Jacques Almain
Encyclopedia
Jacques Almain was a prominent professor of theology at the University of Paris
when he died at an early age. Born in the diocese of Sens
, he studied Arts at the Collège de Montaigu
of the University of Paris. He served as Rector of the university in 1507.
at the College of Navarre in Paris. He received his license in Theology in January of 1512 and his doctorate in the same subject in March of that year. When King Louis XII decided to support the 1511 Council of Pisa (or conciliabulum, as it was called dismissively) against Pope Julius II, the university was told to support this assembly. The university chose Almain to reply to a polemical tract by Cardinal Thomas Cajetan
, the pope's most eminent apologist. Almain wrote a trenchant critique of that tract by Cajetan, but did not live to answer the Apologia the pope's defender wrote in response. Nor did Almain comment directly on the Fifth Lateran Council called by Pope Julius to counter the assembly in Pisa
.
. His Moralia became a standard textbook of moral theology, presenting ethical issues in a dry Scholastic
style. He also wrote texts discussing portions of the Sentences of Peter Lombard
. One text was concerned with the opinions of the medieval Dominican theologian Robert Holcot
.
Apart from the reply to Cajetan, Almain wrote on political topics. These works included a discussion of the opinions of William of Ockham
about papal power and a disputation on the power of pope and council, his earliest statement of Conciliarism
.
Almain embraced the distinction between the absolute and ordained powers of God. His moral philosophy was Aristotelean, arguing for conduct in the middle ground between extremes. His political thought embraced the need for order but allowed a community to restrain any ruler whose conduct had become dangerous to its very survival. Almain's critique of Cajetan's treatise on the papacy argued that Church and State were parallel in nature, both able to act against an errant leader, whether pope or king. All of these teachings are found in the posthumous Opuscula (Paris, 1518).
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
when he died at an early age. Born in the diocese of Sens
Sens
Sens is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France.Sens is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is crossed by the Yonne and the Vanne, which empties into the Yonne here.-History:...
, he studied Arts at the Collège de Montaigu
Collège de Montaigu
The Collège de Montaigu was one of the constituent colleges of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Paris. The college, originally called the Collège des Aicelins, was founded in 1314 by Giles Aicelin, the Archbishop of Rouen...
of the University of Paris. He served as Rector of the university in 1507.
Life
Beginning in 1508, Jacques Almain studied theology with John MairJohn Mair
John Mair was a Scottish philosopher, much admired in his day and an acknowledged influence on all the great thinkers of the time. He was a very renowned teacher and his works much collected and frequently republished across Europe...
at the College of Navarre in Paris. He received his license in Theology in January of 1512 and his doctorate in the same subject in March of that year. When King Louis XII decided to support the 1511 Council of Pisa (or conciliabulum, as it was called dismissively) against Pope Julius II, the university was told to support this assembly. The university chose Almain to reply to a polemical tract by Cardinal Thomas Cajetan
Thomas Cajetan
Thomas Cajetan , also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio , was an Italian cardinal. He is perhaps best known among Protestants for his opposition to the teachings of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation while he was the Pope's Legate in Wittenberg, and perhaps best known among...
, the pope's most eminent apologist. Almain wrote a trenchant critique of that tract by Cajetan, but did not live to answer the Apologia the pope's defender wrote in response. Nor did Almain comment directly on the Fifth Lateran Council called by Pope Julius to counter the assembly in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
.
Works
Almain wrote in several academic genres. His earliest works were concerned with logic and the Physics of AristotleAristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
. His Moralia became a standard textbook of moral theology, presenting ethical issues in a dry Scholastic
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
style. He also wrote texts discussing portions of the Sentences of Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard was a scholastic theologian and bishop and author of Four Books of Sentences, which became the standard textbook of theology, for which he is also known as Magister Sententiarum-Biography:Peter Lombard was born in Lumellogno , in...
. One text was concerned with the opinions of the medieval Dominican theologian Robert Holcot
Robert Holcot
Robert Holcot was an English Dominican scholastic philosopher, theologian and influential Biblical scholar. He was born in Holcot, Northamptonshire...
.
Apart from the reply to Cajetan, Almain wrote on political topics. These works included a discussion of the opinions of William of Ockham
William of Ockham
William of Ockham was an English Franciscan friar and scholastic philosopher, who is believed to have been born in Ockham, a small village in Surrey. He is considered to be one of the major figures of medieval thought and was at the centre of the major intellectual and political controversies of...
about papal power and a disputation on the power of pope and council, his earliest statement of Conciliarism
Conciliarism
Conciliarism, or the conciliar movement, was a reform movement in the 14th, 15th and 16th century Roman Catholic Church which held that final authority in spiritual matters resided with the Roman Church as a corporation of Christians, embodied by a general church council, not with the pope...
.
Almain embraced the distinction between the absolute and ordained powers of God. His moral philosophy was Aristotelean, arguing for conduct in the middle ground between extremes. His political thought embraced the need for order but allowed a community to restrain any ruler whose conduct had become dangerous to its very survival. Almain's critique of Cajetan's treatise on the papacy argued that Church and State were parallel in nature, both able to act against an errant leader, whether pope or king. All of these teachings are found in the posthumous Opuscula (Paris, 1518).
Further reading
- Jacques Almain, A Book Concerning the Authority of the Church, in J.H. Burns and T.M. Izbicki (ed. and transl.), 1997, Conciliarism and Papalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Jacques Almain, Question at Vespers, in J. Kraye (ed.), 1997, Cambridge Translations of Renaissance Philosophical Texts, vol. 2: Political Philosophy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.