of St. Victor, Alanus of Lille, and William of Paris, form the transition from the preparatory period to the period of prosperity.
II. During the early years of the thirteenth century the foundation of the two great Mendicant Orders by St. Francis and St. Dominic, and the struggles with the Arabico-aristotelian philosophy introduced into the west by the Spanish Moors, gave astonishing impetus to theological studies. Theology embraced a larger field, and at the same time became more systematic. Greek philosophy drew attention to the Greek Fathers, who began to exercise greater influence. Aristotle’s logic had already found its way into the schools; now his metaphysics, psychology, and ethics became the basis of Christian teaching. As might be expected from such studies, the great doctors of this period are characterized by clear statement of the question at issue, continual adoption of the syllogistic form of argumentation, frequent and subtle use of distinctions, and plain unvarnished style of language which is not, however, without a charm of its own. They sometimes treated of theology in commentaries on Holy Scripture, but their usual text-book was the Sentences of the Lombard. They also wrote monographs on various questions, called Quodlibeta or Quæstiones Disputatæ. Some doctors composed original systematic works on the whole domain of theology, called Summæ Theologiæ, most of which, however, remain in a more or less unfinished state. These Summæ have often been likened to the great Gothic cathedrals of this same age, and the parallel is indeed most striking. The opening years of the thirteenth century mark the transition from the Roman (or, as we call it, Norman) style to the Gothic or pointed style, and also from the Patristic to the Scholastic method. The period of perfection in both Scholasticism and Gothic architecture also extends from 1230 to the beginning of the fourteenth century. The Mendicant Orders were the chief promoters of both. The style of the Schoolmen is totally wanting in the brilliant eloquence so often found in the Fathers. They split up their subject
