WALEYS, THOMAS. - Dominican theologian, b. in England in the second half of the 13th century, d. after 21 Feb. 1349.
A master in theology, professor at Oxford (1314) and Bologna (1327), he took sides against the Spirituals in the question of poverty. On the problem of the beatific vision he declared himself opposed to the opinions of John XXII. His adversaries therefore accused him before the inquisitor William of Montrond, who gathered from a discourse of his, delivered at Avignon on 3 Jan. 1333, six erroneous propositions. These, examined together with the doctrine of Durandus of St-Pourçain by a commission of theologians, were declared suspect of heresy. W., not satisfied, because he had not been permitted to discuss his position, appealed to the Holy See (12 Oct.), accusing the inquisitor of having acted against the law. The appeal was accepted through the intervention of the King of France, and W. was almost about to be freed, when his adversaries circulated a libellus fumosus, composed expressly against the De instantibus et momentis, which W. had written in prison and in which it was maintained that the Resurrection and the Last Judgment would have occurred in the same instant. The trial was resumed before a cardinalatial commission (28 Feb. 1334), and W., perhaps because he was weakened by imprisonment, showed himself much more submissive, but the question was not settled and it seems that W., without having been condemned, died in prison.
He left many writings; besides the De instantibus et momentis (ed. in Th. Käppeli, Le Procès, v. bibl.), mention is made of a Commentary on the Sentences, moral Commentaries on various books of Holy Scripture, Metamorphosis Ovidiana moraliter explanata (Paris 1509, 1521), In decem primas libras de Civitate Dei (Mainz 1473, Freiburg 1494, Lyon 1520).
Bibliography2 works
Alfonso D'Amato