciscans and Dominicans successively received Church approval and established studia in university towns such as Paris and Bologna, combining the preaching tradition with Aristotelian philosophy and theological disputation, forming the scholarly model inherited by Aquinas's generation.
- 1231–1239Monte Cassino · Monte CassinoThomas Aquinas was sent around 1231 to the Benedictine monastery school at Monte Cassino for elementary education in Latin, logic, and introductory theology; around 1239, due to political turmoil, he transferred to the University of Naples founded by Frederick II to continue his studies.
- 1239–1244Naples · NaplesAt the University of Naples Aquinas encountered Aristotelian philosophy and Arabic scholars' translations and was deeply attracted; around 1244, against his family's opposition, he joined the Dominican Order, beginning his advanced studies in scholastic theology, later completing doctoral studies and teaching in Paris.
Sources
- Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Person and His Work — Jean-Pierre Torrell (1996)
- The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy — Étienne Gilson (1991)