Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors
- General Introduction
- Part I The Pope within the Church
- Part II The Roman Curia
- Part III Canon Law
- 13 The Medieval Papacy and Canon Law
- 14 Canon Law in the Early Middle Ages
- 15 Gratian’s Decretum: The Transmission and Fluidity of Legal Knowledge in the Twelfth Century
- 16 Papal Decretals
- 17 Papal Law in the English Church: Post-Reformation Anglican Jurisprudence
- 18 The Codes of Canon Law: 1917, 1983, 1990
- 19 The Pope in the Two Latin Codes, 1917 and 1983: Current Status and Discussion of Possible Developments
- Part IV Finance
- Part V Papal States
- Select Bibliography
- Index
14 - Canon Law in the Early Middle Ages
from Part III - Canon Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2025
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy
- The Cambridge History of the Papacy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors
- General Introduction
- Part I The Pope within the Church
- Part II The Roman Curia
- Part III Canon Law
- 13 The Medieval Papacy and Canon Law
- 14 Canon Law in the Early Middle Ages
- 15 Gratian’s Decretum: The Transmission and Fluidity of Legal Knowledge in the Twelfth Century
- 16 Papal Decretals
- 17 Papal Law in the English Church: Post-Reformation Anglican Jurisprudence
- 18 The Codes of Canon Law: 1917, 1983, 1990
- 19 The Pope in the Two Latin Codes, 1917 and 1983: Current Status and Discussion of Possible Developments
- Part IV Finance
- Part V Papal States
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
This chapter argues that in the early medieval period, Catholic law both reflected and reinforced a largely “horizontal” Church structure, in which bishops played a central role, often in close engagement with secular lords and rulers. The first part of the chapter surveys the types of existing evidence for early medieval Church law, from the Carolingians up until the Gregorian Reform of circa 1050. The second part focuses on continuities between the Carolingian reforms and the tenth and early eleventh centuries. Recent scholarship has increasingly argued that the Carolingian reforms did not end with the fragmentation of the Carolingian empire. Building on that work, this chapter describes three examples of continuities between the Carolingian and Ottonian periods.
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- The Cambridge History of the Papacy , pp. 368 - 384Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025