St Thomas Aquinas Essay Research Paper St

St. Thomas Aquinas Essay, Research Paper

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Thomas Aquinas was known as a saint, a doctor of

the church, and a man who made many contributions; not only

to Dante but to the entire period in which he lived, which

is known as the Middle Ages.

St. Thomas was born at Roccasecca, the family castle

near Naples, probably about 1225(Vann, 36). The precise

year of Thomas birth is uncertain(Waltz, 4). He was born

under the Italian sky to the county of Aquino and inherited

his distinguished name by his birthplace(Waltz, 1).

However, he later made the name more distinguished than

ever.

He was the youngest son of Landulf, Count of Aquino,

and Theodora, Countess of Teano. It was said that his

father was indeed a happy father and a valiant warrior and

also a diplomat, but above all he was the father of a fine

race (Waltz, 3). Thomas mother was known as a noblewoman

from Naples and was greatly praised for her piety(Waltz,3).

Thomas also had three known brothers; Aimo, Ronald, and

Landulf. More elders may have existed but it is hard to

distinguish those who were sons or brothers of

Landulf(Waltz, 4). Four or five sisters also existed;

Marotta, Theodora, Mary, the fourth is nameless since she

was struck by lightning as a child, and the fifth was

Adelsia(Waltz, 4).

Thomas family was related to the Emperors Henry VI and

Frederick II, and to the Kings of Aragon, Castile, and

France. Calo relates that a holy hermit foretold his career,

saying to Theodora before his birth: “He will enter the

Order of Friars Preachers, and so great will be his learning

and sanctity that in his day no one will be found to equal

him” (Prummer, op. cit., 18)-(Encyc.Brit.Online, 1).

At the age of five, Thomas went to the Abbey school of

the Benedictines of Monte Cassino. Diligent in study, he

was early noted as being meditative and devoted to

prayer, and his educator was surprised at hearing the child

ask frequently: “What is God(Encyc.Brit.Online, 1).” This

young question of Thomas is recognized by many of modern

literature and spiritual education. It is distinctive in the

biographies and recollections of St. Thomas Aquinas.

By about 1239 Thomas attended the University of Naples

while studying his literary studies in the Faculty of Arts.

He then entered the Order of Preachers in about 1243(Walz,

262). Some time between 1240 and August, 1243, he received

the habit of the Order of St. Dominic, being attracted and

directed by John of St. Julian, a noted preacher of the

convent of Naples. The city wondered that such a noble

young man should don the garb of poor friar(Encyc. Brit.

Online, 2). His mother, with mingled feelings of joy and

sorrow, hastened to Naples to see her son. The Dominicans,

fearing she would take him away, sent him to Rome, his

ultimate destination being Paris or Cologne. At the

exemplification of Theodora, Thomas’s brothers, who were

soldiers under the Emperor Frederick, captured the novice

near the town of Aquapendente and confined him in the

fortress of San Giovanni at Rocca Secca. Here he was

confined for nearly two years(Encyc. Brit. Online, 3).

The time spent in captivity was not lost. His mother

relented somewhat, after the first burst of anger and grief;

the Dominicans were allowed to provide him with new habits,

and through the kind offices of his sister he acquired some

books — the Holy Scriptures, Aristotle’s Metaphysics, and

the “Sentences” of Peter Lombard. After eighteen months or

two years spent in prison, he was set at liberty, being

lowered in a basket into the arms of the Dominicans, who

were delighted to find that during his captivity “he had

made as much progress as if he had been in a studium

generale” (Calo, op. cit., 24). Thomas immediately

pronounced his vows, and his superiors sent him to Rome.

John the Teutonic, fourth master general of the order, took

the young student to Paris and, according to the majority of

the saint’s biographers, to Cologne, where he arrived in

1244 or 1245, and was placed under Albertus Magnus, the most

renowned professor of the order (Prummer, op. cit.,

p.25)-(Encyc. Brit. Online, 3).

Thomas then interned in the castles of Montesangiovanni

and Roccasecca, which were of his own family, for two years.

For the next few years Thomas became a student at Cologne.

Here he studied Theology under Saint Albert the Great and

showed many signs of his future greatness in the world of

Theologian studies(Walz,41). A reference that incorporates

this period of Thomas s life is found in Dante s Paradiso:

Questo che m `e a destra pi`u vicino

Frate e maestro funni; ed esso Alberto

`E di Colonia, ed io Thomas d`Aquino.

interpret

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