MARTIN, RAYMOND-JOSEPH. - Dominican, medievalist theologian, b. at Neerpelt (Belgium) on 27 Sept. 1878, d. at Louvain on 28 Aug. 1949.
He entered religious life in 1896, studied philosophy at Louvain and sociology at Düsseldorf. Ordained a priest at Cologne (1905), he obtained his degree in theology with the well-known thesis De necessitate credendi et credendorum (Louvain 1906).
From 1909 to 1940 he lectured on the Summa theologica of St. Thomas at the Dominican Studium of Louvain. In 1921, together with J. Lebon and J. de Ghellinck, he founded the Spicilegium sacrum Lovaniense, universally esteemed for its rigorous scientific method. In 1922 he became master in theology. From 1940 to 1945, because of the war, he lived at Toulouse and directed the Dominican nuns of the ancient monastery of Prouille. Having returned to Louvain, he resumed his collaboration with the Spicilegium.
Devoted to St. Thomas, he interpreted his thought with acumen and fidelity, seeking throughout his life to elucidate the historical and doctrinal antecedents and the influence exercised by the great Doctor. His scholarly output, scattered through the principal journals, ranks him among the foremost experts on scholasticism. His principal works are: La controverse sur le péché original au début du XIVe siècle. Textes inédits, (Louvain 1930); Oeuvres de Robert de Melun (3 vols., ibid. 1932-47); Pierre Le Mangeur: De Sacramentis. Texte inédit (ibid. 1937). These valuable volumes constitute nos. 10, 13, 17, 18, and 21 of the Spicilegium sacrum Lovaniense.