John Capreolus, in French Jean Capréolus and in Latin Johannes Capreolus (c. 1380 – 6 April 1444), was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

Dominican theologian and

Thomist Thomism is the philosophical and theological school which arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Thomas's disputed questions ...

. He is sometimes known as the ''Prince of the Thomists''. His ''Four Books of Defenses of the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas'' can be said to have sparked a revival in Thomism.

Life

Only scant details of his personal history are known. He was born and died in the

diocese of Rodez The Diocese of Rodez (–Vabres) (; French: ''Diocèse de Rodez (–Vabres)'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The episcopal see is in Rodez. The diocese corresponds exactly to the Departm ...

. He was a Dominican affiliated with the province of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, and a general chapter of his order at

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

in 1407 assigned him to lecture on '' The Sentences'' at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. He began in 1408 and achieved success. The following year he finished the first part of his defensive commentary on the theology of

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

. He passed examinations for degrees at the Sorbonne in 1411 and in 1415. After serving for some time as regent of studies at Toulouse, he repaired to Rodez where he laboured at his commentaries completing the three remaining parts in 1426, 1428 and 1433.

Works

In the preface of a compendium of Capreolus's work by Isidoro Isolani, it is stated that these manuscripts once narrowly escaped destruction by fire, a lay brother having saved them, to the joy of the author, who was then advanced in years. The same authority describes Capreolus as having a devotion to the

Blessed Virgin Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Capreolus's Scholastic writings defend Aquinas against critics including

Scotus The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on questions ...

Henry of Ghent Henry of Ghent ( 1217 – 29 June 1293), also known as Henricus de Gandavo and Henricus Gandavensis, was a scholastic philosopher who acquired the nickname of '' Doctor Solemnis'' (the "Solemn Doctor"). Life Henry was born in the district of ...

John of Ripa John of Ripa (fl. 1357–1368) was a Franciscan philosopher, living and teaching in Paris. John's philosophical interests included Christology and the metaphysics of awareness. He responded critically to the philosophy of Duns Scotus John Du ...

, Guido the Carmelite,

Aureolus Aureolus was a Roman military commander during the reign of Emperor Gallienus before he attempted to usurp the Roman Empire. After turning against Gallienus, Aureolus was killed during the political turmoil that surrounded the Emperor's assass ...

, Durandus,

Gregory of Rimini Blessed Gregory of Rimini, Order of Saint Augustine, O.E.S.A. (Latin Beatus Gregorius de Arimino or Ariminiensis) (c. 1300 – November 1358), was one of the great Scholasticism, scholastic philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages. He was ...

William of Ockham William of Ockham or Occam ( ; ; 9/10 April 1347) was an English Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher, apologist, and theologian, who was born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medie ...

, and other

Nominalist In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are two main versions of nominalism. One denies the existence of universals—that which can be inst ...

s. He has been called the "Soul of St. Thomas" for his scrupulous adherence to Aquinas; his writings also heavily cite

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

and

Averroes Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and Faqīh, jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astron ...

. The commentaries, bearing slightly variant titles, were published in four folio volumes at Venice, 1483, 1514, 1519, 1589. In 1881, Bishop

Joseph-Christian-Ernest Bourret Joseph Christian Ernest Bourret (9 December 1827 in the hamlet of Labro, near Saint-Étienne-de-Lugdarès, Ardèche – 10 July 1896 in Rodez) was a French churchman, bishop and cardinal. Life Joseph-Christian-Ernest Bourret was ordained into ...

of Rodez, who had made the life and works of Capreolus, the object of considerable research, suggested a critically revised edition of the commentaries, which was at length undertaken by the Dominicans. Its publication was begun at Tours in 1900 under the title: ''Johannis Capreoli Tholosani, Ordinis Praedicatorum, Thomistarum principis, Defensiones Theologiae Divi Thomae Aq.de novo editae cura et studio RR. PP. Ceslai Paban et Thomae Pegues''. Early compendiums of the work by Paul Soncinas and by

Sylvester Prierias Sylvester Mazzolini, in Italian Silvestro Mazzolini da Prierio, in Latin Sylvester Prierias (1456/1457–1527), was a theologian born at Priero, Piedmont; he died at Rome. Prierias perished when the imperial troops forced their way into the ...

were much used in their day.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capreolus, Jean 1380 births 1444 deaths French Dominicans Medieval French theologians Scholastic philosophers 15th-century French philosophers