Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.

000-000 1


A CATALAN DIPLOMAT, THEOLOGIAN AND PREACHER
AT THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE : MASTER FELIP DE MALLA

The King of the Romans Sigismund of Luxembourg, and the Pisan Pope John XXIII convened a
general Council in Constance in 1413: from the beginning, Sigismund wanted not only bishops and
abbots, but also representatives of all the Christian kingdoms, to go to Constance in order to find a
solution to the Papal Schism. The other two claimants to the Papacy, Gregory XII and Benedict XIII, had
also been summoned to Constance, but neither accepted the invitation. At the opening of the Council, in
November 1414, the Italian bishops, followers of John XXIII, were the majority, even though they would
not maintain total control over the assembly, as the English, the French, and the German introduced a
system of voting whereby all decisions would be taken in polls by nations and not by heads .
The policy of the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (particularly Aragon, and Castile) was totally
different from the other European countries, which actually sent their embassies to Constance. The king
of Aragon, Ferdinand I, was indeed the last protector of Benedict XIII, therefore he firmly refused to
participate in the Council
1
. Nevertheless in October 1414, Ferdinand had sent three ambassadors of the
Crown of Aragon (Bishop Diego de Fuensalida, the nobleman Juan de Hjar and the jurist Pere de Falchs)
to the King of the Romans. The ambassadors arrived in Constance together with two other ambassadors
of Pope Benedict XIII in January 1415 : Sigismund received them and scheduled with them a trilateral
conference in the month of June, in which he would meet both Ferdinand and Benedict XIII.
After some adjournments of that conference, it was only at the Capitulation of Narbonne (13
th

December 1415) that the kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, and Navarre committed to shifting their allegiance
(subtractio oboedientiae) from Benedict XIII, and to sending their representatives to the Council of
Constance. On 31
st
January 1416 the infant Alphonse signed the credentials for the first ambassador he
sent to the Council: the Mercedarian brother Antoni Caixal.
Some months later, a larger embassy was sent to Constance, but no bishop left his diocese in lands
of the Crown in order to participate in the Council: as for the Crown of Aragon, the fifth nation of the
Council (Natio Hispanica) consisted almost only of ambassadors
2
. Perhaps as a consequence of that, the

1
About the Crown of Aragon and the Council, see: FROMME 1894; ALDASY 1935; SANLLEHY 1945 and 1947; GOI
1966; BADA 1988; Jornades sobre el Cisma 1986-1988. A bibliographical repertory in Cisma dOccident a Catalunya 1979.
2
Since their arrival in Constance, the Aragonese ambassadors demanded that their votes should count as if all the
bishops of the Crown of Aragon were present (namely Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Majorca, Sicily and Sardinia). First, the
other members of the Natio Hispanica refused resolutely, but finally all the ambassadors (also from Castile, Navarre and
Portugal) obtained the decision that their votes would be calculated to also take into account those absent. In the General
Archive of the Crown of Castile (Simancas, Patr. Real 21,6) a document is filed; it is a list of dioceses, cathedral chapters, and
abbeys, and the title says in old Catalan: Nmina dels prelats qui foren en lo consili general de Constanza. Almost surely it
is a document of that debate about the weight of the votes in the assemblies of the Natio Hispanica: those bishops were not
present in person, and so the ambassadors of the King (in solido) wanted their vote to have the value of all the forty absent
prelates. Cfr GOI 1966: 38-40.
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 2

delegates of the King of Aragon did not involve themselves in any real theological debate : although some
theologians, like Antoni Caixal, or Felip de Malla, were members of the embassy, they did not take part
in any real theological debate either during the sessions of the Council
3
. The most serious problems for
the King of Aragon and his ambassadors were juridical and procedural rather than theological : the
ambassadors had to cooperate for the unity of the Church, but also to preserve the Kings rights and
privileges.
This article is about one member of that embassy, Felip de Malla (Philippus de Medalia),
focussing not only on his contribution during the council, but also on his work as a diplomat, a preacher,
and a writer.
Felip de Malla was probably one of the most fluent Catalan preachers in his time, second only to
the Dominican friar Vicent Ferrer (GOI 1966: 81, reporting an opinion from Jernimo Zuritas Anales).
He was a secular priest, studied theology in Paris, but did not go on teaching at that university : he went
back to Catalonia and served first Pope Benedict XIII, then the Kings of Aragon, and finally, after the
Council of Constance, the Generalitat (the institution that ruled the Catalan counties in the name of the
King of Aragon). In those years from 1410 to 1430, Felip de Malla was also a pastor in Barcelona,
preached numerous sermons throughout Catalonia and the Kingdom of Valencia, and also wrote some
books on theological matters
4
.

I. HIS LIFE
a. Education in Barcelona, Lleida, and Paris
Felip de Malla was born between 1375 and 1380 to a wealthy family in Barcelona
5
. His father,
Andreu, was the owner of some mills, and became a member of the Consell de Cent, the city council
formed by representatives of the richest and most powerful families. Felip had at least six brothers and
sisters (or even more, if some of them died in infancy); his oldest brother, Andreu, entered the order of
Knights Hospitallers and later became the commander of the convent of Tortosa ; he was also a trusty
collaborator of King Martin I.


