The Catholic Culture Podcast: 195 – The Most Influential Theology Book Nobody Reads

Apr 24, 2025

The standard textbook of theology in medieval universities was
the Sentences by Peter Lombard, bishop of Paris from
1095-1160. This collection systematically arranged the theological
judgments of Scripture and the Church Fathers on various topics.
For almost four centuries, those seeking higher credentials in
theology had to study, teach, and comment on Lombard’s
Sentences. It was formative for the likes of St. Thomas
Aquinas and St. Bonaventure. Over time, the genre of commentaries
on the Sentences became its own vehicle for new
developments in theology. The Sentences was not replaced
by Aquinas’s Summa as a standard textbook until the 16th
century.

Philosopher Philipp Rosemann has written two books on the
Sentences and its significance for the development of
theology. The first,
Peter Lombard (2004), is about Lombard and his book.
The second,
The Story of a Great Medieval Book: Peter Lombard’s
“Sentences” (2007), is about the commentary tradition on
the Sentences. Rosemann gives fascinating insights into the
development as theology as a systematic science, which had profound
ramifications for Catholic spiritual life and the history of the
West.

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