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For a Better Handling of Science : Para-academic, Encyclopaedic Texts in Late Medieval Canon Law

The Example of Jean de Jean’s Memoriale Decreti (1339)
Dirk Claes

Abstract

Dans le domaine spécifique de la littérature para-académique, l’auteur de cet article envisage le cas de ces aids-to-study copiés au Moyen Âge à l’intention des étudiants, afin de leur faciliter l’accès à la connaissance par un jeu de renvois aux sources scripturaires et aux multiples commentaires dont elles ont pu faire l’objet. L’exemple du Memoriale Decreti de Jean de Jean permet de montrer comment un compilateur a pu organiser les différentes parties de son ouvrage aux prétentions encyclopédiques.

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1. Introduction – The weight of the twelfth century

1In many aspects the twelfth century was a pivotal as well as formative period for Western European academic culture. Pivotal, in the sense that a transition was made towards a completely new system of learning : from the spiritual approach of monastic and cathedral schools to the ‘realistic’ dialectical methodology of Aristotelian logic used in universities. Formative, in the sense that the swift development of several basic, massive source texts and instruments, together with the first elements of an impressive apparatus of commentaries, created the context in which both academia and daily applications of the sciences would foster for several centuries.

2One of the ‘side-effects’ of this evolution was the development, from its earliest stages on, of what has been coined as ‘aids-to-study’, all kinds of practical tools that facilitated the search for and retrieval of knowledge from source texts and its commentaries.

3This contribution will focus on the development of such practical tools, especially in the field of medieval canon law, by studying a particular example of a complex aid-to-study from the early fourteenth century, the Memoriale Decreti, written by Jean de Jean o.s.b.

4Before discussing the Memoriale in detail, first some light has to be shed on the development of medieval canon law in general. Second, the evolution in this context towards more and more complex instruments or searching aids will be sketched. The extensive analysis of the text will be followed by an appreciation of the Memoriale Decreti and comparable instruments in light of the questions raised by this issue of the revue Babel.

2. The development of canon law as an academic discipline – Texts and tools

2.1 Texts: canon law’s development since the Decretum Gratiani

  • 1  It lies far beyond the scope of this article to present an extensive overview of canon law’s devel (...)

5The issuing in 1140 in Bologna of Gratian’s Concordia discordantium canonum, also known as the Decretum Gratiani, marked the genesis of canon law as an independent academic discipline1.

  • 2  The editorial history of the Decretum has been studied recently. As a result thereof, the input by (...)

6As early as the fourth century, the Church began to issue a number of very diverse canones. These canones existed of rules of conduct for its members, as well as regulations for its administrative organisation. Often these regulations were issued by local councils – thus having only local validity –, but were never gathered in so-called authenticated and exclusive collections, having official ecclesiastical authority and containing the only valid canones. Only limited collections, often for private use only, like the Decretum by Burchard of Worms (about 1010), or its counterpart by Ivo of Chartres (about 1095), were in use. It was the merit of the Bolognese canon law professor Gratianus to have put together all the existing canones, solving apparent contradictions between these canones and new papal law (i.e. decretales) by adding personal comments (the so-called dicta Gratiani), based on authoritative texts mostly taken from early Church fathers2. Gratian’s method, clearly situated in an educational context, was new. Instead of selecting and compiling only, Gratian organised the canones according to different judicial cases, presenting precise subsequent questions and possible answers, based on as much as authoritative texts as possible. Though never sanctioned as such by ecclesiastical authorities, already in the second half of the twelfth century Gratian’s Decretum acquired ‘authoritative’ status in Christianity, by simply surpassing all existing collections, both in legal practice and in academic training in law.

7In combination with the growth of academic culture, canon law soon began developing in a twofold way, a decretist and a decretalist tradition.

8The former took a start by the end of the twelfth century, when the first commentaries and indices on the Decretum were composed. About 1220, Johannes Teutonicus gathered and organised all existing commentaries on the Decretum, composing the standard gloss, known as the Glossa Ordinaria.

  • 3  The non-exclusiveness of the Clementinae meant that a number of canones and decretales kept circul (...)
  • 4  By the end of the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII ordered an edition of the main collections (...)

9Of more importance was the development of new papal legislation after Gratian’s Decretum, the so-called decretales, papal judicial decisions mostly issued in cases of appeal. From the late twelfth century on, jurists began to collect papal legislation as well as those canons that were omitted by Gratian, soon followed by popes who began collecting and authenticating separate decretales of their own. From the early thirteenth century onward, in teaching and judicial practice, only exclusive collections authenticated by papal authority were to be used. This decretalist tradition culminated in three papal collections of major importance, the Liber Extra (1234, under Pope Gregorius IX), the Liber Sextus (issued by Pope Bonifatius VIII in 1298) and the Clementinae (1317, under Pope Clemens V), the latter collection was, however, only authenticated and not exclusive3. Soon, and parallel to the decretist tradition, comments and a glossa ordinaria to these collections emerged4.

2.2 Tools : canon law’s para-academic literature

  • 5  Cf. the well-known studies of Richard and Mary Rouse on the subject. E.g. R. H. Rouse – M. A. Rous (...)

10In the meantime, as a result of the academic boom following the turn made in the twelfth century, so-called para-academic literature accompanying the corpus of source texts and commentaries, grew extensively. Especially the twelfth and thirteenth centuries saw the rise and flourishing of this new genre of aids-to-study and/or consultation literature5.

  • 6  The introduction of the mendicant orders in the academic circuit has played a very particular role (...)

11Several factors were responsable for this growth : the rise of universities and the encyclopaedic nature of academic training, a renewed and more systematic attention payed to Aristotelian thought, and the influence the mendicant orders exerted on the academic world6. In general, it can be stated that the need for using knowledge gathered in authoritative collections or source texts in a new educational context, was the most important incentive for producing this ‘genre’.

  • 7  The order of the source texts was not altered, but made more accessible by using a new technique t (...)

12In order to use knowledge gathered in authoritative source texts like the canones, the Bible, or the collected works of Aristotle, in the new practical context of the universities, a different way of looking at text was needed. Thus, in the twelfth century, in three separate scholarly fields, the first attempt was made to ‘put in order’ the authoritative source texts7, leading to the production of the Decretum Gratiani, the Sententiae by Peter Lombard, and the Glossa Ordinaria on the biblical text. All three became authoritative source texts themselves in their respective scholarly fields.

