ANTONIO DA BUTRIO

ANTONIO da BUTRIO. – Celebrated lay canonist, b. ca. 1338 in Bologna, d. there on 4 October 1408. He studied civil law at the school of Pietro d'Ancarano, receiving his doctorate in 1384; in 1387 he also obtained a doctorate in canon law. Apart from a few interruptions, he taught in Bologna from 1391 until his death. A man eminent for learning and virtue, he was greatly esteemed by Gregory XII, who sent him to the antipope Benedict XIII to attempt to resolve the Western Schism. His works on canon law, although judged by some to be somewhat disordered, were highly esteemed. We mention: Commentaria in quinque Libros Decretalium (Rome 1473, Milan 1488); Commentaria in Sextum (Venice 1499); Consilia (Rome 1472). Alberto Scola