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13 - The Medieval Papacy and Canon Law

from Part III - Canon Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2025

By
Kenneth Pennington
Edited by
Joëlle Rollo-Koster ,
Robert A. Ventresca ,
Melodie H. Eichbauer  and
Miles Pattenden
Joëlle Rollo-Koster
Affiliation:
University of Rhode Island
Robert A. Ventresca
Affiliation:
King’s University College at Western University
Melodie H. Eichbauer
Affiliation:
Florida Gulf Coast University
Miles Pattenden
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Summary

In large part the role of the papacy as a legislative institution and a court system was its most significant contribution to Western jurisprudence. This chapter traces the long evolution of the papacy’s legal and legislative development from the late antique to the sixteenth century. It outlines the papacy’s influence over the first law schools in Europe, and the importance of the law schools in cultivating, teaching, and interpreting papal law.

Keywords

canon lawconciliar canonsdecretalistsdecretistsGratian’s DecretumLiber extrapapal decretals
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of the Papacy , pp. 349 - 367
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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