Conrad Koellin (Latin, Conradus Koellin; 1476–1536) was a Dominican, professor of theology, and commentator on St. Thomas Aquinas.

Life

Conrad was born in Ulm in 1476. He entered the Dominican Order in 1492, and professed the following year. During his formative years he reports that he studied Capreolus. He entered the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

in 1500, and in 1507 became a master of theology, and commenced lectures on Thomas Aquinas. It was here that he wrote his line-by-line commentary on the ''Prima Secundae'' of Thomas's ''

Summa Theologica The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main th ...

''. On July 1, 1511, he took the position of master of theology at

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. In 1512, at the request of the factulies of both Heidelberg and Cologne, and with the permission of

Thomas Cajetan Thomas Cajetan (; 20 February 14699 August 1534), also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio or Thomas de Vio, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, cardinal (from 1517 until his death) and the Master of the Order of Preachers 1508 to 151 ...

—then Master General of the Order--, this commentary was published at Cologne under the title of ''Expositio Comentaria . . . in Primam Secundae etc.''. He was also part of the Catholic response to the Lutherans, publishing two long works against Lutheranism, and participating as part of the Imperial party at

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the '' ...

, where he was selected to help refute the Augsburg Confession. Of note, he also served as inquisitor in Mainz, Trier, and Cologne from 1528 until his death; he died in Cologne.

Influence

Cajetan himself acknowledge that he valued Koellin's work, while he was heavily cited by later Thomists, including Bellarmine, Banez, Suarez, Alvarez, Sylvius, John of St. Thomas, and the Salmanticenses. The reformers also called him a "distinguished Thomist." Hennessey says that he was, "probably the most important Catholic theologian in Germany at the time of the Reformation," while Janz more moderately says that he was, "the most important Thomas-commentator in Germany before Cajetan," and adds that under him, "the influence of Capreolus' ''Defensiones'' reached its high point in the Thomist school."

References

* Denis Janz. ''Luther and Late Medieval Thomism: A study in theological anthropology,'' Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1983, pp100–102. {{DEFAULTSORT:Koellin, Conrad 1476 births 1536 deaths German Dominicans 16th-century German Catholic theologians Thomists People from Ulm University of Cologne faculty Heidelberg University alumni Heidelberg University faculty German male non-fiction writers 16th-century German male writers