COMPLUTENSES. – This is the name given to those Discalced Carmelites, professors of philosophy at the College of S. Cirillo of Alcalà de Henares (Complutum), who published a philosophical course in the form of Disputationes on the works of Aristotle, according to the genuine doctrine of s. Tommaso di Aquino.
The course was first published in 4 vols. under the title: Collegium Complutense philosophicum, hoc est artium cursus, sive disputationes in Aristotelis, dialecticam et philosophiam naturalem, juxta Angelici Doctoris D. Thomae doctrinam et eius scholam (Alcalà 1624 ff.). The first volume, concerning logic, is due to Michele della S.ma Trinità (d. in 1661); the other three, which deal with physics and psychology, to Antonio della Madre di Dio (d. in 1641). The French Carmelite Biagio della Concezione (d. in 1694) added the section concerning metaphysics (2 vols., Paris 1640–42) and the section concerning ethics (ibid. 1647). The course, which because of its length was not very suitable for students, was abridged, better organized, and enlarged with disputationes supplementing the material by Giovanni dell’Annunciazione (5 vols., Lyon 1669–71; Cologne 1732), under the title: Collegium Complutense... cursus ad breviorem formam collectus et novo ordine ac facilior stylo dispositus; here the doctrine is not personal, but represents the official thought of the Order. The course and the compendium underwent many editions and became established in the schools of many nations and several religious Orders, because of their clarity and above all their adherence to s. Tommaso; and they paved the way for the Salmanticeses (v.), also members of the same Order, professors at Salamanca, who published the theological course.