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 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.)
[edit] Two Recensions of Gratian's DecretumThanks 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:
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 Decretum, but which other scholars have argued contains an abbreviation of the first recension expanded with texts taken from the second recension. [edit] SourcesGratian'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:
Other sources are known to have been used in the composition of particular sections of the Decretum:
[edit] EffectGratian 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. 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. 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. [edit] Bibliography
[edit] External links
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