  • 8  RouseRouse, Statim invenire, p. 205-206.
  • 9  The input made by Aristotelian logic is also indebted for the change in teaching.
  • 10  Famous in this respect is the quote of Bernard of Clairvaux, taken from his Sermones in Cantica Ca (...)
  • 11  In commentaries organised according to the alphabet or summae, it was considered absurd to place e (...)

13The old monastic schooling tradition had focused on ‘memory’ and the protracted reflective repetition of – a more limited body of – knowledge. In universities, time spent on education became rather short, and the number of students that needed to be instructed much higher. Therefore teaching itself changed, as became for instance clear in the setup of the Decretum Gratiani8. Instead of a rational or ‘creational’ subject-oriented classification, now the great amount of data as presented in the canones was approached according to education-oriented questions. More specifically, the reader no longer had to go through the entire corpus of canons and the relevant patristic authorities, as Gratian already had assembled the necessary information9. Not only did the Decretum itself become a searching-aid, now for a far bigger body of canon law, it also started an evolution towards more complex instruments reflecting the same philosophy : finding information without first having to memorise and next having to go through an extensive body of knowledge10. It took, however, quite some time before these techniques became fully accepted, for initially, thematic order (and organising information according to the source text) was considered to be more appropriate than alphabetical order, since it came closer to the creational order of being11, or to the thematical unity of the source text.

  • 12  Ibid., p. 210: It was therefore inevitable that alternative methods of retrieving information must (...)
  • 13  It has to be noticed that all of these ‘devices’ already existed. They were, however, used and com (...)

14A second step in the evolution of consultation literature was the development of the idea of searchability. This idea was connected not only with attempts to find solutions for the physical limitations of the page as such, but also with a changing attitude towards ordering a text12. The new type of consultation literature embraced four basic devices : the use of Arabic numerals for numbering and counting ; the refinement of page lay-out ; the application of alphabetical order, and the (sub)division of text into manageable portions13.

  • 14  Well-known examples are collections of distinctiones, the (very succesfull) biblical concordance ( (...)

15The use and combination of the above-mentioned principles allowed scholars to develop complex searching-aids14 facilitating research not only by means of indexes but also by connecting different types of data. Indices allowed to combine searching-aids for several source texts and even for different types of (source) text. The latter was achieved in Robert Kilwardby’s Tabula super originalia patrum (about 1260), a multiple index on several independent indexes (on the works of Augustine, on other patristic sources and on the most important theological treatises of his day). This evolution also allowed searching-aids to become inter-disciplinary, which happened by the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth century, whith the combination of searching-aids for different types of source texts. The Memoriale Decreti belongs to this type, while sources relevant to both theology and canon law form the basis for the text.

16As was mentioned before, by that time, canon law was firmly embedded in university culture. Increasing practical use of canon law and the ongoing development of its authoritative text through the gathering of decretal collections and a crust of authoritative commentaries, resulted in the development of canon law consultation literature as well.

  • 15  For an extended and still invaluable description of the first phase of this evolution, see S. Kutt (...)
  • 16  For a basic survey, see Schulte, Die Geschichte, t.II, p. 485-511. Also Coing, Handbuch, p. 313-36 (...)

17In addition to the more education orientated genres, several specific canon law aids appeared15, starting with Decretum summaries, alphabetically arranged tabulae (or indexes), flores (anthologies) and distinctiones (a combination of dictionaries, encyclopaedical knowledge and examples of practical use), to fully fledged concordances between Roman and canon law, like for instance John of Erfurt’s Tabula utriusque iuris16.

  • 17  Simon Vairet (+ 1347), a Paris-based master in canon law, composed with his Tabula an index referr (...)

18From plain indexes they rapidly evolved into complex searching instruments, providing their users with multiple indexes, referring to several different source texts, as for example Simon Vairet’s Tabula17, or giving indexes for multiple source texts, like the biblical repertoria of which Jean de Jean’s Memoriale Decreti forms an excellent example that will be discussed in the following part.

3. Jean de Jean’s Memoriale Decreti

3.1 Jean de Jean o.s.b., abbot of Joncels

  • 18  For the scarce data on Jean de Jean, cf. H. Gilles, Jean de Jean, abbé de Joncels, in Histoire lit (...)
  • 19  The abbey was a stop on the pilgrimage’s route from Arles to Santiago de Compostella, between Mont (...)
  • 20  Jean de Jean mentions the Toulouse faculty of law and its alumni in one of his sermons. Cf. Vatica (...)
  • 21  Gilles, Un canoniste, p. 582-583 ; ibid., Les moines, p. 89 ; ibid., Jean, p. 58.
  • 22  Fontevrault was the main monastery of a mixed foundation living according to the Benedictine rule. (...)
  • 23  Cf. Paris, BnF, ms. lat. 3921, f. 469r, col. 2, line 30: Completum fuit hoc opus…anno Domini mille (...)
  • 24  Cf. Bernkastel-Kues, Cusanus-Stift, ms. 227. This manuscript contains the so-called Reportata supe (...)

19Jean de Jean (latinised as Johannes Johannis), the author of the Memoriale Decreti, remains fairly unknown to us18. He entered the Benedictine order about 1317 and became Abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Joncels (diocese of Béziers) in 132819. Apparantly, he studied canon law at the university of Toulouse, where he probably also took his doctor’s degree20. From the summer of 1330 onward, the abbas iuncellensis spent most of his time at the papal court in Avignon, were he acted as executor of papal benefices mainly granted to cardinal Imbert Dupuis. Jean de Jean might have been a member of the cardinal’s household21. In 1334 Johannes received two assignments outside Avignon : he was added to a diplomatic mission to the city of Genua, and received a commission as visitator in order to reform both the monastery and the order of Fontevrault22. Both missions, however, failed, most probably causing an abrupt ending to Jean’s career in Avignon. By the end of 1338, Jean de Jean had returned to Joncels, where he began writing the Memoriale Decreti, which was finished by the end of november 133923. Between 1344 and 1346 he left Joncels again, probably for a teaching assignement at the university of Montpellier where he seemed to have become lecturer on the Decretum Gratiani24, which in contemporary literature is derived from a collection of teaching notes on the Decretum. Jean de Jean died in 1361, soon to be forgotten by history. Besides the Memoriale Decreti, and the Reportata, Jean de Jean left two collections of sermons as well.

