Medieval Canon Law: Development and Collections
Canon Law in the Middle Ages
Canon Law in the Middle Ages and Its Collection
One of the principles of the Gregorian reform was the unification of canon law against the heterogeneity of regional royalty collections and centralized legislative law that created the Pontiff, primarily through the Decretals.
This principle was first carried out using the same technique and under the influence of the commentators at the universities. Rescue all the universal canon law that was scattered and giving the value of classical canon law. This creates a second branch of study with the Corpus Juris Civiles (Roman law), The Corpus Iuris Canonici.
The Decree of Gratian
The main architect of this work was another teacher named Bologna Graciano. Between 1140 and 1142 produced a work entitled Concordia discordantium canonum, although commonly known as the Decree of Gratian, who tried to coordinate and unify all the texts of canon law that could have a universal value using the method of the commentators.
This work formed the basis for studies of so-called canon lawyers that studied the same method that applied the civilians to Roman law. But that gloss specifically the Decree of Gratian, is known as the decrees among which Rolando Bartolome Bressia Hugucicio Pizza, Paucopalea, Stephen of Tournai.
Later Decretals
After the decree in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, followed by enacting many decrees of the pontiffs to unify the canon law. In the year 1230 was sent to collect them PeƱafor Rayford, who wrote a book entitled Decretales Gregorii IX. For the students of the second book were known as Decretals, most notably Henry of Susa, Bernardo Pavese, Juan Andres and Nicolas Tudeschi (Abbot) and Vicente and Juan Hispano.
Then Boniface VIII ordered a new compilation of the new decrees that were dictating in the year 1298. This book is called Liber Sextus, indicating that followed on from the five books in which the decrees were divided. And later Clement V, in the fourteenth century, ordered to perform a septimus liber, also known as The Clementines to finish collecting all the rules of canon law which thereafter was given universal value and value of classical law.
Law Collections in Different Kingdoms
The Collection of the Law in the Different Kingdoms: Characteristics, Technical Content
The abundance of royal law in the modern age, causes a problem for the knowledge of law, its interpretation and application. Lawyers often are unaware of the laws which the King and asked constantly to find some system that can acquire and share Regio law.
It goes to the collection system of laws. A collection is a legislative body which reflects all the King’s laws, effective in a given territory. We distinguish different types of collections: private and official.
Private and Official Collections
The first made were private and which were due to the initiative of individual lawyers themselves, which made them to help in their work, without any commission or official endorsement. However, these private collections were widely used. In some places like Navarre, achieved enormous prestige.
The official compilations were produced by the king, the courts or other public institution, but also those who are officers, remain private in origin, obtained after royal sanction.
Chronological and Systematic Collections
Other types of compilations are the chronological and systematic. The earliest texts ordered by date. They were very helpful. The systematic ordering of texts by subject. The problem is that were very difficult to develop, so it took a long time to do them well in each kingdom.
Castilian Collections
They are also distinguished collections of non-Castilian Castilian. The Castilian did not respect the original text compiled, since the laws of Castile were more abundant than elsewhere, so the collections came to summarize these laws or several of them integrated into a single precept. This earned conciseness and brevity, but in many cases, changing the meaning of the compiled text. For this reason, in Castile, the King was compelled to adopt pragmatic collections through which mandated that became known, although different to other laws, courts or pragmatic chapters which previously would have in these kingdoms.
The Castilian do not respect the full text compiled, sometimes playing unnecessary extremes. They did not need any endorsement.