JOHN of Poullly (de Pollicao). — Scholastic philosopher and theologian, d. after 1322.
A pupil of Godfrey of Fontaines (de Fontibus), he became master of arts in 1295, doctor of theology before 1307, and taught as such for about two decades in Paris. He was one of the professors consulted in the trial of the Templars, and proved to be one of the most ardent opponents of the Order.
Interesting details on the trial are recorded in his Quodlibeta. In the conflict over the privileges of the mendicant orders, which flared up again after the Council of Vienne (in the Dauphiné), he took such a harsh stand against the privilege of hearing confessions that he was accused before the Curia and forced to retract (1321; cf. Denz-U, 491-93). It seems that after this condemnation he continued to teach in Paris without further incident. His doctrinal position depends largely on the intellectualism of Godfrey of Fontaines, but also shows many Thomistic traits and is not entirely free from the influences of the scepticism and fideism then in vogue. Principal works:
5 Quodlibeta, disputed between 1307 and 1312, and Quaestiones ordinariae (all unpublished).