3.2 The Memoriale Decreti’s textual transition

  • 25  Cf. Gilles, Jean, p. 75-76, n.4 and the manuscripts mentioned there.
  • 26  For an overview of the manuscript’s transfers, see ibid. ; and M.-H. Jullien de Pomerol, J. Monfri (...)

20Concerning the Memoriale Decreti, it is unknown whether the original text still exists. As far as I know, the only manuscript in which the text has been passed on to us in its complete form – containing its five parts plus introduction, conclusion and colophon, and probably the closest to the original text – is kept in Paris, in the Bibliothèque nationale de France under shelfmark Latin 392125. According to Gilles, the work has ended up in the pontifical library in Avignon, from where it was finally transferred to the National Library in Paris, via stops like the papal library in Peñiscola, the library of cardinal de Foix, of Colbert and finally the Royal Library26.

21In spite of the unclear transfer history, the Paris manuscript remains the most useful one to describe and study the Memoriale Decreti in extenso.

22The next part of this article will be devoted to the analysis of its division, composition, contents and application possibilities.

3.3 Division, composition and contents : an extensive analysis of the text as such

23The text of the Memoriale Decreti that has been retained in the Paris manuscript covers 469 folios, three columns each, with a writing framework of seventy-five lines on average.

  • 27  Incipit memoriale decreti editum a fratre Iohanne Iohannis abbate Iuncellensi, doctore decretorum (...)

24According to the introductory note, the text has been divided into five major parts, each containing a different collection : Bible text as contained in the books of canon law, texts of Church fathers, classical authors, etc. and three lists of catchwords, commentaries and glosses with corresponding legal references27.

25When going through the Memoriale Decreti, one can not only easily establish the different parts of the text, containing a variety of textual elements on specific subjects, but also assess the influence these ‘differences’ have exerted on the separate parts’ composition and presentation within the text itself. The basic textual structure however – i.e. textual fragment connected to abbreviated references to canon law text –, remains unchanged throughout the Memoriale Decreti, but inside its parts, the textual data is arranged differently, for instance, the biblical fragments of the first part are indicated, ordered and listed differently, when compared to the glossatores’ input gathered in the last part.

  • 28  The author of the Memoriale, Jean de Jean, has added a searching aid to the complete text to indic (...)

26The analysis of the text will contain the following elements : the composition of the text, with special attention to the presence of what has been coined aids-to-application (elements that help readers find their way through the text, that facilitate retrieval of knowledge linked to different source-books and that structure cross-references as well), and its contents28. We will do so for each of the five parts.

3.3.1 Part I : Auctoritates Bibliae and dubia

  • 29  The first part of the Memoriale, the auctoritates bibliae, covers almost 35 folio’s, running from (...)

27In general, the first part of the Memoriale, the auctoritates bibliae, presents a listing of biblical textual fragments – taken from almost every book in both the Old and New Testament – as far as these are present – either literally or paraphrased – in the Decretum Gratiani, and to a far lesser degree, in the collections of Decretales29. Thus the auctoritates’ major source is the corpus of canon law, that contained a vast quantity of texts borrowed from early Church fathers and early councils in which numerous biblical references have been used as well. It can be referred to as a ‘biblical repertorium’, a collection of references to the places where to find biblical text in canon law.

28An example may clarify the kind of information that can be retrieved from the auctoritates bibliae. Some biblical fragments show up in large numbers in the Decretum Gratiani and/or the collections of the Decretales, while in canonist debates, biblical references were used to corroborate the positions held by the canonist authors and their commentators.

  • 30  Et ego dico tibi quia tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam en porte inferi (...)
  • 31  The text references are given on f. 19r, col. 1, line 34 to col. 2, line 10. In order:
    di. 19, c. 7(...)

29The so-called ‘key-text’ in the gospel of Matthew (Mt 16, 18-1930), where Apostle Peter is given the ‘power of the keys’, is a fine example of this development, because the text has been used over and over in the ongoing debates on the relationship between ecclesiastical and secular powers. It therefore hardly comes as a surprise to find a list of no less than fifty-two references to places where this text occurs in canon law source text : forty-seven in the Decretum Gratiani, three in the Liber Extra, one in the Liber Sextus and one in the Clementinae31.

30The listing of these biblical textual fragments follows the division of the Bible into separate books. To this purpose, running titles (of the biblical book in question) above each column refer to the Bible book where the fragments listed in that specific column can be found.

  • 32  The division of the Bible books into chapters developed about 1230, as a tool for the study of the (...)

31Within the parts devoted to specific Bible books, the excerpts are ordered according to the division of these books into chapters32. Each first fragment from a chapter is indicated in the margin with a paragraph-sign (§) and the chapter’s number in roman numerals, with the exception of the fragments taken from the book of Psalms, where the incipit of each new psalm’s excerpt is indicated by means of an enlarged, coloured initial.

  • 33  For an extensive introduction to this system of abbreviations, see J. Berlioz, Sources et citation (...)

32Each of the listed fragments then is followed by one or, more often, by a number of references to the Decretum Gratiani or the Decretales. Following the order of listing within the books of canon law, and using the standardised system for abbreviating references to canon law sources, these references present in canonist source texts where the reader can find the biblical fragment in question33.

33The division according to Bible books’ chapters and its indication in margine using roman numerals, as well as running titles on top of the page, are also used as a tool for infra-textual cross-referencing, at least inside the Auctoritates Bibliae. To this purpose, Jean de Jean added the reference-words supra and infra, directly following those fragments that allow cross-referencing. They are followed by an abbreviation of the specific (Bible) booktitle and the Roman numeral(s) indicating the chapter the references are taken from. Subsequently, the references can easily be traced with the help of these elements in the margin.

34The following example may clarify the working of the aids-to-application that have been inserted by Jean de Jean to enhance the retrieval of knowledge from the text. F. 2r, col. 1, lines 1-7 reads :

  • 34  The references to canon law sources are taken from the Decretum Gratiani: de consecratione, d. 2, (...)

