Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Medieval Canon Law
- The Cambridge History of Medieval Canon Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Medieval Canon Law: Introduction
- Part I The History of Medieval Canon Law
- Part II The Sources and Dissemination of Medieval Canon Law
- 10 Theology and the Theological Sources of Canon Law
- 11 Church Councils
- 12 Decretals and Lawmaking
- 13 Roman Law: Symbiotic Companion and Servant of Canon Law
- 14 Law Schools and Legal Education
- 15 Local Knowledge of Canon Law, c. 1150–1250
- 16 Medieval Canon Law Manuscripts and Early Printed Books
- Part III Doctrine and Society
- Bibliography of Primary Sources
- Index
- References
12 - Decretals and Lawmaking
from Part II - The Sources and Dissemination of Medieval Canon Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2022
- The Cambridge History of Medieval Canon Law
- The Cambridge History of Medieval Canon Law
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Medieval Canon Law: Introduction
- Part I The History of Medieval Canon Law
- Part II The Sources and Dissemination of Medieval Canon Law
- 10 Theology and the Theological Sources of Canon Law
- 11 Church Councils
- 12 Decretals and Lawmaking
- 13 Roman Law: Symbiotic Companion and Servant of Canon Law
- 14 Law Schools and Legal Education
- 15 Local Knowledge of Canon Law, c. 1150–1250
- 16 Medieval Canon Law Manuscripts and Early Printed Books
- Part III Doctrine and Society
- Bibliography of Primary Sources
- Index
- References
Summary
Decretals, epistolae decretales, are papal letters that have a claim to universal validity and clarify questions of Church law. Already in Late Antiquity, petitioners would submit legal or disciplinary questions to the Roman emperor, who in response would provide authoritative answers in imperial rescripts. Papal decretal law was the product of an analogous procedure. Private parties would ask the pope to adjudicate their disputes, and in response the pope would set forth authoritative answers in decretal letters. The oldest fully preserved papal decretal is by Pope Siricius (384–99). Only with the pontificate of Alexander III (1159–81), however, did the number of decretals skyrocket and, as a result, there take place the further legal development and elaboration of the ius novum. Just two generations after Gratian’s Decretum (c. 1140), papal legislative acts had developed and changed canon law like never before.
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- Information
- The Cambridge History of Medieval Canon Law , pp. 208 - 229Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022