FLETE, WILLIAM. - Augustinian theologian, born in England at the beginning of the 14th century. Already a bachelor in the universities of his homeland, he became an Augustinian; drawn by the reputation for holiness enjoyed by the religious of the monastery of Lecceto in Tuscany, he went there, where he too lived a holy life. He was an enthusiastic disciple, friend, and adviser of s. Caterina da Siena, and a staunch defender of Urbano VI against the schismatics who at that time were afflicting the Church. He died around 1780.
Among his not numerous works, the following deserve special mention: Traciatus de remedii contra testationes (cod. I. 1.6, 30, ff. 108-16, in the Library of the University of Cambridge, and misc. 467, ff. 286-90 of the Bodleian at Oxford); Epistolae (especially noteworthy are those concerning the Sienese virgin); Sermo in reverentia b. Catherine de Senis (Siena, Biblioteca comunale, T. II. 7, ff. 17-29 and Archivio generale O. P. in Rome, XIV-24, ff. 195-204).