Melchisedech rex salem proferens panem et vinum erat enim sacerdos dei altissimi benedixit ei scilicet abrahe. infra. ebr.VII. de.con. d.II. c. in calice. in prin. et. c. accipite. XXI.d. c.denique. LXXXIIII.d. c.porro.glo.fi. de consti. c.translato.34

35The abbreviation referring to the first part of the Memoriale is given on top of the folio, while the word Genesis on top of the first column indicates the Bible book from which the fragments are retrieved that are treated in this specific column. In the margin, the Roman number .XIIII. combined with a paragraph-sign, indicates that here the fragments taken from chapter fourteen of the book of Genesis begin, in this case Genesis 14, 18 : at vero Melchisedech rex Salem proferens panem et vinum erat enim sacerdos Dei altissimi benedixit ei et ait… The quote is directly followed by the words infra. ebr. VII., a reference to chapter seven of the Letter to the Hebrews.

  • 35  It has to be noted that inside the Paris ms. of the Memoriale, a ‘corrector’ has been adding corre (...)

36Indeed, from f. 30v, col. 3 to f. 31r, col. 3, three passages taken from chapter seven of this Letter are reproduced, of which the first one – preceded by the Roman numerals .VII. and a paragraph-sign – refers to the Old Testament story of the meeting between Melchisedech and Patriarch Abraham : Hic enim melchisedech rex salem sacerdos dei summi qui obviavit abrae regresso de sede regum et benedixit ei. XXI.d. c.denique. In several cases Jean de Jean refers to them as well35.

  • 36  Jean de Jean enumerates twenty-nine textual fragments in the corpus of canon law (mainly the Decre (...)

37The composition of twenty-nine dubia, added at the end of the auctoritates bibliae, is more or less identical to that of the auctoritates, except for the fact that their order of listing is completely indiscriminate – neither according to the order of biblical books and chapters, nor following the order of canonist source texts36. Running titles and chapter numbers in the margin are also absent, probably due to the small number of these ‘ill-located’ Bible references.

3.3.2 Part II : The dicta poetarum

  • 37  This part runs from f. 34v, col. 1, line 18 until f. 41r, col. 1, line 52. Incipit: Acave dilecto (...)

38Shortest in length is the second part, the so-called dicta poetarum. Covering only seven folios, it contains five different parts : poetica metra (metrical verses and where to find in the corpus of canon law), prosayce dicta (citations taken from classical authors), vulgaria proverbia (common proverbs), cantat ecclesia (references to liturgical texts), and dicta sanctorum (sayings of saints and Church fathers)37. Each subdivision will be discussed separately.

3.3.2.1 Poetica metra

  • 38  Seen from a technical point of view, most of the texts presented in this part of the Memoriale, wo (...)
  • 39  For the use of the alphabet as a principle for organising information, see a.o. the classical stud (...)

39This first part presents an alphabetically arranged collection of hexameters (or mnemonical rimes or verses)38 that can be found in canon law source texts but originate from a number of – very diverse – sources39. The running title indicating the particular columns is Metra. Every first verse of a new alphabet letter is indicated with enlarged, decorated initials of various height and width. Hexameters beginning with equal letters are indicated with a paragraph-sign (§) in the margin.

  • 40  Only a very few exceptions to this principle have to be noted. See e.g. f. 35v, col. 1, lines 6-10 (...)

40The order in which the hexameters are given is double. First of all, they are organised according to their location in the canon law source texts, first the verses that can be found in standardised traditional commentary or glossa ordinaria on the Decretum, followed by some hexameters taken from the decretales and their glossa ordinaria. And second, within these various parts, the division is based upon the initials of the first words, beginning with Acave and ending with Vulgus40.

  • 41  One can find references to ancient Latin and Greek grammars, liturgical rubrics, historical data, (...)
  • 42  Indicated as follows: de qua sequitur versus, quod hoc versu, in versibus.

41Essentially, this part of the text represents an alphabetically organised collection of varied gloss-material41. It is presented in the form of lines (verses, hexameters) and indicated as such42. Most of the time, these are mnemonical by nature, to present an aid to the reader in order to easily find, remember and reproduce specific knowledge contained in the canon law glossa ordinaria.

42The following examples may clarify both contents and composition of this part of the text.

43The majority of these textual fragments deal with the then common liturgical praxis, either by presenting standard regulations, or by giving explanations for liturgical usages. See e.g. f. 35r, col. 2, lines 47-50 :

Dicitur urbs alba vestitur
presbyter alba.
secundum. io.an. de. sta. mo. c.I. §.I. verbo. in albis. in. cle.

  • 43  Cle. 3.10.1.: … Cum autem ad serviendum in divinis officiis albis (n) vel sacris vestibus induentu (...)

44The line can be found in the standard gloss the Bolognese master Johannes Andreae added to the Clementinae collection of decretales, specifically in the gloss added to Cle. 3.10.1.43. No further reference is given concerning the original source of the text.

45Another category of verses is that of mnemonical aids, such as, for instance, the one given on f. 35r, col. 1, lines 27-34, to memorise the ten plagues Moses called down on the Egyptians :

Prima rubens unda. ranarum plaga secunda.
Inde culex tristis. post musca noce<ncior> istis.
Quinta pecus stravit. vesica sexta paravit.
Huic sequitur grando. post brucus dente nefando.
Nona tegit solem. primam necat ultima prolem.
I.q.IIII.§. item peccato egiptiorum. extra. et continet plagas egiptiorum.

46Reference is made to C. 1, q. 4, dictum Gratiani p.c. 11, where the Egyptians’ sinful behaviour is described, leading to Moses calling down the ten plagues. A quotation of the verse, however, is lacking in the dictum, nor is it present in canon 11, where the plagues are used as an example in the question of ‘guilt in the context of ignorance’. The gloss added to the word Egyptorum namely, reads as follows : Historia. Legitur in Exodo quod cum Pharao nollet dimittere populum Israelem exire de Egypto, percussit Dominus Egyptum .X. plagis, quae in Exodo exponuntur.

  • 44  This extra-gloss results from a development in legal/canonical commentary on the source texts. In (...)

47The solution to this enigma lies in the word .extra. that has been added after the canon law reference. The .extra. refers to a ‘gloss on the glossa ordinaria’, containing the five lines with the mnemonical aid, which can be found in the margin next to the glosses to canon 1144.

