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Secondary sourceBook1911

Saint Thomas Aquinas, of the Order of Preachers: A Biographical Study

John Placid Conway · 1911

A 1911 biographical study of Thomas Aquinas's life and career as a Dominican friar, part of a series on 'Friar Saints.'

A 1911 biography of Thomas by a fellow Dominican friar, with an early portrait reproduced inside.

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Saint Thomas Aquinas, of the Order of Preachers: A Biographical StudyPDF · 154 pages
Saint Thomas Aquinas, of the Order of Preachers: a biographical study, by Fr. Placid Conway, O.P. (1911). Scanned book, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This 1911 book by John Placid Conway, O.P., is a biographical study of Thomas Aquinas, part of a series on Dominican and Franciscan saints. It includes a reproduction of an early portrait of Thomas held at the Collegio Angelico in Rome, described as almost contemporary with him and by an unknown artist.

Why it matters

Written by a fellow Dominican, this study reflects how Thomas's own religious order remembered and promoted him centuries after his life in the 13th century. The inclusion of an early portrait shows how images, as well as texts, were used to preserve his memory as the 'Angelic Doctor.'

Look closer

  • Why might a Dominican author want to write about Thomas as part of a series on 'Friar Saints'?
  • What does it mean that the portrait is described as 'almost contemporary' rather than definitely made during Thomas's lifetime?
  • How might a biography written by someone in the same religious order differ from one written by an outsider?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Thomas Aquinas on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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