3
An exception was Diego de Moxena, a Franciscan friar, bachelor of Theology, and courtesan and servant of king
Ferdinand I. He was in Constance from the beginning of the Council, and performed some role as a theologian, but he was
neither a proper ambassador of King Ferdinand (he was just an orator, a personal, non-official representative), nor a member
of the Spanish nation when the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula officially joined the council. He participated in the trial
against Jan Hus, and probably he was the first to examine the Bohemian priest detained in the Pontifical palace on 28
th

November 1414, and one of his accusers. In July 1416 he wrote a letter to the King, in which he urged him to join the Council
as soon as possible, because his presence would be the only way to obtain the unity of the Church. Soon after that, Moxena
left the town of Constance for an unknown reason, and returned to Castile. About him, cfr PALACKY 1869: 249-250; VOOGHT
1960: 325-328; VZQUEZ 1989, 1991, and 1994.
4
A list of his works published as well as unedited and lost, can be found in VILALLONGA 1993: 118-126.
5
As yet, the most complete biographies are MADURELL 1964: 499-626, and PERARNAU 1978: 7-81.
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 3

On 6
th
April 1387, young Felip received the clerical tonsure in the Cathedral of Barcelona, and
applied for an ecclesiastical benefice : he had been born at the time of the beginning of the Western
Schism, and entered the clergy in the year when the new King of Aragon, John I, gave his support to
Clement VII, the Avignonese claimant to the papacy, during a solemn ceremony in Barcelona (Johns
father, King Peter III, had not taken a stand on the Schism since 1378, when the Cardinals elected
Clement VII against Urban VI). For at least one year before his tonsure, Felip had been a scholaris, a
pupil at a school in Barcelona (probably the Cathedral school), and he probably went on studying in his
hometown for some years longer. It is also possible that he studied in the Lullist School of Barcelona : in
fact, some scholars have wondered whether any influence of Ramon Lulls thinking can be perceived in
his works (cfr PERARNAU 1978: 33-35). Josep Perarnau (ibidem: 29-59) proposed some hypotheses about
Felip de Mallas student career : he probably continued in Barcelona until 1390-1391, then moved to the
University of Lleida ; after five years in the Faculty of Arts of Lleida, in 1395 he went to Paris, where he
attended the Faculty of Theology.
In 1404 he was already a Bachelor of Theology, and taught Aristotles Ethics in a college of the
University of Paris, while he was still a student there ; in 1405 he gave a lecture on the Sentences (so he
was lector sententiarius). In the same year he mediated between King Martin I and the Provincial
Superior of the Celestine Monks, in order to establish a monastery of theirs within the Royal Palace of
Barcelona, where the relics that King Martin had collected should be enshrined and venerated. Among
these relics, there was the cup they believed that Jesus used at the Last Supper, kept until then in the
monastery of San Juan de la Pea, near Jaca in Aragon.
In those years, the most important personality in the University of Paris was the Chancellor Jean
Gerson. A strong dispute between Gerson and the Dominican friar Jean de Monzon about the Immaculate
Conception had already begun in the late 1380s : it seems that Malla had no problem in following the
Chancellors theses, and in fact Malla defended the thesis of the Immaculate Conception throughout his
life
6
.



6
Josep PERARNAU (1978: 55-57) wrote some notes about the difference between Jean Gersons theology and Felip de
Mallas: La teologia parisenca de Felip de Malla coincideix en el tronc amb la de Gerson, en el sentit que s bsicament
teologia especulativa o escolstica; per tant com la daquest sinclina cap a la mstica i lespiritualitat, la del catal es
decanta cap a la racionalitat i la valoraci de les aportacions extracristianes. [...] Com la normal de Pars, la teologia de
Felip de Malla evita de basar-se en el corrent apocalptic Arnau de Vilanova, sant Vicen Ferrer , de tant dxit entre els
seus contemporanis; enfront dels apocalptics, que per boca de mestre Vicen pronosticaven la fi del mn tost, tost e ben tost,
Felip de Malla s un home del Renaixement que ms aviat presagia el comenament duna nova poca. Perhaps not
everybody will agree with Perarnau about Felip de Malla being a man of the Renaissance: in my opinion, his use of extra-
Christian contributions, particularly the Classical authors, remains in a typical Medieval (Gothic) perspective, but there is
no doubt about so many similarities between Malla and Jean Gerson. So I agree with Manuel BALASCH (1983), who speaks of
Malla as a forerunner of humanism in the Iberian Peninsula (precursor del humanismo peninsular in the title of the
article).
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 4

On 8
th
December 1407, Felip de Malla graduated as Master of Theology
7
. In 1408 magister Felip
returned from Paris to Barcelona, was ordained priest and settled in one of the houses of the Cathedral
(since 1403 he had been a canon of the Barcelonese Cathedral, and since April 1407 he had been
designated pastor of the Church Santa Maria del Pi Our Lady of the Pine Tree in Barcelona). He also
participated in the Council of Perpignan, the general Council of the Avignonese obedience, as he was a
member of Pope Benedicts family .

