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The Library

Forty Centuries of Christian Writing

1774 works catalogued century by century, from the literature the Bible was written among to the present — each with a note on what it is, why it lasted, and where to read it.

1101–1200

The Twelfth Century

2 works

c. 1150–1158

Latin

The Four Books of Sentences

Sententiae in IV Libris Distinctae

Peter Lombard · c. 1096–1160

Doctrine arranged in four books — the Trinity, creation, the incarnation, the sacraments and last things — with the authorities marshalled under each question and a cautious verdict given.

Scholastic · Systematic theologyRead elsewhere

c. 1169–1173

Latin

The Scholastic History

Historia Scholastica

Peter Comestor · d. c. 1178

The narrative books of the Bible retold as continuous history, with pagan history synchronised alongside and difficulties explained as they arise.

Scholastic · HistoryRead elsewhere

1201–1300

The Thirteenth Century

1 work

c. 1230–1245

Latin

The Little Summaries of Logic

Summulae Logicales

Peter of Spain · c. 1215–1277

A textbook of logic covering the Aristotelian syllogism and then the medieval theory of how terms actually refer in a sentence.

Scholastic · LogicRead elsewhere

1501–1600

The Sixteenth Century

1 work

1597

Latin

Metaphysical Disputations

Disputationes Metaphysicae

Francisco Suárez · 1548–1617

The first metaphysics in the West organised by topic rather than as a commentary on Aristotle, covering being, essence, causation, and individuation.

Jesuit · PhilosophyRead elsewhere

1601–1700

The Seventeenth Century

1 work

1627

Latin

The Marrow of Theology

Medulla Theologiae

William Ames · 1576–1633

Theology defined as the doctrine of living to God, organised in tight numbered propositions covering faith and then observance.

Reformed · Systematic theologyRead elsewhere