Some Later Medieval Theories of the Eucharist: Thomas Aquinas, Gilles of Rome, Duns Scotus, and William Ockham

Adams examines four major scholastic accounts of Eucharistic theology, revealing how medieval philosophers deployed sophisticated metaphysical frameworks to explain Christ's real presence in the sacrament. The study focuses on Thomas Aquinas, Gilles of Rome, Duns Scotus, and William Ockham, each of whom developed distinct philosophical solutions to the challenge of transubstantiation while maintaining orthodox Catholic doctrine.

The work demonstrates how these thinkers wrestled with fundamental questions about substance, accidents, and divine action. Aquinas employs his hylomorphic theory, arguing that the substance of bread and wine converts into Christ's body and blood while accidents remain without a subject. Gilles of Rome modifies this Thomistic approach, introducing nuanced distinctions about how accidents can exist separately from their natural subjects through divine power. Scotus challenges aspects of the Thomistic framework, proposing that Christ's body exists in the Eucharist through a special mode of presence that differs from ordinary spatial location. Ockham, working within his nominalist commitments, offers perhaps the most radical departure, arguing that transubstantiation requires God to annihilate the substance of bread while maintaining its accidents through direct divine conservation.

Adams situates these debates within broader medieval discussions about metaphysics, demonstrating how Eucharistic theology served as a crucial testing ground for philosophical theories about substance, quantity, qualities, and divine omnipotence. The analysis reveals how each thinker navigated between Aristotelian natural philosophy and Christian doctrine, often pushing philosophical categories to their limits or proposing innovative modifications. The work illuminates the intimate connection between theological commitment and philosophical argumentation in medieval thought, showing how doctrinal requirements drove sophisticated metaphysical innovation.

The monograph contributes to understanding how medieval thinkers conceptualized divine action in the natural world, particularly regarding miraculous intervention that suspends ordinary causal relations. By comparing these four approaches, Adams demonstrates the diversity of scholastic thought while highlighting shared commitments to rational explanation of revealed truths. The study proves essential for grasping how medieval philosophy developed unique solutions to reconcile empirical observation, philosophical principle, and religious doctrine, establishing patterns of argumentation that would influence subsequent debates about God's relationship to creation and the possibility of supernatural intervention in the natural order.