b. An ambassador of the King of Aragon

From the moment Felip de Malla went back to Barcelona, he also started a career in diplomacy.
Although he continued writing sermons and other literary works, he worked for many years as an
ambassador, facing political problems of that time.
In 1408, when Malla had just returned from Paris, King Martin appointed him as his counsellor
and promoter of the business of the court (the King called him conseller e promotor dels negocis de la
cort in a letter of November 1408: PERARNAU 1978: 61); in the same period, Malla preached several
times in the Royal Chapel on solemn occasions
8
. In 1410, the Bishop of Barcelona Francesc de Blanes
died, and the City Council wanted Malla to become the new bishop, even though he was only about thirty
years old ; Pope Benedict XIII however chose his personal secretary, Francesc Climent Sapera , for the
rule of the Diocese.
After King Martins death, the intricate problem of his succession arose in the lands of the Crown
of Aragon. In 1412, Malla was elected a member of the Parliament of Tortosa, the national parliament of
Catalonia, divided into various opposing parties, the most important of which were that of the supporters
of Ferdinand of Antequera and that of the supporters of Count James of Urgell. Felip de Malla sided with
Ferdinand, who was in fact elected the new King of Aragon at the Compromise of Casp (24
th
June 1412).
In 1413, Felip de Malla witnessed the siege of Balaguer, where the Count of Urgell, James the
Unfortunate , surrendered and was made prisoner by the royal troops. Malla also attended the coronation
of King Ferdinand in the Cathedral of Saragossa, on 5
th
September 1414.
In April 1415, Felip de Malla had to leave for England and Scotland, to visit those countries as an
ambassador of both King Ferdinand and Pope Benedict XIII. That embassy intended to re-establish the
union of the Church, to encourage a peace treaty between France and England in the context of the
Hundred Years War, and to form a new alliance between England and the Crown of Aragon through the

7
We know this date because of a sermon for the feast of the Immaculate Conception, where Malla said he graduated
Master (em magistr) on the day of that feast (RIQUER 1964: 401); he was called sacrae Theologiae doctor in official
documents from 1408 onwards (MADURELL 1964: 551).
8
About some speeches he gave in that period before the Consistory of the Gay Science of Barcelona, during the
annual poetry contest, see OLIVAR 1991, and PUJOL 1996.
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 5

marriage of King Henry V and Ferdinands eldest daughter, Mary. Nonetheless, England and France
resumed hostilities while Felip de Malla was in England : he could not continue his journey towards
Scotland and so he went back to Barcelona.
In September, October and November, the trilateral conference between King Ferdinand, King
Sigismund, and Pope Benedict XIII took place in Perpignan : when the King of the Romans, Sigismund,
and twelve delegates of the Council, asked Benedict to renounce the papacy, the Pope left Perpignan, and
sailed towards the castle of Penscola, in the Kingdom of Valencia, where he found refuge. Felip de Malla
was present at the conference and, seeing the popes flight, decided to leave Benedict XIII

once and for
all. The withdrawal of obedience of the Crown of Aragon to Benedict XIII was proclaimed on 6
th
January
of the following year ; the most famous preacher of the Aragonese court, Vicent Ferrer, had the task of
announcing it in a sermon, which he gave in Perpignan. From that moment, he decided to leave the court
and diplomacy forever, and committed himself to itinerant preaching until he died in Brittany a few years
later (cfr MARTNEZ 1953: 20-22). The King of Aragon, Ferdinand, and his son Alphonse, tried many
times to persuade Ferrer to go to Constance and to cooperate again in the work for the unity of the
Church, but every effort of theirs was futile.
From that moment on, King Ferdinand chose Felip de Malla as his representative in several
matters relating to the withdrawal of obedience : in January 1416 Ferdinand appointed him ambassador to
the King of the Romans, who still was in Avignon (Sigismund was so happy to hear the news about the
withdrawal of obedience, that Malla had to read him the edict six times: cfr BOFARULL 1882: 19-23) ; in
February he gave sermons in Barcelona, Valencia, and the towns of Xtiva and Alcira, to announce to the
people that Pere de Luna was not to be considered the Pope any more, and to explain the Kings reasons
for that decision. It should be taken into account that the King also claimed for himself all the rents of
Benedicts Curia, and the rents of the non-resident prelates in his kingdoms. Almost all the clergy and a
large part of the people however still remained faithful to Pope Benedict ; as a consequence of that, some
people accused Malla of being a schismatic, and somebody even posted placards around the town, saying
that he wanted his revenge against Benedict XIII for not being appointed Bishop of Barcelona in 1410.
Nonetheless, a distinguished Dominican friar, Antoni Canals, a professor of Theology at the University of
Valencia, deputy inquisitor and a humanist, supported Malla (about this campaign of preaching, cfr
BOFARULL 1882: 24-33).
In July and August 1416 Felip de Malla went to Castile as ambassador of the new King Alphonse
V (Ferdinand had died on 2
nd
April 1416), in order to persuade King John II to imitate his uncle
Ferdinand of Aragon and to withdraw his obedience from Benedict.

c. The Council of Constance
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 6

When Felip de Malla returned from Castile, he was appointed ambassador of the King of Aragon
for the Council of Constance. Other ambassadors had reached Constance earlier. Antoni Caixal, General
Master of the Order of Mercy, arrived at Constance on 28
th
February 1416. Joan Ramon Folc, Count of
Cardona, chosen by King Ferran, and later by King Alfons, as the president of their embassy, together
with the knight Ramon Xatmar, the jurist and diplomat Esperandeu Cardona, the jurist Gonzalo de Santa
Mara (a son of the chief rabbi of Burgos, who had converted to Christianity, was baptized taking the
name of Pablo de Santa Mara, and later became the bishop of Cartagena and Burgos), and the jurist
Miquel de Navs, entered Constance on 5
th
September 1416, welcomed with joy by many members of the
Council.
Felip de Malla joined the Council only on 4
th
January 1417. On the same day, he read a sermon
during a general congregation, on the biblical passage: Stabunt iusti in magna constantia (Wisdom
5,1)
9
. A few days later, he preached again before the Council on the feast of Saint Thomas, on 7
th

