A·qui·nas  (ə-kwī'nəs)  Italian Dominican friar, theologian, and philosopher. The most influential thinker of the medieval period, his philosophy combined Aristotelianism and elements of Neo-Platonism within a context of Christian thought. His works include the Summa contra gentiles (1259-1264) and the Summa theologiae or theologica (1266-1273). |
A thirteenth-century Italian priest and philosopher who became the most influential theologian of the Middle Ages. Aquinas, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, sought to reconcile faith and reason by showing that elements of the philosophy of Aristotle were compatible with Christianity. His greatest work is the Summa Theologica.