12. St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274). Summa theologica, pars secundus, secundus liber. [Strasbourg: Johann Mentelin, before Advent 1463].

Although St. Thomas considered his Summa theologica to be simply a student’s manual of Christian doctrine, this gigantic three-part work was the most comprehensive and systematic statement of medieval Christian dogma. Reflecting the author’s conviction that true knowledge comes from both Christian faith (divine truths that must be believed) and human reason (natural truths that can be understood), the Summa is organized according to the principles of scholastic logic. This edition, produced within the first decade following the publication of Gutenberg’s Bible, was printed by Johann Mentelin, the first successful printer located outside of Mainz.