March
10
. In November 1417, Malla was unanimously elected a representative of the Spanish nation in the
Conclave, together with the theologian Gonzalo de Santa Mara and other four delegates from Castile and
Navarre. After the election of Pope Martin V, on 21
st
November, he delivered a speech on behalf of the
Spanish nation
11
.
Nonetheless, after the election of the new Pope the relationship between Felip de Malla and King
Alphonse grew worse. The kings of Aragon, Ferdinand and his son Alphonse, had taken upon themselves
the income of vacant benefices when they withdrew their obedience from the Avignonese Pope, and
created a fund of revenues in order to collect all the money that up till then had to be paid to Benedict
XIIIs Apostolic Camera. King Alphonse particularly needed that money since he found the royal treasury
nearly empty when he became the new King. But most of all, the King wanted to control the assignation
of ecclesiastical offices and benefices : even though the secular authority could not grant ecclesiastical
offices directly, the control of vacancies was an instrument to select appreciated people for major
roles.
Some serious problems arose when the Aragonese ambassadors, after the election of Martin V,
began to ask the new Pope for graces and benefices. In this instance, it seems that Felip de Malla did not



9
Three manuscripts of this sermon have survived: Milan, Ambrosiana, 116 sup., fs. 57r-64v; Kremsmnster,
Stiftbibliothek, 4, fs. 308v-316v; Sankt-Paul in Lavanttal, Stiftbibliothek, 30, fs. 135r-140r. Another manuscript was in the
Gymnasium Library of Stargard (Poland), but P.O. Kristeller, in his Iter Italicum, vol. 2 page 413, wrote that The manuscript
is reported to be lost.
10
Manuscripts: Venice, Marciana, 23, fs. 292-296; Kremsmnster, Stiftbibliothek, 4, fs. 317r-ss.; Sankt Paul in
Lavanttal, Stiftbibliothek, 30, fs. 140v-145v. Another copy got lost in Stargard (see footnote above).
11
Felip de Malla sent King Alphonse a letter in which he described in details the Conclave and the election of Martin
V: it has been transcribed in FINKE 1896-1928: 4: 147-155. In this letter, Malla spoke about la prophecia (Ap. 3,11-12)
[que] he pus diffusament explicada en la proposicio, que feta he al papa per la nacio de Spanya aquella present, ensemps ab
altres misteris de la scriptura sancta (Ibidem: 154).
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 7

ask for any special favours for himself
12
, but Martin V granted him some benefices, in particular a
pabordia (provostship) in Valencia, and the office of archdeacon in Barcelona, as a reward for the
important role that Malla had had during the conclave, when Martin had been elected. King Alphonse
gained information about those benefits from Maci de Puig and Paulo Nicols, two trustworthy
representatives he sent to Constance in 1417 in order to keep an eye on the ambassadors. On 8
th

December 1417, King Alphonse wrote a letter to Bernat de Gualbes, mestre racional of the Kingdom of
Valencia (the chief administrator of the royal assets) : the king accused Felip de Malla of showing
disrespect towards his King and threatened to banish him from his kingdom ( No darem pacincia que
aquests aytals nos vngan denant ne entren dins nostra senyoria PERARNAU 1978: 71 ; the king repeated
the same words in another letter, to Felip de Malla himself, with the date of 4
th
April 1418 : En cas que
indurit en vostra perfidia e inobediencia perseverarets no tollerariem en alguna manera que nos
venguessets davant BOFARULL 1882: 109).
Thenceforth, the king did not trust Felip de Malla as before, and, though Alphonse did not impose
the punishments he threatened, Felip de Malla did not work any more as a diplomat for his King.

d. The Generalitat of Catalonia

Felip de Malla went back to Catalonia in 1417, but on 14
th
of April 1419 he was called again to
preach in the Royal Chapel, on Good Friday. So we suppose that by that date the King had become
reconciled to him. That sermon about the Passion probably became the first chapter of Memorial del
pecador remut ( Memorial of the Redeemed Sinner ), his main spiritual and theological work, finished
by 1430. In 1421, Malla was appointed the administrator of the Holy Cross Hospital, the main hospital in
Barcelona.
In 1422-1423 the Generalitat, the institution which ruled the administration of Catalonia, chose
Malla to lead an embassy to King Alphonse himself, who was still in Italy, and also to the Pontifical
Court in Rome, perhaps in order to request the creation of a university in Barcelona. During the decade
1420-1430, Felip de Malla also worked to reform the Grammar schools of Barcelona, in order to establish
a School of Arts, a first step towards the creation of the University of Barcelona (which would eventually
happen in 1450). The City Council and the Cathedral Chapter had wanted this reform since 1422, and
finally this project was carried out under the direction of Felip de Malla.
Josep Perarnau (1978: 78.116) suggested that Malla read and studied Dantes work during this
stay in Italy, in light of the quotations and echoes of Dantes Commedia that can be found in Mallas
Memorial. Although it is possible that Malla first read Dante during his stay in Italy, he might have

12
PERARNAU 1978: 67-73 defends Malla from the accusation of asking for graces for himself, but most of all Perarnau
emphasizes the Popes freedom to grant ecclesiastical rents to anybody he wanted.
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 8

already read Dantes masterpiece in Constance or even in Barcelona (the poet Andreu Febrer finished his
translation of the Commedia in Barcelona in the year 1429, but Dante may have been read in Catalonia
even earlier).
After returning from Italy, Malla was elected one of the three deputats , the supreme rulers of
the Generalitat ; since the representative of the clergy had the right to preside over the other deputats,
Malla became the president of the Generalitat from 1425 to 1428. In 1430 he was appointed the Vicar
Capitular of Barcelona, after the death of Bishop Francesc Climent Sapera.
Felip de Malla died on 11th July 1431. We cannot read his will, which got lost, but when we see
the reports of its executors (cfr MADURELL 1964), we see that Mallas library was rich in Patristic and
Scholastic works, and also contained some works of classical authors.