48To the rather enigmatic verses on f. 34v, col. 2, lines 42-48, describing liturgical feasts on which contracting a marriage is forbidden :

Aspiciens. veterem. circum. quasi. quis. benedicta.
As, cir, quis, prohibent sponsalia. Cetera mandant.
Advens septuagens. vetat rogatio nuptum.
Octabe stelle pasce. pentesque relaxant.
de.feri.c.capellanus.

49Jean de Jean added some explanation (running from line 49 to 57), at least as far as the first lines are concerned, for the verses give the incipit of liturgical hymns (particularly the introitus) belonging to the mentioned liturgical feasts :

In adventu cantatur responsoria ‘Aspiciens a longe’
in octabis Epiphanie antiphona ‘Veterem hominem renovans’,
in septuagesima officium ‘circumdederet me’,
in octabis pasche ‘quasi modo geniti’,
in rogationibus evangelium ‘quis vestrum habebit amicum’,
in octabis pentecostes officium ‘benedicta sit sancta trinitas’, quando et ubi fit de trinitate.

  • 45  See the collection of decretales, the Liber Extra (X.2.9.4. = de feriis, c. capellanus).

50Canon capellanus as well as the glosses added, present regulation concerning marriage which is connected to these liturgical feasts45.

51At least one internal reference is made, on f. 34v, col. 2, line 5 :

A iuvene et cupido etc. infra. in Ovidius.

  • 46  Reference is made to Causa 33, quaestio 1, canon 3 : Si quis accepit uxorem, et habuit eam aliquo (...)

52In the following part of the dicta poetarum, on f. 37v, col. 1, lines 24-25, under the catchword Ovidius, the complete fragment is given : A iuvene et cupido credatur reddita virgo. XXXIII.q. I. c.si quis46.

3.3.2.2 Prosayce dicta47

  • 47  F. 34v, col. 1, line 18 until f. 38r, col. 1, line 53.
  • 48  The list contains the following names (spelling according to the Paris ms.): Aristoboles, Boecius, (...)
  • 49  To the textual fragment Innocencia est secundum tullium etcetera., a reference to the fifth sectio (...)

53The second section, the prosayce dicta, presents textual fragments taken from non-christian, classical authors, again, insofar as these fragments can be found in the canon law source texts and their com-mentary tradition. The running title above the columns is Dicta. Fragments in this section are organised according to the respective authors, the list of which is arranged in alphabetical order48. The initial of the first author’s name, Aristoboles (sic), is enlarged and decorated, as are the initials of the other names, but in smaller dimensions. A few cross-references to other sections of the Memoriale are also present49.

  • 50  Commonly refered to with the phrases secundum Guidonem and secundum (H)ostiensis.

54The textual fragments in this section can be divided into two categories : those copied literally from the Decretum Gratiani and/or the collections of decretales, and the majority, taken from the glossa ordinaria and contemporary, much-used commentary collections, such as the Rosarium by Guido de Baysio, or the Summa Aurea by Hostiensis50.

55An example of the first category can be found on f. 38v, col. 1, lines 36-38, after the catchword Salustius : Incessus eius modo citus modo tardus. XLI.d. §.fi. Reference is made to the dictum Gratiani post c.8, d. 41 : … Unde istoriographus ille, cum mutabilitatem eius describeret, cuius conscientia excita curis vastabat mentem, inter cetera etiam hoc notabile indicavit :‘Incessus eius modo citus modo tardus’.

56An example of the second category can be found on f. 38r, col. 1, after the catchword Boecius. The fragment reads: Quid genus aut proavos qui regia nomina iactas. d. LVI. undecumque. Reference is made to Canon 3 of distinctio 56 :Sicut autem boni filii adulterorum nulla est defensio adulterorum, sic mali filii coniugatorum nullum crimen est nuptiarum.

57Both author and fragment can be found in the gloss to sic mali filii : ...et Boecius, quid genus aut proavos qui regia nomina iactas. The fragment is also copied from Roman law, from the Digest to be precise : ff. de decu. spurii. in prin. et l. generaliter. §. spurios. et Boethius.

3.3.2.3 Vulgaria proverbia

58The section vulgaria proverbia enumerates six proverbs taken either from the second part of the Decretum and the Liber Extra, or from the glosses. Each reference is preceded by the phrase iuxta vulgare proverbium, or in proverbiis. Only the first proverb’s initial has been enlarged and decorated. The running title on top of the columns is Vulgaria. The proverbs are ordered at random and it remains unclear why these six proverbs have been collected. Also, no external source is known for this compilation.

  • 51  Book 5, title 6 (De Iudaeis et Saracenis et eorum servis), canon 13 (Etsi Iudaeos).
  • 52  Mus in pera, serpens in gremio et ignis in sinu, male consueverent suis hospitibus exhibere. pre. (...)

59Two examples are given to clarify compilation and content of this section. On f. 38v, col. 3, lines 36-38, the first proverb reads : Qui serpentem in sinu suo nutrit percutietur ab eo. XIII. q. I. §. adhec. de iude. c. etsi iudeos. A double reference is made, first to Causa 13, quaestio 1, dictum after canon 1, where in the third part of the dictum the proverb is given : … Non facile invenies qui tales hospites libenter suscipiant. Mus in pera, ignis in sinu, serpens in gremio male suos remunerant hospites. Unde in proverbiis dicitur : ‘Qui serpentem in sinu suo nutrit, percutietur ab eo.’ Tales inveniatis vobis hospites, quales nobis esse vultis. The second reference is taken from the Liber Extra (X.5.6.13)51, where the text foregoing the proverb is given, namely : Mus in pera, ignis in sinu, serpens in gremio male suos remunerant hospites. This happens to be the sixth proverb given in this section (lines 47-49)52. Here a reference is made to the mentioned canon in the Liber Extra thus locating the fragment : …qui tamquam misericorditer in nostram familaritatem admisi, novis illam retributionem impendunt, quam iuxta vulgare proverbium ‘Mus in pera, ignis in sinu, serpens in gremio’ male suis consueverent in hospitibus exhibere. The comments accompanying this decretale also refer to the mentioned dictum in Causa 13.

3.3.2.4 Cantat ecclesia

60The fourth section of the Memoriale’s second part, contains twenty fragments of text referring to the then known liturgical praxis, specifically to liturgical hymns, the majority of which is taken from the standard canon law texts and their glosses. The initial of the first fragment is enlarged and decorated, while the running title on top of the column is Ecclesia.

