Felip de Malla

Who was Felip de Malla?

Felip de Malla was a Catalan prelate, theologian, scholastic, orator, classical scholar, and poet. He was a confidante of the kings Martin the Humane, Ferdinand of Antequera, and Alfonso the Magnanimous. He was the seventeenth President of the Generalitat de Catalunya from 1425 to 1428.

Born in Barcelona and educated in literature and philosophy at the University of Lleida, Felip eventually earned a master's of theology from the University of Paris. He later took holy orders. Renowned for his oratory and his classical prose, among the ancients which he can be shown to have read are Pindar, Alcaeus, Horace, Catullus, and Serenus Sammonicus. A high percentage of his own manuscripts survive. Between 1419 and 1424 he penned his most important work, Memorial del peccador reemut, an ascetic treatise on Christianity, Judaism, and paganism. This manuscript now resides in the Biblioteca de Catalunya. Two incunabula of the Memorial del peccador reemut exist: the first was published in 1483 and the second in 1495 by Joan Rosenbach at the Abbey of Montserrat.

In 1408 Felip was appointed conseller e promotor dels negocis de la cort by Martin. He maintained this position under Ferdinand and Alfonso. Felip participated in the negotiations leading up to the Compromise of Caspe, putting his support decisively behind Ferdinand of Antequera and exerting effective influence on his part. Felip also played a role in the resolution of the Western Schism through his work at the Council of Constance and his efforst against the following of Benedict XIII, his former patron. In the election to choose a pope, Felip received six votes at Constance.