History of Medieval Canon Law in the Classical Period, 1140-1234: From Gratian to the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX »

Gratian has long been called the Father of Canon Law. This latest volume in the ongoing History of Medieval Canon Law series covers the period from Gratian's initial teaching of canon law during the 1120s to just before the promulgation of the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX in 1234.

Gratian's contributions to the birth of canon law and European jurisprudence were significant: he introduced a new methodology of teaching law by using hypothetical cases and by integrating—and inserting in the texts themselves—his own comments on the canons. He also used the dialectical method to analyze legal problems that he raised in his cases. Though this methodology was first developed by Peter Abelard and others in the schools of Northern France, Gratian was the first to apply it to legal texts with the publication of his Decretum (ca. 1140). Because the Decretum was not just a collection of texts but an analysis of the sources and doctrines of ecclesiastical law, his book enjoyed immediate success across Europe. The Decretum was adopted by teachers from England to Italy and Germany to Spain. Gratian's successors later applied his methodology to the papal appellate decisions (decretals) that gradually became the foundation of canon law in the later Middle Ages.

In this volume, distinguished legal historians contribute noteworthy essays on the commentaries on Gratian, the beginnings of decretal collections and commentaries on them, and the importance of conciliar legislation for the growth of canon law. There are also chapters on the influence of Roman law on canon law and the teaching of canon law in law schools.

Contributors are James A. Brundage, Anne Duggan, Charles Duggan, A.García y García, Joseph Goering, Michael H. Hoeflich, Peter Landau, Wolfgang P. Müller, Jasonne Grabher O'Brien, Kenneth Pennington, and Rudolf Weigand.

Wilfried Hartmann is emeritus professor of the medieval history of canon law at the University of Tübingen. Kenneth Pennington is Kelly-Quinn Professor of Ecclesiastical and Legal History at The Catholic University of America. He is the author of numerous works including Pope and Bishops: The Papal Monarchy in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries and The Prince and the Law, 1200-1600: Sovereignty and Rights in the Western Legal Tradition. Hartmann and Pennington are coeditors of the History of Medieval Canon Law series.

1 The Establishment of Normative Legal Texts: The Beginnings of the Ius commune Michael H. Hoeflich Hoeflich, Michael H. Jasonne M. Grabher Grabher, Jasonne M. 1

2 Gratian and the Decretum Gratiani Peter Landau Landau, Peter 22

3 The Development of the Glossa ordinaria to Gratian's Decretum Rudolf Weigand Weigand, Rudolf 55

4 The Teaching and Study of Canon Law in the Law Schools James A. Brundage Brundage, James A. 98

5 The Decretists: The Italian School Kenneth Pennington Pennington, Kenneth Wolfgang P. Muller Muller, Wolfgang P. 121

6 The Transmontane Decretists Rudolf Weigand Weigand, Rudolf 174

7 The Decretalists 1190-1234 Kenneth Pennington Pennington, Kenneth 211

8 Decretal Collections from Gratian's Decretum to the Compilationes antiquae: The Making of the New Case Law Charles Duggan Duggan, Charles 246

9 Decretal Collections 1190-1234 Kenneth Pennington Pennington, Kenneth 293

10 Conciliar Law 1123-1215: The Legislation of the Four Lateran Councils Anne J. Duggan Duggan, Anne J. 318

11 The Fourth Lateran Council and the Canonists A. Garcia y Garcia Garcia y Garcia, A. 367

12 The Internal Forum and the Literature of Penance and Confession Joseph Goering Goering, Joseph 379

Indices

General Index 429

Index of Citations 435

Index of Manuscripts 437