SALMANTICENSI. — The Discalced Carmelite theologians of Salamanca, who wrote two great cursus on dogmatic and moral theology. After the College of the Discalced Carmelites of Alcalá (Complutum) had begun (1624), with great success, the Cursus Complutensis of philosophy, a course of theology was published, by decree of the supreme council of the Order (that is, the Congregation of Spain), by the Fathers of the theological College of Salamanca (founded in 1581), under the title: Collegii Salmanticensis Fratrum Discalceatorum B. M. de M. Carmelo cursus theologicus summam theologiam D. Thomae complexens.
It is not an ordinary commentary on Aquinas’s Summa theologica, but an extensive scholastic treatment (14 vols.), whose purpose is to explain and deepen the doctrine of St. Thomas; according to Scheeben, it is the greatest and most complete work of the Thomistic school. The authors were: Fr. Antonio della Madre di Dio (1583–1637), who took the initiative in the work and outlined the method to be followed for the entire course. He wrote vol. I: De Deo uno (Salamanca 1631), II: De Deo trino (Segovia 1637), and III: De angelis (ibid. 1637). After his death, Fr. Domenico di S. Teresa (1604–60) compiled IV: De fine ultimo, de beatitudine (Salamanca 1647).
Fr. Giovanni dell’Annunciazione (1633–1701) added vols. V–XI, with the treatises: de Gratia, de iustificatione, de merito, de fide, spe, caritate, de statu religioso, de Incarnatione, de Sacramentis in genere, de Eucharistia (Lyon 1679 and 1687; Barcelona 1694). To these Fr. Antonio di S. Giovanni Battista (1641–99) added vol. XII in two parts: de paenitentia (Lyon 1704, Madrid 1712). Thus the publication of this course extended over almost a century, both because of the premature deaths of the first authors and because of typographical difficulties. Despite the diversity of the authors and the lengthy period of composition, the work appears to have been produced as a single whole and consistently follows the doctrine of St. Thomas. A compendium of the same course was published by Fr. Paolo della Concezione in his work: Tractatus theologici iuxta s. Thomae et cursus Salmanticensis doctrinam (5 vols., Madrid 1722–29). The last edition of the complete work appeared in 20 vols. (Paris 1870–83), published by Palme.
The same College of Salamanca also published a course of moral theology, under the title: Collegii Salmanticensis FF. Discalceatorum B. M. de M. Carmelo cursus theologiae moralis (4 vols., Salamanca 1665–68). Other editions of this course appeared in Lyon 1670, Antwerp 1672, Madrid 1709, ibid. 1717–24. The authors are: Fr. Francesco di Gesù Maria (d. 1677), Fr. Andrea della Madre di Dio (d. 1674), and Sebastiano di S. Gioacchino (d. 1714). A compendium of this moral course was also published by Fr. Paolo Girolamo di S. Elena (1683–1770), entitled: Sacrae theologiae moralis medulis (Cologne 1754, Bologna 1772), as well as by Fr. Antonio di S. Giuseppe (1716–94), under the title: Compendium Salmanticense universae theologiae moralis (Rome 1779, ibid. 1787, Venice 1789, Pamplona 1791, ibid. 1797, Barcelona 1817, Madrid 1846), and, after the new Code, by Fr. Nicola del S. Cuore di Maria (Burgos 1931). There is also a Castilian-language version of the latter compendium by Fr. Marco di S. Teresa (Pamplona 1805, Madrid 1808, 1849).