  • 53  Compare A. Hughes, o.c., p. 282, n. 2001.

61On f. 39r, col. 1, one of the fragments reads : Lux fulgebit hodie. de cele. missa. c.III. The decretale this text refers to, Liber Extra 3.41.3, discusses whether it is allowed for priests to celebrate more than one mass a day. According to the answer formulated by pope Innocentius III, this was allowed under two conditions : …quod excepto die Nativitatis Dominicae …nisi causa necessitatis suadeat. The gloss to Nativitatis explains why three masses are celebrated on Christmas : …et celebrantur etiam tres missae propter mysterium : quoniam per illas tres missas representantur triplex status, scilicet status ante legem, sub lege et status gratiae. To this triplex status correspond three celebrations of the Eucharist, the first at night, the second at dawn, and the third in the morning. The gloss explains the reason for this division : …Secunda quae dicitur in Aurora, representat tempus sub lege : in quo iam incipiebant ex parte scire Christum, sed non plene, propter dicta legis et prophetarum : et ideo cantatur inter diem et noctem, et dicitur officium : Lux fulgebit hodie. The latter text is the introitus or opening hymn sung at the service in aurora53.

  • 54  De consecratione, d. 1, c. 31 : Altaria, si non sint lapidea, crismatis unctione non consecrentur. (...)
  • 55  Derived from Genesis 28, 18 : Surgens ergo mane tulit lapidem quem subposuerat capiti suo et erexi (...)

62For some of the fragments, the connection with the liturgical praxis is only indirectly present. See for instance the fragment on f. 38v, col. 3 : Erexit Iacob lapidem in titulum. de con. d.I. altaria.I. Canon 31 ( = altaria I) of de consecratione, distinctio 1, confirms the liturgical custom of always and exclusively anointing stone altars with chrisma54. The gloss to non consecrantur presents the fragment : Quia Christus petra dicitur. infra. d.II. revera ; 21.d. in nomine Domini. Item : Erexit Iacob lapidem in titulum55. Only in the sixteenth century authenticated printed edition of the Corpus Iuris Canonici, a direct reference to the liturgical context of anointing an altar, was made in a gloss : …et haec antiphona, scilicet ‘Erexit Iacob etc., cantatur in consecratione altarum.

3.3.2.5 Dicta sanctorum

  • 56  Canon law in general and the Decretum Gratiani in particular make use of numerous texts of Church (...)
  • 57  The list of names (according to the Paris ms.): Augustinus, Ambrosius, Andreas, Agnes, Beda, Berna (...)
  • 58  See for instance a reference to the fifth part of the Memoriale, the Materiae Glosarum. E.g. to a (...)

63Jean de Jean closes the second part of the Memoriale with a collection of textual fragments attributed to saints or to the stories of their lives. As for the other sections in the Dicta poetarum, the majority of textual fragments are derived from the commentary tradition, explaining the limited size of the selection of these so-called dicta sanctorum56. The excerpts are subdivided and arranged according to the names of the saints, the list of which is also arranged alphabetically57. The running title on top of the columns is Sanctorum (in abbreviated form). The initial of the first fragment following the catchword Augustinus is enlarged and slightly decorated. This ornamental element is repeated with every other saint’s name. A relatively high number of references to other parts of the Memoriale is present in this section58.

64The majority of the textual fragments being derived from the standard gloss, some of the excerpts have been borrowed from commentaries outside the Corpus Iuris Canonici, in casu the Rosarium by Guido de Baysio, his gloss on the Liber Sextus (referred to as secundum Archidiaconum), Johannes Andreae’s glosses on the Clementinae, and works by other glossatores, such as Petrus Hispanus and Laurentius.

65An example of a passage borrowed (litterally) from the Decretum Gratiani can be found under the catchword Ambrosius (f. 39v, col. 2, lines 14-16) : Ambrosius excommunicavit imperatorem. II. q.VII. §.item cum balaam. verba. sic <et> beatus. In Causa 2, quaestio 7, the dictum after canon 41, the passage : Ambrosius imperatorem excommunicauit, et ab ecclesiae ingressu prohibuit can be found.

  • 59  As is indicated in the title of the canon: Simulatio utilis est et in tempore assumenda.

66An example of a passage derived from the Glossa Ordinaria can be found on f. 39r, col. 1, under the catchword Augustinus : Si diabolus eum Dei filium esse scivisset, numquam eum a iudeis crucifigi passus fuisset. XXII. q.II. utilem. Canon 21 following quaestio 2 of Causa 22 explains that, in some particular cases, it is allowed and even necessary to pretend to reach a higher goal59. The text is derived from Hieronymus’ comment on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. In the gloss on simulatio, the passage : Ut falleret diabolum. Dicit enim Augustinus : Si diabolus eum Dei filium esse scivisset can be found.

67An example of a passage derived from Guido de Baysio’s Rosarium (indicated using the abbreviation secundum Guid.), can be found under the catchword Ysidorus (f. 39r, col. 3) : Beata vita gaudium semper habet conscientia autem rei semper in pena est, que reus numquam securus est. secundum Guid. de pe. d.V. c.I. in verbo. cum gaudio. The first canon of distinctio 5 in de penitentia geeft de woorden cum gaudio. The accompanying gloss presents the reference to de Baysio’s text, giving the exact passage.

68One passage, accordingly marked .extra., has been derived from a source outside the canon law texts and the common commentaries, in this case an – unknown – collection of saints’ lives (flores sanctorum). See under the catchword Gregorius (f. 40r, col. 3, lines 20-24) : Sic sit opus in publico ut tamen intencio maneat in occulto. XII.q.II.c.quatuor. extra. et ponitur in floribus sanctorum in festo purificationis.

3.3.3 The principal constituent of the Memoriale Decreti : the parts III until V

  • 60  Compare the introduction on f. 1r, col. 1, lines 11-14: Tercie aliquas auctoritates textuales magi (...)
  • 61  The auctoritates textuales, cover more than 117 folio’s, running from f. 41r, col. 2, line 1 until (...)

69The following three parts – the auctoritates textuales, expositiones dictionum, and the materiae glosarum – cover the majority of the text. They are constructed as a reference-dictionary, using a long list of alphabetically arranged catchwords60, to which the appropriate references to the corpus of canon law are added61. Again, Jean de Jean has added a typical product of canon law academic development to the latter part : a small number of so-called solutions to contradicting or even incorrect glosses to the text of the Decretum Gratiani (Solutio aliquorum contrariorum non solutorum glosarum decreti).

