Decretum Gratiani

The Decretum Gratiani or Concordia discordantium canonum (in some manuscripts Concordantia discordantium canonum) is a collection of Canon law compiled and written in the twelfth century as a legal textbook by a jurist (perhaps) named Gratian. It forms the first part of the collection of six legal texts, which became known as the Corpus Juris Canonici and which retained legal force in the Roman Catholic Church up until Pentecost Sunday, May 27, 1917, when the a revised Code of Canon Law (Codex Juris canonici) was promulgated by Pope Benedict XV. (The Code became binding throughout the Western Church the Pentecost Sunday of the following year, 19 May 1918.) Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Canon Law is the ecclesiastical law of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Franciscus Gratianus, or Johannes Gratianus, known most often simply as Gratian, was a 12th century canon lawyer from Bologna. ... Corpus Iuris Canonici is the Roman Catholic Churchs revised and authenticated versions of the libri legales. ... “Catholic Church” redirects here. ...

Two Recensions of Gratian's Decretum

Thanks to Anders Winroth, we now know that the Decretum existed in two published recensions. The first recension dates to some time after 1139, while the second recension dates to 1150 at the latest. There are several major differences between the two recensions: Anders Winroth (born 1965 in Ludvika in Sweden) is a history professor at Yale University. ...

• the first recension is a more coherent and analytical work;
• the second recension places a much greater emphasis on papal primacy and power;
• the second recension includes Roman Law extracts taken directly from the Corpus Juris Civilis, whereas the first recension does not display any great familiarity with Roman jurisprudence.

These differences have led Winroth to conclude that Roman Law was not as far developed by 1140 as scholars have previously thought. He has also argued that the second recension was due not to the original author of the first recension (whom he calls Gratian 1), but rather another jurist versed in Roman law. However, Winroth's thesis of two Gratians remains controversial.

This field of inquiry is hampered by our ignorance of the compiler's identity and the existence of manuscripts with abbreviated versions of the text or variant versions not represented by Winroth's two recensions, for instance, the manuscript St. Gall, Stiftsbibliothek, 673 (=Sg), which some have argued contains the earliest known version (borrador) of the Decretun, but which other scholars have argued contains an abbreviation of the first recension expanded with texts taken from the second recension.

Sources

Gratian's sources were Roman law, the Bible, the writings of (or attributed to) the Church Fathers, papal bulls, the acts of church councils and synods. In most cases, Gratian did not obtain this material from a direct reading of the sources, but rather through intermediate collections. Thanks to the research of modern scholars - in particular, Charles Munier, Titus Lenherr, and Peter Landau - we now know that Gratian made use of a relatively small number of collections in the composition of most of the Decretum, these being: This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers... Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      An Ecumenical Council (also sometimes Oecumenical... A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. ...

• Anselm (II) of Lucca’s canonical collection, originally compiled around 1083 and existing in four main recensions: A, B, Bb, and C. Peter Landau suggests that Gratian probably employed a manuscript containing an expanded form of recension A which he calls recension A’;
• the Collectio tripartita attributed to Ivo of Chartres, usually thought to date to 1095;
• the Panormia of Ivo of Chartres, also usually dated to 1095, although several scholars have argued for a later date and some even question Ivo's authorship;
• Gregory of St. Grisogono's Polycarpus, completed some time after 1111;
• the Collection in Three Books, composed some time between 1111 and 1139, though dated by some to around 1123;
• the Glossa ordinaria to the Bible.

Other sources are known to have been used in the composition of particular sections of the Decretum: Ivo (Yves) (born about 1040; died 1117) was bishop of Chartres from 1090-1117 and an important ecclesiastical figure and canon lawyer during the Investiture Crisis. ... Ivo (Yves) (born about 1040; died 1117) was bishop of Chartres from 1090-1117 and an important ecclesiastical figure and canon lawyer during the Investiture Crisis. ... Gregory of St. ...

• Isidore of Seville's Etymologies for DD. 1-9 (the so-called Treatise on Laws);
• Alger of Liege's Liber de misericordia et iustitia for C. 1;
• the Sententiae magistri A. for the De penitentia and some other sections.

Saint Isidore of Seville (Spanish: or ) (c. ... Alger of Li ge (1055-1131), known also as Alger of Cluny and Algerus Magister, a learned French priest who lived in the first half of the 12th century. ...

Effect

Gratian himself named his work Concordia Discordantium Canonum - "Concord of Discordant Canons." The name is fitting: Gratian tried to harmonize apparently contradictory canons with each other, by discussing different interpretations and deciding on a solution. This dialectical approach allowed for other law professors to work with the Decretum and to develop their own solutions and commentaries. In classical philosophy, dialectic (Greek: διαλεκτική) is controversy, Viz. ...

These commentaries were called glosses. Editions printed in the 15th, 16th or 17th centuries frequently included the glosses along with the text. Collections of glosses were called "gloss apparatus" or Lectura in Decretum (see also glossator). Systematic commentaries were called Summae. Some of these Summae were soon in circulation as well and obtained the same level of fame as the Decretum itself. Early commentators included Paucapalea and Magister Rolandus. A gloss is a note made in the margins or between the lines of a book, in which the meaning of the text in its original language is explained in another language. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The scholars of the 11th and 12th century legal schools in Italy, France and Germany are identified as glossators in a specific sense. ... Paucapalea[1] was a canon lawyer of the twelfth century. ...

The most important commentators were probably Rufin of Bologna (died before 1192) and Huguccio (died 1210). Less well-known was the commentary of Simon of Bisignano, which consisted of the Glosses on the Decretum and the Summa Simonis. // Events The Third Crusade ends in disaster. ... Huguccio (Hugh of Pisa) was an Italian canon lawyer (b. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Tsuchimikado, emperor of Japan Emperor Juntoku ascends to the throne of Japan Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for invading southern Italy in 1210 Gottfried von Strassburg writes his epic poem Tristan about 1210 Beginning of Delhi Sultanate Births...

Bibliography

• Landau, Peter. “Gratians Arbeitsplan.” In Iuri canonico promovendo: Festschrift für Heribert Schmitz zum 65. Geburtstag. Regensburg: F. Pustet, 1994. pp. 691-707.
• Landau, Peter. “Neue Forschungen zu vorgratianischen Kanonessammlungen und den Quellen des gratianischen Dekrets.” Ius Commune 11 (1984): 1-29. Reprinted in idem. Kanones und Dekretalen. pp. 177*-205*
• Landau, Peter. “Quellen und Bedeutung des gratianischen Dekrets,” Studia et Documenta Historiae et Juris 52 (1986): 218-235. Reprinted in idem. Kanones und Dekretalen. pp. 207*-224*.
• Lenherr, Titus. Die Exkommunikations- und Depositionsgewalt der Häretiker bei Gratian und den Dekretisten bis zur Glossa ordinaria des Johannes Teutonicus. St. Ottilien: EOS Verlag, 1987.
• Munier, Charles. Les sources patristiques du droit de l’église du VIIIe au XIIIe siècle. Mulhouse 1957.
• Noonan, John T. "Gratian slept here: the changing identity of the father of the systematic study of canon law." Traditio 35 (1979), 145-172.
• Winroth, Anders. The Making of Gratian’s Decretum. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

External links

1. Full Latin text from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
2. Otto Vervaart's introduction to Canon Law
3. Domus Gratiani
4. The Stephan Kuttner Institute of Medieval Canon Law in Munich

The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (right) on Ludwigstraße, Munich The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (English: Bavarian State Library), located in Munich, is the central library of the German state of Bavaria and one of the largest libraries in the German-speaking world. ...