JOHN OF NAPLES

Dominican Thomist theologian; b. Naples, Italy, of noble parents; fl. 1310 to 1336; d. Naples. He entered the order in that city at the priory of San Domenico Maggiore, where thomas aquinas had entered and spent the last years of his life. Sent to the University of Paris, he met harvey nedellec, durandus of saint–pourÇain, Meister eckhart, John of Parma (fl. 1313), and peter of la palu. He read the Sentences during the academic years 1310 to 1312 and received license to incept in December 1315. He taught as a master in Paris until 1317. In his fidelity to Aquinas he stands in sharp contrast to Durandus of Saint–Pourçain. The general chapter of the order that met in Metz in June 1313 appointed John to the commission entrusted with examining the teaching of Durandus. In 1316–17 he and Peter of La Palu compiled a list of 235 errors in the writings of Durandus. In one of his quodlibetal questions he publicly maintained the right to teach all the doctrines of Aquinas despite the condemnation of Étienne tempier in 1277.

The general chapter of Pamplona in 1317 assigned him as lector in the Dominican Studium in Naples; he taught there for many years. He was frequently consulted concerning current controversies, notably the absolute poverty of Christ in the Franciscan poverty controversy, the state of the blessed before the Last Judgment as viewed by john xxii, and the affair of michael of cese na. Deeply concerned with the canonization of Aquinas, he presented hearsay testimony on Aug. 1, 1319, to commissioners entrusted with promoting Aquinas's beatification and canonization. In 1323 as substitute for William of Tocco, procurator general and promoter of the cause, he went to Avignon with witnesses and officials for the second process of inquiry. Illness prevented him from delivering his panegyric prepared for July 14, 1323. He was present at the general chapter of Bordeaux in 1324 that elected Barnabas of Vercelli master general of the order. He was named executor of Bartholomew of Capua's will on March 14, 1325. A document concerning this will, dated June 9, 1336, is the last known evidence of his activities.

His commentary on the Sentences is no longer extant. His Quaestiones variae 42 disputatae (ed. Naples 1618) were disputed at Paris, as were his 13 Quodlibeta and 8 sermons. Because of his personal devotion and fidelity to St. Thomas, his activities are a significant witness to the development of thomism among Italian Dominicans.

Bibliography: j. quÉtif and j. Échard, Scriptores Ordinis Praedicatorum 1.2:567. j. p. mÜller, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche ² 5:1064–65. p. glorieux, La Littérature quodlibétique 1:159–173. m. grabmann, "La scuola tomistica italiana nel XIII e principio del XIV secolo," Rivista di filosofia neoscolastica 15 (Milan 1923) 138–143. c. j. jellouschek, "Johannes v. Neapel und seine Lehre vom Verhältnisse zwischen Gott und Welt," Xenia Thomistica (Rome 1925) 2:75. j. koch, "Durandus de S. Porciano, OP," Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie und Theologie des Mittelalters 26 (Münster 1927). t. kaeppeli, "Giovanni Regina di Napoli," Archivum Fratrum Praedicatorum 10 (Rome 1940) 48–71. a. iszak, Enciclopedia filosofica 2:765.

[p. glorieux]