Guillelmus Durantis (1230/1237–1296)
Guillelmud Durantis (1230/1237–1296)

Summary/Abstract: In this article, the Author undertook the task of compiling a biography of Guillelmus Durant-is, a bishop and legal scholar, and the characteristics of his work. The study reveals the author ofSpeculum iudiciale as a seasoned church offi cial and a scholar in Roman and canon law. Becauseof his administrative and mediatorial talents, Durantis was often employed on matters requiringthe Pope’s ongoing interventions. He organized and clarifi ed the liturgy and presented the entireprocess now known as Roman-canonical process in a single work. Durantis’ fi ndings closed manyscientifi c and practical debates about the process for several centuries.The special signifi cance of Durantis ‚ Speculum Iudiciale, presented in this article, can beexplained both by the excellence of the work and by the nature of the procedural law norms them-selves. While substantive law deals with the most diverse aspects of life, often independent fromthe man, procedural law is an exclusive product of the man, entirely dependent on his actions,and therefore can and should be written precisely. Of course, diffi cult cases can arise even here,but its formation can be far more precise than the substantive law regulating an infi nite variety ofsituations. For the purposes of the Roman-canonical process, such shaping has succeeded, as evi-denced by the centuries-old authority of the Speculum Judiciale.

• Details
• Contents