- Felip de Malla
Felip de Malla (1370–
12 July 1431 ) was a Catalanprelate ,theologian , scholastic,orator , classical scholar, andpoet . He was aconfidante of the kings Martin the Humane, Ferdinand of Antequera, and Alfonso the Magnanimous. He was the seventeenth President of theGeneralitat de Catalunya from 1425 to 1428.Born in
Barcelona and educated inliterature andphilosophy at theUniversity of Lleida , Felip eventually earned a master's of theology from the Paris. He later tookholy orders . Renowned for his oratory and his classical prose, among the ancients which he can be shown to have read arePindar , Alcaeus,Horace ,Catullus , andSerenus Sammonicus . A high percentage of his ownmanuscript s survive. Between 1419 and 1424 he penned his most important work, "Memorial del peccador reemut", anascetic treatise on Christianity, Judaism, and paganism. This manuscript now resides in theBiblioteca de Catalunya (MS. 465). Twoincunabula of the "Memorial del peccador reemut" exist: the first was published in 1483 and the second in 1495 byJoan Rosenbach at theAbbey of Montserrat .In 1408 Felip was appointed "conseller e promotor dels negocis de la cort" ("counsellor and business promoter of the court") by Martin. He maintained this position under Ferdinand and Alfonso. Felip participated in the negotiations leading up to the
Compromise of Caspe , putting his support decisively behind Ferdinand of Antequera and exerting effective influence on his part. Felip also played a role in the resolution of theWestern Schism through his work at theCouncil of Constance and his efforst against the following of Benedict XIII, his former patron. In the election to choose a pope, Felip received six votes at Constance.In February 1413, the
Consistori de Barcelona held a poetry competition at thePalau Reial Major . Both the opening speech ("presuposición") and the closing one were given by Felip de Malla, one of the maintainers ("mantenidors") of the Consistori. Both speeches were transcribed (and presumably delivered) in a Catalan liberally seasoned with classical and ecclesiastical Latin, as befitted Felip's education and reputation. Not surprisingly from a master of theology, it is intensely religious:In light of the fact that Ferdinand is involved in a war with theJames II, Count of Urgell , Felip, whose duty it is as maintainer to dive the contestants a theme, asks for short, sharp verses about war, namely, a "sirventes ".Riquer, 576.]In 1423 Felip was the
dean of thediocese of Huesca and thenalmoner of Elne. In 1424 he was elevated to the position ofarchdeacon of the see of Barcelona, which post he held until his death. In 1425 he was made president of the Generalitat. In that capacity he had to fight the distance between the king and the nobility, growing wider since the Corts de Barcelona of 1421. During his term Felip had deal with the introduction of Castilians into government offices, the lack of concern showed by King Alfonso for his Spanish territories, the preoccupation of the king with the conquest of Naples, and the attempt by Alfonso to create afief for his younger brother Peter atCervera . In 1428 Catalonia was ravaged by theplague , and an earthquake struck on 2 February. This earthquake was one of only several that struck Catalonia (especiallyRoussillon ) during the years 1427–28. The duty of informing the king, who was then inValencia , fell to Felip, whose letter and description of the event survives. [Felip's letter is reproduced by Perarnau i Espelt. It is dated9 February 1428 .] Felip left office later that year. He died on 12 July 1431 in Barcelona.Bibliography
*Balasch i Recort, M. (1978). "El pensament biblic de Felip de Malla". "Revista Catalana de Teologia Barcelona", 3:1, pp. 99–126.
*Perarnau i Espelt, Josep (2002). [http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2219787 "La lletra de Felip de Malla informant el rei Alfons del terratrèmol de la Candelera, 1428".] "Arxiu de textos catalans antics", 21:665–670. ISSN 0211-9811
*Riquer, Martí de (1964). "Història de la Literatura Catalana", vol. 1. Barcelona: Edicions Ariel.Notes
External links
* [http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/FichaObra.html?Ref=12853 "Memorial del pecador remut" por Felip de Malla] at Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
* [http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/m/malla.htm Felip de Malla] at Biografías y vidas.
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