Nicolò de' Tudeschi (Panormitanus) (b. at

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, in 1386; d. at

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, 24 February 1445) was an Italian

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

canonist Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

Life

In 1400 he entered the Order of St. Benedict; he was sent (1405-6) to the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

to study under Zabarella; in 1411 he became a doctor of canon law, and taught successively at Parma (1412–18), Siena (1419–30), and Bologna (1431–32). Meanwhile, in 1425, he was made abbot of the monastery of Maniace, near

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

, whence his name "Abbas", to which has been added "modernus" or "recentior" (in order to distinguish him from Bernard Of Montmirat, commonly referred to as " Abbas antiquus", a thirteenth-century canonist who died about 1288); Panormitanus is also known as "Abbas Siculus" on account of his Sicilian origin. In 1433 he went to Rome where he exercised the functions of auditor of the Rota and Apostolic

referendary Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe. Pre-modern history The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byza ...

. The following year he relinquished these offices and placed himself at the service of

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in Catalan language, Catalan) (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfons V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfons I) from 1442 until his ...

, King of Sicily, obtaining the See of

, whence his Latin name "Panormitanus" (Palermo in Latin is ''Panormus''). He was confirmed by

Pope Eugene IV Pope Eugene IV (; ; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death, in February 1447. Condulmer was a Republic of Venice, Venetian, and a nephew ...

on 9 March 1435 and consecrated bishop on 4 July.Catholic-hierarchy.org: "Archbishop Niccolò Tedeschi"
retrieved February 11, 2020 During the troubles that marred the pontificate of Eugene IV, Nicolò at first followed the party of this pontiff, whom he represented briefly at the

Council of Basel The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1445. It was convened in territories under the Holy Roman Empire. Italy became a venue of a Catholic ecumenical council aft ...

; but subsequently he allied himself with the

antipope Felix V Amadeus VIII (4 September 1383 – 7 January 1451), nicknamed the Peaceful, was Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and Duke of Savoy from 1416 to 1440. He was a claimant to the papacy from 1439 to 1449 as Felix VWhen numbering of the popes began ...

who, in 1440, named him cardinal.

Pius II Pope Pius II (, ), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini (; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August 1458 to his death in 1464. Aeneas Silvius was an author, diplomat, ...

, in an early work, depicts Panormitanus as lamenting that instructions from Alfonso made him oppose quick action to depose Eugene. Panormitanus represented the Council of Basel at imperial diets that discussed the fight between Eugene and the council.

Doctrine

At a time when the principle of contractual consensualism was not applicable in civil law, Panormitanus was in favor of the use of the ''denunciatio evangelica'', and therefore of recourse to ecclesiastical jurisdictions to obtain the execution of consensual contracts. He wrote thus "And I conclude that where sin feeds on the observance of civil law, as well as in a natural obligation born of consent or when one enriches himself to the detriment of the other, one can have recourse to the Church". He also extended his reflections by estimating that a principle of non-formalism can be observed for contracts, wills as well as electoral procedures. These views would later be taken up by the theologian Adrian of Utrecht, future

Pope Adrian VI Pope Adrian VI (; ; ; ), born Adriaan Florensz Boeyens (2 March 1459 – 14 September 1523), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 January 1522 until his death on 14 September 1523. The only Dutch people, Du ...

, then contested by

Francisco de Vitoria Francisco de Vitoria ( – 12 August 1546; also known as Francisco de Victoria) was a Spanish Roman Catholic philosopher, theologian, and jurist of Renaissance Spain. He is the founder of the tradition in philosophy known as the School of Sala ...

and

Domingo de Soto Domingo de Soto (1494 – 15 November 1560) was a Spanish Dominican priest and Scholastic theologian and naturalist born in Segovia (Spain), and died in Salamanca (Spain), at the age of 66. He is best known as one of the founders of internatio ...

. He also considers, in view of the close relationship between Christian morality and contractual commitment, that when one of the parties to the contract is struck by excommunication, he cannot obtain the execution of the contract. This opinion, which became problematic following the Protestant Reformation, will be strongly evoked by

Francisco Suárez Francisco Suárez (; 5 January 1548 – 25 September 1617) was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement. His work is considered a turning point in the history of second ...

and Martin Becanus.

Works

Medieval scholars referred to Panormitanus with the scholastic accolade of (lamp of the law), in honor of his works on canon law. In his he upheld the doctrine of the superiority of a general council to the pope. This was written for the 1442 Diet of Frankfurt, at which he was opposed by

Nicholas of Cusa Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic bishop and polymath active as a philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first Ger ...

. His other works include: A fine edition of his works appeared at Venice in 1477; among later, frequent editions, that published in 1617-18 (Venice) in 10 folio volumes is especially notable. There also is a Lyon 1521-1522 edition of the Decretals commentary.

References

* Knut Wolfgang Norr, ''Kirche und Konzil bei Nicolaus de Tudeschis (Panormitanus)'' (Cologne, 1964). *

Johann Friedrich von Schulte Johann Friedrich von Schulte (April 23, 1827 – December 19, 1914) was a German legal historian and professor of canon law who was born in Winterberg, Westphalia. He was a leading authority on Catholic canon law. In 1854 he became a lecture ...

, ''Die Gesch. der Quellen u. Lit. des canonischen Rechtes'', II (Stuttgart, 1877), 312-313 *Sabbadini, ''Storia documentata della Reale Universita di Catania'' (Catania, 1898), 10 sq. *Brandileone, ''Notizie su Graziano e su Niccolo de Tudeschis tratte da una cronaca inedita. Studi e memorie per la storia dell' Universita di Bologna'', I (Bologna, 1909), i, 18-21. * *

Notes

{{Authority control 1386 births 1445 deaths Italian Benedictines 15th-century Italian jurists Canon law jurists 15th-century Italian writers 15th-century writers in Latin