  • 62  Compare the example Altus.tior.ssimus.tudo.
  • 63  For explanations added to the basical grammatical form, see for instance the letters A (f. 41r, co (...)

70To enhance the reader’s search for catchwords and the attached information, Jean de Jean has added the following aids-to-application : pairs of alphabet letters on top of each column, indicating the catchwords treated in the text ; alphabetical order clarified by means of text lay-out, mainly enlarged and slightly decorated initials ; and outlining or defining grammatical derivations of catchwords without repeating the grammatical stem62, as well as using a paragraph-sign (§) to indicate the beginning of relating passages63.

  • 64  According to Gilles, Jean, p. 91 only the Decretum Gratiani and the Liber Extra appear to be refer (...)

71In the third part of the Memoriale, the auctoritates textuales, the catchwords are followed by passages taken – only – from the Decretum or the Liber Extra, in which the catchwords are present either literally or paraphrased64. These locations are indicated by using the standardised abbreviations for canon law references. The sequence, in which the passages are quoted, is determined by their location in the Decretum and the Liber Extra.

72In the Expositiones Dictionum, catchword entrances are combined with one or more explanations, followed by the usual abbreviations, giving their location in the canon law source texts, mainly the glossa ordinaria.

73The Materiae Glosarum is a juridical repertorium : short juridical explanations follow the alphabetically arranged list of catchwords.

74Each entrance or catchword is followed by a number of thesis and/or evidence connected with the catchword in question, and completed with abbreviated references to the glossa ordinaria.

  • 65  Ca.Ia.IIa. then refers to Causa prima, Causa secunda.
  • 66  The running title de con is missing on top of col. 1 on f. 469r, including indications in the marg (...)

75The Solutiones aliquorum contrariorum non solutorum glosarum decreti close the Memoriale Decreti. The contradictions are organised according to the place they have within the Decretum. Running titles on top of the columns indicate the part in which the fragments can be found : a capital -D- for excerpts taken from the Decretum’s first part the distinctiones, elements taken from the second part, the causae are indicated with the abbreviation Ca65, and finally the de penitentia, indicated with de.pe. It is unclear whether the passages on f. 469r are taken from the de consecratione66. A more precise indication of where to find specific passages is given in margine, using roman numbering. Each new contradiction is also indicated by a slightly enlarged initial.

76After the abbreviation .So., the solutio as it has been presented in the source text, together with Jean de Jean’s argumentation for a different solution, is given.

77By using a catchword that is present in all three lists, namely Petrus, compilation, contents and working of the different parts will be presented and explained.

3.3.3.1 De auctoritates textuales

  • 67  The following passages with abbreviated references are given: Petrus petra dicitur, di. 50, c. 54; (...)

78Beginning on f. 119v, col. 3, line 23 until f. 120r, col. 1, line 9, thirty-one passages from the Decretum, in which the catchword Petrus is present, are given. The grammatical derivative is Petra67.

79See for example the fragment on f. 119v, col. 3, line 23 : Petrus petra dicitur. eo quod. L.d. c.fidelior. Reference is made to distinctio 50, canon 54, derived from Ambrose : Item Ambrosius in omelia L. The canon-text goes as follows : Fidelior factus est Petrus, postquam fidem se perdidisse deflevit ; atque ideo maiorem gratiam reperit quam amisit. Tamquam bonus enim pastor tuendum gregem accepit, ut qui sibi ante infirmus fuerat, fieret omnibus firmamentum, et qui se interrogationis temptacione nutaverat, ceteros fidei stabilitate fundaret. Denique pro soliditate devotionis ecclesiarum petra dicitur, sicut ait Dominus : “Tu es Petrus et cetera.” Petra enim dicitur, eo quod primus in nationibus fidei fundamenta posuerit, et tamquam saxum immobile totius operis Christiani compagem molemque contineat.

80A second example can be found on f. 120r, col. 1, lines 2-3 : Petrus ferrum pro Christi nomine. XXIII. q.III. c. pro membris. Reference is made to Causa 23, quaestio 3, canon 4 : Pro membris Christi adversus vos seviunt, et vobis resistunt, quicumque in ecclesia eo animo sunt, quo tunc Petrus fuit, cum ferrum pro Christi nomine strinxit.

3.3.3.2 The expositiones dictionum

81On f. 242v, col. 2, line 32 until col. 3, line 1, Jean de Jean presented twelve ‘explanations’ of the catchword Petrus and its derivative Petra. The last passage refers to another part of the Memoriale, the last but one ( ?) passage is the only passage borrowed from the decretales (from the Liber Sextus), while three fragments taken from the Decretum, can not be traced while the abbreviated canonist references are incorrect, or even non existent.

82A first example can be found on f. 242v, col. 2, line 35 : Petra. id est. Christus. XI. q.III. c. illud. The dictio refers to Causa 12, quaestio 3, canon 87. The explanation following the .id est. in the passage, is borrowed from the gloss on canon 87’s text : … Petra(f) enim tenet, Petra dimittit. … Gloss (f) : Petra : id est Christus.

83A large majority of the explanations given in the fourth part of the Memoriale, turn out to be of a rather simple nature. See for instance the passage : Tangit Petram. id est. predicat Christum vel tangit petram. in duriciam cordis. de con. d. II. c. in calice. The dictio refers to de consecratione, distinctio 2, canon 83 : Sacerdos verbo Dei tangit petram(l) et fluit aqua, et bibit populus Dei. … Gloss (l) : Petram : id est. predicat Christum. Vel tangit petram in duritiam cordis.

84It has to be noted that the fourth part of the Memoriale contains the longest list of catchwords. This striking detail can easily be explained by the fact that the majority of the glossa ordinaria exists of similar short explanations that have been gathered in the expositiones dictionum.

3.3.3.3 The Materiae glosarum

  • 68  The complete list of references connected to the keywords, goes as follows: Petro vivente non fuit (...)

85From f. 412r, col. 3, line 40 until f. 412v, col. 1, line 36, twenty-six passages are presented following the catchword Petrus and its derivative Petra68.

