Canon Law IV: Doctrine and Procedure

Organiser: Peter Clarke (Department of History, University of Southampton)

Moderator: Anne J. Duggan

Sponsor: Church, Law and Society in the Middle Ages (CLASMA) Research Network.

'Differentia est: A Twelfth-century "Summula" on Anathema and Excommunication’.

Bruce Brasington (Department of History, West Texas A & M University)

The paper examines a previously unstudied anonymous tract on excommunication and anathema preserved in Cambridge, UL Add. 3321, fol. 3r. This treatise likely dates from the period shortly after 1150. A variety of theological and legal arguments are woven together to treat the distinction between anathema—the permanent exclusion of a Christian from communion—and excommunication, a state that could be remedied through appropriate penance. Particular attention is paid to the bishop’s role as judge in these matters, including a great deal of caution about the abuse of his sacramental/legal power. The paper will present a diplomatic edition of the treatise, analysis of its material and formal sources, and a brief discussion of its place within the literature of penance in canon law in the middle of the twelfth century.

'The Decretist Summa 'Permissio quedam': The Nature of its Text and Legal Theories.’

Tatsushi Genka (Stephan Kuttner Institute of Medieval Canon Law)

I would like to talk about the decretist Summa 'Permissio quedam' which I am editing now. I shall discuss the nature of the text of theSumma as we have in three extant 
manuscripts and also some characteristics of its legal theories as compared especially with Italian decretists.

'The Origin of Civil Procedure Treatises in Durham during the 12th Century.'

Peter Landau (Stephan Kuttner Institute of Medieval Canon Law, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, München)

TBC

'Canon Procedural Law in Prague at the Beginning of Hussite Revolution: Processus iudiciarius secundum stilum Pragensem.'

Dominik Budsky (Katolické teologické fakulty, Univerzita Karlova, Praha)

Processus iudiciarius secundum stilum Pragensem was very useful practical vademecum of canon procedural law, which is testified by many preserved manuscripts in European libraries (it is known 15 manuscripts in 12 libraries in the whole Europe by now). It was used by archiepiscopal clerks and students of canon law at the University of Prague as ‘coursebook'. Processus has a quite simple and obvious structure, which accents its didactical role. The author teaches about essential parts of process step by step, describes acts of quarrel's parts, notary, and judge. Text does not contain any citations of theological or other authorities, which were very popular in the Medieval Ages, but in this case would make the whole text too complicated. It is possible to say, that this writing is, thanks to above mentioned reasons, quite unique minimally in the Bohemian Kingdom but possibly in broader milieu too. The author of paper researches all manuscripts, prepares critical edition and contextualizes it to juridical and administrative connections of period at the beginning of Hussite revolution.