Conimbricenses

Conimbricenses or Collegium Conimbricenses is the name by which Jesuits of the University of Coimbra in Coimbra, Portugal were known. The Conimbricenses were Jesuits who, from the end of 16th century took over the intellectual leadership of the Roman Catholic world from the Dominicans. Among those Jesuits were Luis de Molina (1535–1600) and Francisco Suárez (1548–1617). In their stricter sense the Coimbra Commentaries, also known simply as Conimbricenses, are mainly a group of eleven books on Aristotle (of which only eight are really commentaries). On the register of the college at various times appeared the names of two hundred Jesuits including professors and students. Toward the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth, voluminous commentaries on the philosophical writings of Aristotle went forth from the university. These commentaries were dictations to the students by the professors and as such were not intended for publication. Still they were actually published, but fraudulently. In order to interpret and disown incorrect and unauthorized editions, Father Claudius Acquaviva, the General of the Society of Jesus, assigned Father Peter Fonseca, the provincial of the Portuguese province, the task of supervising the revision of these commentaries for publication. Father Fonseca was widely known as the Aristotle of Portugal. The different treatises appeared in the following order: