Alvarus Pelagius

Alvarus Pelagius (Spanish: Álvaro Pelayo; c. 1280 – 25 January 1352) was a celebrated Galician canonist.

Certain it is that he became penitentiary to Pope John XXII at Avignon, that he enjoyed much favour with this pontiff, and was employed by him to refute the claims of the antipope Pietro Rainalducci of Corbario.

Alvarus is chiefly remarkable for his work De planctu ecclesiae libri duo.

Alvarus has been reproached by St. Antoninus and others with having too far favoured the error of the Fraticelli about poverty, but, as Sbaralea shows, it is not difficult to justify him against this charge.

Besides the "De planctu", Wadding attributed to Alvarus the following: "Collyrium adversus haereses"; "Speculum regum" (one book); "Super sentent.