Albertus Magnus

Albertus Magnus (c. 1200–15 November 1280), also known as Saint Albert the Great, Albert of Cologne, or Albert von Bollstädt, was a German Dominican friar, philosopher, scientist and bishop whose encyclopaedic learning made him one of the foremost thinkers of the medieval world. Venerated by the Catholic Church as a Doctor of the Church, he was celebrated already in his lifetime as Doctor universalis and Doctor expertus for the breadth of his knowledge. Modern scholars often describe him as the greatest German philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages. His achievements as a commentator on Aristotle, his role in shaping Dominican education and his influence on his pupil Thomas Aquinas place him at the centre of medieval intellectual history.
Albertus was canonised in 1931 and later named the patron saint of natural scientists. His feast day is kept on 15 November.

Early Life and Entry into the Dominican Order

Albertus Magnus was probably born before 1200 in Lauingen in the Duchy of Bavaria, though medieval sources offer no precise date. Traditional claims that his family belonged to the local nobility are now regarded as unlikely; it is more plausible that he came from the ministerial class. His early education is believed to have taken place at the University of Padua, where he encountered Aristotelian philosophy through the Latin translations then spreading across Europe.
According to a late medieval account, Albertus experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary urging him to pursue the religious life. Whether legendary or not, he entered the Dominican Order in either 1223 or 1229 and proceeded to study theology at Bologna and later in Germany. His ability and learning soon led the Order to appoint him as a lecturer at Cologne, where he began a long teaching career that also took him to Regensburg, Strasbourg, Freiburg and Hildesheim.
During his first tenure at Cologne, Albertus wrote Summa de bono, the outcome of a philosophical exchange with Philip the Chancellor concerning the transcendental properties of being. This early work already reveals the clarity and systematic approach that would characterise his major writings.

Master of Theology and Teaching at Paris

In 1245 Albertus became a master of theology, the first German Dominican to receive this distinction. With this he secured the right to teach at the University of Paris, the premier centre of scholastic learning. He held the chair of theology at the College of St James and quickly became known for his commentaries on Aristotle, which were among the first comprehensive efforts to introduce the philosopher’s complete works into Western academic life.
It was during this Parisian period that Thomas Aquinas began to study under Albertus. The intellectual partnership between master and pupil shaped the development of scholastic thought. Albert’s openness to philosophical inquiry, including his engagement with Islamic commentators such as Avicenna and Averroes, laid crucial foundations for Aquinas’s mature synthesis of Christian doctrine with Aristotelian metaphysics.

Provincial Leadership and Dominican Educational Reform

Albert’s reputation led to his election in 1254 as provincial superior of the Dominican province of Germany. He fulfilled his administrative duties with efficiency while continuing to write, lecture and defend the Order against its academic critics. His intellectual authority was recognised throughout Europe, and his public interventions shaped theological debates, including his critiques of positions he believed incompatible with Christian teaching.
In 1259 he participated with Thomas Aquinas, Florentius and others in the General Chapter at Valenciennes. The assembly produced a new ratio studiorum for Dominican education, formally integrating philosophical study as preparation for theology. This initiative decisively shaped the scholastic curriculum of the Order and contributed to the emergence of Dominican centres of study, including the studium at Santa Sabina in Rome, forerunner of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas.

Bishop of Regensburg and Later Public Service

In 1260 Pope Alexander IV appointed Albertus bishop of Regensburg. Although he accepted the office out of obedience, he retained the humility characteristic of his Dominican vocation. Refusing to travel on horseback, he traversed his extensive diocese on foot, earning the respect of clergy and laity. He resigned after three years, and in 1263 Pope Urban IV released him from episcopal obligations, commissioning him instead to preach the Eighth Crusade in German-speaking lands.
Albertus continued to serve the Church as a mediator in political conflicts, notably the disputes between the citizens of Cologne and their archbishop. His involvement in the Große Schied of 1258 brought peace to the city and secured his place in its civic history. He was also associated with early efforts to organise formal education in Cologne, later contributing indirectly to the intellectual environment in which Germany’s oldest university emerged.
Among his final notable acts was his vigorous defence of the orthodoxy of Thomas Aquinas after the latter’s death in 1274. Although accounts of Albertus travelling to Paris to intervene are unconfirmed, his commitment to his former pupil’s work indicates the depth of their shared intellectual project.

Philosophy, Science and Intellectual Achievement

Albertus Magnus was remarkable for the range of disciplines he mastered. He wrote on Aristotelian logic and metaphysics, Christian theology, ethics and natural philosophy. His commentaries on Aristotle—covering nearly the entire corpus—became the standard academic reference for generations. He digested Latin translations and Arabic commentaries, clarifying problematic passages and integrating them into a Christian philosophical framework.
His scientific writings reveal extensive knowledge of botany, zoology, mineralogy, meteorology and astronomy. Although shaped by the assumptions of medieval natural philosophy, many of his observations were impressively accurate. He investigated the properties of plants and animals, the formation of minerals, the behaviour of light and celestial phenomena. His contributions to medieval alchemy, often misunderstood, reflect systematic inquiry rather than occult speculation.
Theologically, his major works include a commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard and the Summa Theologiae, a two-volume synthesis reflecting his mature teaching. Albertus viewed the pursuit of natural knowledge as compatible with Christian doctrine, arguing that Aristotelian science provided a rational structure within which divine creation could be understood.
His writings, collected in thirty-eight volumes in the nineteenth century, demonstrate an intellectual energy of extraordinary scope. They encompass topics ranging from law, justice and friendship to physiology and the nature of the soul. This encyclopaedic output justified his medieval titles and secured his lasting importance.

Death, Canonisation and Legacy

After several years of declining health, Albertus died on 15 November 1280 in the Dominican convent at Cologne. His relics are preserved in the crypt of St Andrew’s Church in the city. Medieval reports claimed that his body was incorrupt when first exhumed; a later examination in 1483 found that only a skeleton remained.
He was beatified in 1622 and canonised by Pope Pius XI in 1931, who also declared him a Doctor of the Church. A decade later he was named patron saint of natural scientists, reflecting the enduring respect for his scientific writings. His early biographers included Heinrich von Herford and Luis de Valladolid, and modern scholarship—especially the work of James A. Weisheipl—has clarified his life and chronology.