II. MALLAS THEOLOGICAL WORKS
We can divide Mallas written production into three groups (see VILALLONGA 1993: 118-126) :
- theological works: Memorial del pecador remut (see above), Molt devota contemplaci del
precis cors de Jhesucrist (edited by VIVES 1951: 19-23), and a Planctus de materia
schismatis, lost,
- sermons,
- letters.
His letters give us much information about their authors life and opinions, most of all in the
context of the historical events in which Felip de Malla was involved. Josep Perarnau undertook the
edition of his political letters, but unfortunately he published only the first volume (1978), with a general
introduction, and then gave up the project. On the other hand, the Memorial del pecador remut, and the
sermons, are much more interesting in order to understand his opinions and his method in theology.

a. Memorial del pecador remut

The Memorial is the largest and the most important work by Felip de Malla. Two manuscripts
(Barcelona, Biblioteca de Catalunya 465, and Valencia, Cathedral 154) transmit the text of two different
parts of the same work. We can also read some copies of two incunabula editions : Girona 1483 and
Barcelona 1495 (a description in MALLA 1981-1982: 1: 51-55). A modern edition has been published too,
edited by Manuel Balasch (MALLA 1981-1982) ; yet it is an incomplete edition, because only a part of the
work (copied in the manuscript of Barcelona) has been published here, while the manuscript of Valencia,
which surely is the second part of the Memorial, is still unpublished.
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 9

Memorial del pecador remut ( Memorial of the Redeemed Sinner ) is about the redemption of
mankind ; it is not a typical medieval theological treatise, structured in articuli and quaestiones, but rather
a literary work where the author pursues both a clear exposition of theological concepts, and an elegant
and precious style.
Why did Malla, who was able to write in fluent and precious Latin (for example in his sermons
before the Council), write this book in Catalan ? I think that there is more than one reason : he probably
wrote it for cultured lay people, either members the nobility or the bourgeoisie, who were interested in
theology but did not read Latin. But above all Felip de Malla must certainly have known another Catalan
writer, the Franciscan Francesc Eiximenis, who wrote his huge encyclopaedia of Christianity, the books
of Lo Cresti ( The Christian ) in Catalan.
In the first part of the Memorial, the author describes the situation of mankind overwhelmed by
sin, and their hope of salvation; human salvation fulfilled by Jesus Christ is explained in the second part.
Malla often uses dialogues, or fictitious interventions spoken by Jesus Christ, God himself, the Virgin
Mary, and also biblical prophets, apostles, other characters in biblical history, Greek philosophers and the
Sibyls. In this section of the work, the Sibyl is a key figure, as her voice is the voice of pre-Christian
wisdom, waiting for redemption: that is why we can say that Malla is a sort of Christian pre-humanist,
open to any contribution of non-Christian authors in his Christian perspective : for example he quotes
Aristotle, as well as Seneca, Sallust, Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Homer (though he probably did not read all
these authors works, but extracted those quotations from centones).
The Memorial is a kind of long, written sermon, a sample of high-level preaching. Several
topics of dogmatic and moral theology are touched on ; in particular the virtues are personified and can
speak and reply about the history of human salvation.
Beginning from the seventh chapter of the Barcelonese manuscript (first part) we can find a
disputation (it could be an academic disputation, but even a sort of trial), under the presidency of God the
Father, about the convenience of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Virgin Mary performs as her
sons advocate (or maybe she is a figure of the theologian himself, who tries to understand why Christ
had to suffer and die on the cross), and many other characters of the Bible and classical history speak to
her about the redemption through Christs death.
In his theological system, Malla is faithful to Christian dogmata, and to the Scholastic tradition :
Thomas Aquinas is certainly a major reference, though Malla is sometimes closer to Scotuss theology,
for example when he states that the Incarnation was foreseen even before the Fall, and even if man had
not sinned, nevertheless the second person of the Trinity would have become flesh. Another typical tract
of Mallas Christology is an insistence on the absolute superabundance of the excess of the cross is a
free and gracious gift of God.

Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 10

The description of Theology (pronounced by Theology herself) in the sixth chapter is quite
interesting:
Yo sn Theologia sancta, inmaculada, raig de lum supernal, transcendent e infalsificable, tramesa dalt a baix, e dels
cels a la terra, per instruir los hmens qui viuen en lo mn, certs de lur mort e aix mateix de resurrecci, de les
veritats necessaries a llur salvaci e per dirigir-los a fi eternal, qui s fruci de b divinal. Car yo, incomparablement
altificada sobre tota scincia e scriptura humana, preych e declar via de veritat, apellant les gents a la ptria subirana,
regi de vivents, don mort, ignorncia e vana cupiditat sn del tot exellades, e revocant-les de terrenals desigs, los
fas venir en sa vera, sens capci e altra ficci, e certa felicitat, font e principi de tota bondat inseparable de eternitat.
(MALLA 1981-1982: 1: 222-223)

In Mallas system, Theology is first of all interpretation of Scripture ; so, it has a practical aim,
which is to lead people to heaven, to eternal beatitude, rather than a theoretical purpose.
E girant devs mi los seus ulls scintillants, ... produhm denant XLVII rtols, los quals, segons me dix, eren los
XLVII libres del Vell Testament, qui per la obscuritat, e ab ombra de ley, sn figurats per rtols amaguats e conplits e
conclosos. E ms avant me liur lo libre que tenia sota la exella, tancat devers la part del cor, en lo qual era scrit ab
letres daur, resplendents e belles, lo Novell Testament. (MALLA 1981-1982: 1: 241)

b. Sermons

According to the list given by Vilallonga (1993: 119-121), we have thirteen sermons by Felip de
Malla with the date when they were given, three more speeches delivered in secular contexts (two at the
contest of Gaia Cincia and one on behalf of the Catalan Parliament, or Corts), and eleven sermons
without a date. Some of them are quite interesting for they are bi-lingual sermons : like some other
preachers, Malla used Latin and Catalan in continuum when he preached before the people.
The oldest sermon we know was given on the day of the Annunciation in 1408, in the church of
San Lorenzo in Portovenere, Italy: Malla was surely there with the court of Pope Benedict XIII. On 9
th

July 1431 Felip de Malla should have given a sermon during the funeral of Violant de Bar, the widow of
King John I, but he felt faint, could not finish preaching and died a few days later.
All those sermons were read before different groups of people : the King, the congregation in the
Pine Tree church, the fathers of the Council of Constance, several poets gathered during the contest of
the Gaia Cincia. In February 1413 the King wanted Malla to speak at the beginning and at the end of the
poetry contest that took place every year in Barcelona (the texts were copied in the manuscript of
Barcelona, Biblioteca de Catalunya, ms. 466, f. 86v-92v; cfr OLIVAR 1991, PUJOL 1996). In the opening
ceremony the orator had to announce the themes on which the poets (who thought of themselves as the
true heirs of the troubadours) had to compose their works ; at the end of the festival, the same master had


Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 11

to proclaim the winner. So, in the first speech, Malla explains his relationship with Theolog
13
. He
introduces himself as a theologian ( Fill e alumpne de la sancta e seraphica Theolegia ), explaining
how he found his joy and consolation in Theology, and suggesting that the poets listening to him should
imitate him and write their works about religious matters, exactly like the best Greek and Latin poets :
Com sia fill e alumpne jatsia inutil de la sancta e seraphica Theolegia, voltar me ves ella com a mare e maestressa
perque la fredor de mon enteniment reba auxili per la calor de les sues vestidures, les quals dona dobles als seus
domstichs (Prouerbiorum ultimo: Non timebit domui suae a frigoribus niuis: omnes domestici eius uestiti sunt
dupplicibus), car ella es com a luminari major del mon, dant calor, splendor e stils de honor a cells qui la servexen
(PUJOL 1996: 223)
14
.
Another interesting sermon is the first one that Felip de Malla gave before the Council of
Constance, on the very day of his official reception as an ambassador of the Crown of Aragon
15
. Fillastre
describes the arrival of Malla at the Council and his sermon (prolixum valde et rhetoricum atque
poticum cum admixtione sacre scripture et historiarum ) :
Die lune quarta Januarii anno Domini millesimo quandringentesimo decimo septimo et huius concilii tercio sedit
concilium sine solennitate et parata sedes alta ad ambonem ante non retro pro recipiendo legatum unum regis
Aragonum magistrum Philippum de Medalia, sacre pagine professorem, qui primo litteras dicti regis presentavit
credenciales. Quibus lectis statim incepit sermonem sumpto themate: Stabunt iusti in magna constancia, sermonem
prolixum valde et rhetoricum atque poticum cum admixtione sacre scripture et historiarum compendiose. Finito
sermone dixit credenciam, quod ex parte regis Aragonum fuit missus ad regem Castelle et illum sollicitavit de
substracione fienda per eum Petro de Luna, de mittendo ad hoc concilium, de uniendo se et regnum suum concilio, de
pubblicando litteras convocacionis. Et obtinuit, quod idem rex Castelle litteras convocatorias ad concilium fecit per
regnum suum publicare et quod ordinavit legacionem solennem ad concilium, que iam egressa regnum Castelle erat in
Aragonia cum bona et ampla potestate; laudavit plurimum regem suum de laboribus et perseverancia in proposito
unionis. [...] D. cardinalis Florentinus respondit propositum legati regis Aragonum sumpto themate pro rege: Vir Dei
es, et deducit ad laudes regis, et ita recessum est (FINKE 1896-1928: 2: 83-84).

