FILLASTRE, GUILLAUME

The name of two French ecclesiastics.

Fillastre, Guillaume, French cardinal, canonist, humanist, geographer; b. Le Maine, c. 1348; d. Rome, Nov. 6, 1428. As doctor juris utriusque Fillastre taught law at Reims and was later dean there. He lived at the time of the western schism, and first distinguished himself at the Synod of Paris, 1406, where Fillastre was the hand-picked defender of benedict xiii the antipope. But within the next three years—possibly at the Council of pisa (1409)—both Fillastre and his friend peter of ailly changed their allegiance to the antipope john xxiii, who named them cardinals in 1411. At the Council of constance (1415–17) Fillastre called for the resignation of the three papal contenders, gregory xii, as well as his own former benefactors, Benedict XIII and John XXIII. Fillastre entered the controversy on conciliarism when he insisted on the superiority of councils over the pope. The diary he kept at Constance became a principal source for the council. It was Fillastre's vote in the French "nation" during the last session of the council (1417) that ensured the election of Martin V as pope. Martin appointed Fillastre legatus a latere to France (1418) and later, archpriest of the Latern basilica. In 1422 he gave up his See of Aix, which he had held in commendam since 1414, for the See of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières. Besides his theological and canonical writings Fillastre annotated a number of Plato's works, and was much interested in Ptolemy's geography.

Fillastre, Guillaume, French abbot, bishop, statesman; b. Le Maine c. 1400; d. Ghent, Aug. 21, 1473. He may have been a nephew of the preceding. Fillastre was a Benedictine at Châlons-sur-Marne when he became abbot of Saint-Thierry of Reims (1431). In 1436 he received a doctorate in Canon Law from Louvain. He became bishop of Verdun in 1437, commendatory abbot of saint-bertin at st. omer (1447), and bishop of Toul (1449). He was already closely associated with Philip the Good of Burgundy when, in 1461, he became bishop of Tournai. Philip named him first councilor (1463) of his Council of State, and chancellor (1460) of the Order of Golden Fleece. He served on diplomatic missions to both the French king and the pope. His writings included a work entitled La Toison d'Or, the Chronique de l'histoire de France, and a French translation of Troyennes istoires. He left his wealth to the abbeys and dioceses he had governed.

Bibliography: l. salembier, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique 5.2:2343–52. g. mollat, Catholicisme 4:1286–89. j. wodka, Lexikon für Theologie und Kirche 2 4:128.

[j. f. jolley]