Skip to Main Content

Thomas Aquinas Research Guide

Thomas Aquinas resources at the Catholic University of America

Biographical Works

Friar Thomas D’Aquino
Weisheipl, James.  Reprinted from 1974 edition with corrigenda and addenda (Stacks, BQ 6870 .W42 F8 1983). 

Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Person and His Work
Torrel, Jean - Pierre.

The Life of Saint Thomas Aquinas: biographical documents
Foster, Kenelm.  Contents: Bibliography and abbreviations (p. X-XII)--Introduction.--The life of St. Thomas Aquinas, by Bernard Gui.--From the first canonisation enquiry.--From the Historia ecclesiastica of Tolomeo of Lucca.--From the Vitae fratrum of Gerard de Frachet.--From the Cronica brevis of Gerard de Frachet.--A letter of the Faculty of Arts in the University of Paris.--Appendix 1. Note on St. Thomas’s family.--Appendix 2. An Italian sonnet attributed to St. Thomas (Stacks, BQ 6870 .F75).

Thomae Aquinatis Vitae Fontes Praecipuae
Ferrua, Angelico.  Includes bibliographical references and indexes (Stacks, BQ 6870 .F39 S2).

Fontes Vitae Thomae
Corpus Thomisticum.  Provides references to various works containing biographical information on Thomas Aquinas

Biography of St. Thomas Aquinas (biography.com)

General Studies and Introductions

Corpus Thomisticum
Fundación Tomás de Aquino.  The Corpus Thomisticum project aims to provide scholars with a set of instruments of research on Thomas Aquinas freely available online.  Contains complete works of Thomas Aquinas, bibliographies, indices, and many other research tools.

A First Glance at St. Thomas Aquinas: a handbook for peeping Thomists
McInerny, Ralph.  Includes bibliographical references and writings of Thomas in English translations (Stacks, 6871 .M32 1990).

The Cambridge Companion to Aquinas
Kretzmann, Norman and Stump, Eleonore.  This book aids in introducing Aquinas and supplementing the study of him. Topics include Aquinas's philosophy in its historical setting, Aristotle and Aquinas, Aquinas and Jewish and Islamic thinkers, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, ethics, theory of knowledge, law and politics, and Biblical commentary and philosophy (Stacks, BQ 6889 .C3).

The Oxford Handbook of Aquinas
Davies, Brian and Stump, Eleonore. The following philosophers contributed articles to this volume: James Brent, Michael Gorman, Tobias Hoffmann, and John Wippel.  This work provides a comprehensive guide to philosophy and writings of Thomas Aquinas. It documents his life and work and includes contributions that explain the Greek, patristic, Jewish, and Islamic influences on Aquinas's thought. Among many other topics, the work addresses metaphysics, the existence and nature of God, ethics and action theory, epistemology, philosophy of mind and human nature, the nature of language, Trinity, Incarnation, sacraments, resurrection, and the problem of evil. This book is available in the Religious Studies and Philosophy Library, room 314 (B765 .T54 O94 2011).

Guide to Thomas Aquinas
Pieper, Joseph.  Translated from the German by Richard and Clara Winston (Stacks, BQ 6870 .P61 H6E5 1987)

Nature and Creature: Thomas Aquinas’s way of thought
Aertsen, Jan.  Translated from the Dutch by Herbert Donald Morton (Stacks, BQ 6899.9 .N3 A313).

The Thought of Thomas Aquinas
Davies, Brian (Stacks, BQ 6870 .D3).

Basic Writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas
Pegis, Anton C.  These two volumes provide the basic philosophy of Saint Thomas in the areas of man, law, morality, God, angels, creation, and faith. The volumes contain English translations of Thomas's most widely read treatises. An introduction on the 13th century and on Thomas is given, as well as an index to aid in reading his works (BQ 6831 .E5 1945).

Saint Thomas Aquinas
Chesterton, G. K (Stacks, BQ 6870 .C52 1933).

Three Philosophers
By G. E. M. Anscombe and P. T. Geach (Stacks, B 485 .A61 T5 1961a).

Toward Understanding Saint Thomas
Chenu, M. D.  Masterful introduction to the advanced study of the works of Thomas Aquinas.  Translated with authorized corrections and bibliographical additions by A. M. Landry and D. Hughes (Stacks, BQ 6870 .C51 I6 E5).