This sermon is about the union and reform of the Church. In particular, we find the theme of the
two cities, Jerusalem and Babylon : the city of Constance is the new Jerusalem, where the righteous
cooperate to put an end to the Schism, while the evil forces that caused the division of the Church belong
to Belial and Lucifers city (which is also the kingdom of tartareus Pluto , ms. Ambrosiana 116sup., f.
57r). After the Iberian kingdoms have rejoined the Council, all Christendom is present ( Adest
Aragonia, adest Portugalia, adest Navarra , 64v), and the fathers ( quos per vinculo amoris pietas

13
Malla believed that poetry and artful prose should be devoted to theological, moral and political subjects, so his
affection for Latin letters departs from the didactic line of Antoni Canals as well as from the Boccaccian poetry of Metge and
Corella (BADIA 2010: 63).
14
Addressing the poets, Malla reminds them to write poems about Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, King Ferdinand,
Prince Alphonse, and the Great Schism, which is something more awful than a monster. Once again we can see that the Bible
and the Classics are shown as models: Malla suggests that the poets should imitate king David, who composed perfect poems
about the Messiah; but Greek and Latin poets are also examples of wise poetry (the theme of the sermon was the exhortation
Psallite sapienter, from Psalm 46): Aquell excellent trobador, perabolic maravellos e poeta, orator virtuos, hystoric, ensemps
savi theolec e propheta David, rey de Jerusalem e de Judea, qui, vestint se de la vestidura de Simonides, poeta e philosoph, e
cantant ab mida de vers perfecta, incorporant ab si los studis daquells famosos achademians e stoichs Pindarus, Alcheus,
Flaccus, Catulus et Serenus, ... volch en sperit de prophecia despertar lo bon Jesus, per mort corporal dormint en lo sepulcre.
... E ao par vulla notar aquell excellent rhetoric sant Hieronim, abeurat en les fonts de eloquentia de Demostenes, Virgili,
Salusti e Titus Livius, e Tulli e Plato, dient in Epistula ad Paulinum: Dauid Simonides noster, Pindarus et Alcheus, Flaccus
quoque, Catulus atque Serenus, Christum lyra praedicat et in decacordo psalterio ab inferis excitat resurgentem (PUJOL
1996: 205-207). Once again we should note that this is not a Renaissance perspective: as Josep Pujol notices (ibidem), this
way of reading the Bible (and the Classics) is quite close to Nicholas of Lyra and Jean Gerson.
15
The sermon is still inedited, but I hope I can achieve a critical edition soon (I have transcribed the passages cited in
this article). For a list of the manuscripts, see above, note 9.
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 12

suprema ligavit , 64v) can accomplish their mission and reunify the Church. The prose is flowery and
verbose, rich in mythological images : the Church is the small boat that has to sail inter spumosas
procelosi Sirtes equoris (57r), the members of the Council can steer the Church, and take it to a calm
harbour. Once again, we can find a sequence of references to the Bible, and classical literature and
mythology, as we saw in the speeches before the poetry contest of 1413.


III. A TYPICAL THEOLOGIAN AND SPIRITUAL AUTHOR OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY

A monograph about Felip de Malla as a theologian has still not been written. Mart de Riquer
(1980: 387-425), in his history of Catalan literature, focussed on literary aspects, such as style, sources,
models; Josep Perarnau, in his introduction of the political letters (PERARNAU 1978) and in his articles
(1984, 2002, and 2008), shows us many details about his political interventions and opinions, particularly
about Malla as a supporter of the Catalan pactism . Only the classical philologist Manuel Balasch
wrote some essays about Mallas theology, in the 1980s (most of all about his use of biblical and pre-
Christian authorities: BALASCH 1978, 1982, and 1983), but he died in 2008, and probably somebody
should pick up the baton.
Felip de Malla can certainly be considered a theologian, due to his education in Paris and his
writings, above all his Memorial and his sermons. He also took part in the debate about the Immaculate
Conception, defending the thesis of the Conception of the Virgin Mary without original sin. But Malla
was a theologian and master outside the University : the court and the city (especially Barcelona) were the
milieus where he used his authority. The most prominent figure of a preacher in this period is Vicent
Ferrer, and we can find some similarities between him and Felip de Malla ; nonetheless, there are also
some evident differences : for example, we can not find in Ferrers sermons that attention to the classical
world that, as we saw, is typical of Malla.
Malla is not a proper humanist , since he appreciates pre-Christian authors only in a Christian
perspective, for their moral teaching (Seneca) or their prophecies about the future coming of the Messiah
(Virgil, the Sibylline oracles) : although he owned many books by Latin authors, he was not interested in
the philological effort that was typical of the first generation of humanists. It is quite clear however that
he does not quote those authors only as decorative examples: he has a wide perspective on history,
which allows him to see these authors as real authorities.
Our theologian stands at the passage from the late Middle Ages towards humanism. Both the
fathers of the Church and pagan authors are authorities for him, although the Christian dogma is still
the centre of his attention, and the only hermeneutic criterion for reading and criticizing any literary work
of the past.
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 13

Marco PEDRETTI
Facultat de Lletres
Universitat de Girona (Espagne)


