DURAND (Durandus) GUILLAUME, bishop of MENDE. — Canonist and liturgist, b. at Puimission, north of Béziers (France), c. 1230. He studied law in Italy and taught it at Bologna and later at Modena. In Rome he was entrusted with many important and delicate assignments. In 1286 he was appointed bishop of Mende, and in 1295 governor of Romagna and the March of Ancona. He d. in Rome on 1 November 1296; his body rests in S. Maria sopra Minerva. He occupies an important place in the history of law.
He was the author of Commentarii on the Novels of Gregorius X, and of a Breviarium seu Repertorium on the Decretals, works of great utility both for theory and practice. But D.’s most notable work is the Speculum iudiciale, a successful attempt to present the entire system of law through its procedural form. In it, alongside the formulas of legal acts, which are also organized under the new Romanist influence of the juridical schools, there is a broad doctrinal elaboration supported by passages from Italian theorists and practitioners, sometimes reproduced literally, as appears from the notes that the great canonist and historian of law Giovanni Andrea appended to D.’s Speculum. The work, which exercised such broad influence in the juridical world of the ius commune, may therefore be regarded as the direct offspring of Italian dogmatic elaboration. In addition to the legal treatises listed above, he also wrote two works on liturgy: Rationale diminorum officiorum and Pontificalis ordinis liber. The former enjoyed enormous importance in the Middle Ages, to the extent that it was the first book printed at Mainz with metal type, in 1459. It presents sacred liturgy in a mystical, allegorical, and moral exposition, and treats of the church, its adornment, the Sacraments, the sacred ministers, the divine offices, the Mass, feasts, and the calendar. It is permeated by an exaggerated symbolism, and biblical quotations, not always checked, abound in II.
Another work that enjoyed exceptional success is his Pontificale, which was subsequently adopted by the Roman Church. His work dates from the final years of his life. In it
he sets forth the Roman liturgy, introducing new elements deriving from local traditions. This Pontificale now has a careful critical edition accompanied by an extensive introduction by M. Andrieu (Le Pontifical romain au moyen âge, III: Le Pontifical de G. D. [Studi e Testi, 88, Roma 1940).
He should not be confused with D. Guillaume innior, also a canonist and theologian, but a less significant figure who lived shortly after him (cf. concerning the latter J. F. Schulte, Gesch. der Quellen und Lit. des Kan. Rechts, II, Stoccarda 1876, p. 195, and P. Viollet, Guillaume D. le jeune, évêque de Mende, in Hist. litt. de la France, XXXV, Parigi 1921, pp. 1-139).