DURAND (Durandus) GUILLAUME, bishop of MENDE. - Canonist and liturgist, b. at Puimission, north of Béziers (France) ca. 1230. He studied law in Italy and was professor there at Bologna and later at Modena. In Rome he was entrusted with many delicate assignments. In 1286 he was named bishop of Mende, and in 1295 governor of Romagna and the Marca d'Ancona. He d. at Rome on 1 Nov. 1296; his body rests at S. Maria sopra Minerva. He occupies an important place in the history of law.
He was the author of Commentarii on the Novellae of Gregory X, of a Breviarium seu Repertorium on the Decretals, works very useful for theory and practice. But the most notable work of D. is the Speculum iudiciale, a felicitous attempt to expound the entire system of law through the procedural form. In it, alongside the formulae of acts which are organized under the new Romanistic influence of the juridical schools, there is a broad doctrinal elaboration, supported by passages from Italian theorists and practitioners sometimes quoted verbatim, as appears from the notes which the great canonist and historian of law Giovanni Andrea appended to D.’s Speculum. The work, which exercised such wide influence in the juridical world of common law, may therefore be considered a direct offspring of Italian dogmatic elaboration. In addition to the listed treatises on law, he also wrote two works on liturgy: Rationale divinorum officiorum and Pontificalis ordinis liber. The former was of immense importance in the Middle Ages, being the first to be printed at Mainz with metal type in 1459. It offers a mystical, allegorical and moral exposition of sacred liturgy, treating of the church, its furnishings, the Sacraments, sacred ministers, divine offices, the Mass, feasts and the calendar. An exaggerated symbolism pervades it, and it abounds in biblical citations not always verified.
Another work that enjoyed singular success is his Pontificale, which was later adopted by the Roman Church. His work on this dates from the last years of his life.
Dura Europos - Esdra. Fresco of the Synagogue (3rd century).