Bibliography
ALDASY, Antal (1935): Les rapports de Sigismond avec le Royaume d'Aragon, Estudis Universitaris
Catalans, 20, pp. 1-49.
BADA Elias, Joan (1988): LEsglsia catalana entre Constana i Benet XIII (1416), in: Jornades sobre
el Cisma dOccident a Catalunya. les Illes i el Pas Valenc: Barcelona-Penscola, 19-21 dabril
de 1979: Ponncies i comunicacions, Barcelona, Institut dEstudis Catalans: pp. 309-336.
BADIA, Lola (2010): Volent escriure a vostra consolaci e plaer: Metge, Corella and other 14th and 15th
century masters of Catalan prose, Catalan Historical Review, 3, pp. 55-68.
BALASCH Recort, Manuel (1983): Un precursor del humanismo peninsular: Felipe de Malla,
Helmntica, 34 : Corollas philologicas in honorem Iosephi Guillen Cabaero edendas curavit
Iosephus Oroz Reta, pp. 73-79.
BALASCH Recort, Manuel (1978): El pensament bblic de Felip de Malla, Revista Catalana de
Teologia, 3, pp. 99-126.
BOFARULL Sans, Francesc (1882): Felipe de Malla y el Concilio de Constanza : Estudio histrico-
biogrfico: Documentos justificativos y correspondencia diplomtica de los embajadores
aragoneses, Gerona, Impr. y Librera de Paciano Torres.
Cisma dOccident a Catalunya (1979): El Cisma dOccident a Catalunya, les Illes i el Pas Valenci:
Repertori bibliogrfic, Barcelona, Institut d'Estudis Catalans.
FINKE, Heinrich, Johannes Hollnsteiner & Hermann Heimpel (edd.) (1896-1928): Acta Concilii
Constanciensis, Mnster i. W., Verlag der Regensbergschen Buchhandlung.
FROMME, Bernhard (1894): Die Spanische Nation und das Konstanzer Konzil: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte
des Grossen Abendlndischen Schismas, Mnster, Regensberg.
GOI Gaztambide, Jos (1966): Los espaoles en el Concilio de Constanza: Notas biogrficas, Madrid
Barcelona, C.S.I.C.
Jornades sobre el Cisma (1986-1988): Jornades sobre el Cisma dOccident a Catalunya, les Illes i el
Pas Valenci : Barcelona-Penscola, 19-21 dabril de 1979: Ponncies i comunicacions,
Barcelona, Institut dEstudis Catalans.
MADURELL Marimon, Josep M. (1964): Mestre Felip de Malla, Boletn de la Real Academia de Buenas
Letras de Barcelona, 30, pp. 499-626.
MALLA, Felip de (1981-1982): Memorial del pecador remut: Manuscrit de Barcelona, Manuel Balasch i
Recort (ed.), Barcelona, Barcino.
MALLA, Felip de (1978): Correspondncia poltica, Josep Perarnau Espelt (ed.), Barcelona, Barcino.
Revue de Sciences Religieuses 86 n 2 (2012), p.000-000 14
MARTNEZ Ferrando, Jess E. & Francisca Solsona Clement (1953): San Vicente Ferrer y la
Casa Real de Aragn: Documentacin conservada en el Archivo Real de Barcelona, Analecta
Sacra Tarraconensia, 26, pp. 1-143.
OLIVAR, Maral (1991): Dos discursos de Felip de Malla, in: Francesc Fontbona & Amadeu-J.
Soberanas (edd.), Obra dispersa: Llibre en homenatge en el seu 90 aniversari, Barcelona,
Biblioteca de Catalunya, pp. 25-38.
PALACKY, Franz (1869): Documenta Mag. Joannis Hus: Vitam, doctrinam, causam in Constantiensi
concilio actam et controversias de religione in Bohemia, annis 1403-1418 motas, Praha,
Tempsky.
PERARNAU Espelt, Josep (1984): Poltica, lullisme i cisma doccident: La campanya barcelonina a favor
de la festa universal de la Purssima els anys 1415-1432, Arxiu de Textos Catalans Antics, 3, pp.
59-191.
PERARNAU Espelt, Josep (2002): La lletra de Felip de Malla informant el rei Alfons del terratrmol de la
Candelera 1428, Arxiu de Textos Catalans Antics, 21, pp. 665-670.
PERARNAU Espelt, Josep (2008): Felip de Malla, president de la Generalitat de Catalunya, defensa la vila
de Cervera de les velleitats dels Trastmara, Arxiu de Textos Catalans Antics, 27, pp. 87-113.
PUJOL, Josep (1996): Psallite sapienter: La gaia cincia en els sermons de Felip de Malla de 1413 (Estudi
i edici), Cultura Neolatina, 56, pp. 177-250.
RIQUER, Mart de (ed.) (1980): Histria de la literatura catalana, 3 ed., Barcelona, Ariel.
SANLLEHY i Girona, Carles (marqus de Caldes de Montbui) (1945): Una extraordinaria embajada: La
Corona de Aragn y el Concilio de Constanza, Boletn de la Real Academia de Buenas Letras de
Barcelona, 18, pp. 1-28.
SANLLEHY i Girona, Carles (marqus de Caldes de Montbui) (1947): Los embajadores de los estados
espaoles en el Concilio de Constanza, Boletn de la Real Academia de Buenas Letras de
Barcelona, 20, pp. 5-41.
VZQUEZ Janeiro, Isaac (1989): Una coleccin de documentos del Concilio de Constanza, Revista
espaola de derecho cannico, 46, pp. 115-126.
VZQUEZ Janeiro, Isaac (1991): Nominetur ille doctor: El ltimo deseo incumplido de Juan Hus en
Constanza, Antonianum, 66, pp. 265-300.
VZQUEZ Janeiro, Isaac (1994): El maestro salmantino Diego Moxena de Valencia, lector de Dante y
Petrarca, Salmanticensis, 41, pp. 397-432.
VILALLONGA, Maringela (1993): La Literatura llatina a Catalunya al segle XV: Repertori bio-
bibliogrfic, Barcelona, Curial.
VIVES Castell, Jos (1951): Textos eucarsticos catalanes cuatrocentistas, Analecta Sacra
Tarraconensia, 24, pp. 9-32.
VOOGHT, Paul de (1960): Lhrsie de Jean Huss, Louvain, Publications universitaires de Louvain.