86A first example can be found on f. 412r, col. 3, lines 40-42 : Petro vivente non fuit clemens papa. XCIII.d. c. I. in titulo. VIII. q.I. c.si Petrus. Jean de Jean refers to the rubric (in titulo) of distinctio 93, canon 1 : Unde beatus apostolorum princeps Petrus in ordinatione Clementis (m) populum alloquens inter cetera ait. The gloss (m) to Clementis explains the in ordinatione in the canon’s text : in presbyterum. nam Petro vivente non fuit Clemens papa. VIII. q. 1. si Petrus. As long as Peter lived, Clement was not to be named pope, but remained presbyter, the ‘eldest’ of the community. The gloss refers to Causa 8, quaestio 1, canon 1, which is also the second abbreviated canon law reference after the passage. In the casus-description of the quaestio, the classical position of Clemens is given : Petrus apostolus cum instare vellet verbo predicationis et orationi, in temporalibus Linum et Cletum praefecit : sed solum Clementem sibi successorum elegit, cui potestatem tradidit ligandi et solvandi.

87Another important question for medieval canon law was that of the papacy’s origin : issue of divine institution by Christ, or born out of – practical – necessity after Christ’s death ? Hence the question on the primacy of the bishop of Rome was posed : on what was this position of primus inter pares exactly based ?

  • 69  Distinctio 50, canon 53.
  • 70  Distinctio 50, canon 54.
  • 71  Here, Extra refers to the Liber Extra. The complete reference is X.1.6.4.

88Both questions form the subject of two subsequent passages on f. 412r, col. 3, lines 42-43, and 44-45. The first question is touched upon in the following passage : Et quando est datus pontificatus Petro. XXI.d. c.in novo. The text refers to distinctio 21, canon 2, more specifically to its first paragraph : In novo testamento post Christum Dominum a Petro sacerdotalis cepit ordo, quia ipsi primo pontificatus in ecclesia Christi datus est, Domino dicente ad eum : “Tu es,” inquit, “Petrus (b), et super hanc petram edificabo ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non prevalebunt adversus eam : et tibi dabo claves regni celorum.” … The gloss (b) to Tu es Petrus scetches the problem and decorates its reasoning and answer with references to several other canon law sources : Videtur ergo, quod per haec verba ‘Tu es Petrus, etc.’ datus fuit Petro pontificatus, et ita ante passionem : quia ante fuit dictum : et ita videtur contradicere d.50, c. considerandum69 et canon fidelior70, nam ibi dicitur quod post passionem fuit datus ecclesiae pastor, et non ante. At the end, the solutio is given : Primo fuit apostolus ante passionem : sed post passionem fuit pastor creatus per illa verba : ‘Si diligis me, etc.’, ut Extra, de electio. significasti71, quod etiam hic innuitur cum dicit : ‘Tibi dabo claves, etc.’, hoc enim est promittere, et non dare.

  • 72  Causa 24, quaestio 1, canon 18.
  • 73  Causa 2, quaestio 7, canon 35.
  • 74  Distinctio 25, canon 1.

89The second passage poses the question of the papacy’s primacy : Et fuit par et maior aliis. ibidem. The canon law reference remains the same, but the reference in the gloss is linked with the word pari, at the end of the already mentioned first alinea, again giving a number of canon law source texts that present argumentations pro and contra : Argumentum quod omnis episcopus sit par apostolico quantum ad ordinem et rationem consecrationis. XXIV. q.I. c. loquitur, in principio72. Petrus tamen maior fuit aliis in administratione, ut II. q.VII. c. puto73, potest enim aliquis esse maior alio ordine, sed tamen minor in administratione, ut archipresbyter maior est archidiacono, ut XXV.d. c. perlectis74.

90In this fifth part, numerous references are given well-known collections of commentary on the corpus iuris canonici, such as de Baysio’s Rosarium, as well as a number of references back to the four other parts of the Memoriale.

3.3.3.4 Solutiones

91A fine example of a Solutio added by Jean de Jean, can be found on f. 468v, col. 1, where excerpts from the de penitentia part are treated : Quod vero reprobi in verbo veritate. ibi. c. visis Solutio : ibi. in glossa. fi. Guido. The incipit Quod vero reprobi refers to de penitentia, di. 2, dictum post c. 44, where in the first paragraph, the word veritate can be found. In the gloss to this word, the solutio is given.

3.3.4 Conclusio and colophon

92On f. 469r the text of the Memoriale is concluded with a conclusio and a colophon.

The conclusio :

Sique fuerint benedicta in opere presenti soli Deo eadem attribuo sed que minus bene ignorancie proprie paratus corrigi et nedum a c<ollega> anniculo sed a quocumque alio edoceri correctioni. sacrosancte romane ecclesie subiecens omnia et singula supradicta.

The colophon :

Completum fuit hoc opus in monasterio Iuncellensi ordinis sancti benedicti diocesis bitterensis per me fratrem Iohannem Iohannis abbatem eiusdem et doctorem decretorum quamvis indignum. Anno Domini millesimo. trecentesimo. trigintanona. mense novembris in die sancte Cecilie.

4. Concluding Remarks: an appreciation of the genre

93Jean de Jean’s Memoriale Decreti is a product of late medieval developments in para-academic canonist literature. The evolution of this ‘genre’ led to the development of compilations like the Memoriale.

94First of all, from the more extensive description, it becomes clear that Jean de Jean made use of achievements in the development of text lay-out, reference-aids, and other instruments, to construct an ‘encyclopaedia’ of references. These include features like the use of running titles and letter combinations to indicate (sub)divisions of the text, reference-tools, marginalia, enlarged and decorated initials, canon law abbreviations, biblical chapter-division and alphabetically organised lists of catchwords.

  • 75  Meaning that he searched particularly the gloss on the Decretum and the decretales to compile some (...)

95Although it has yet to be defined which parts were actually compiled by Jean de Jean himself – so far, only elements of the second section seem to be the result of his compilatory actions75, the different sections of the Memoriale existed already separately as independent instruments, albeit most of the time in a (somewhat) different form.

  • 76  For the development of these genres, see Kuttner, Repertorium, p. 154, 209-219.

96For example, collections of Solutiones – as Jean de Jean added to the first and fifth part of the Memoriale –, are a typical by-product of collections of distinctiones that came into existence following the first efforts to gather early distinctions to the Decretum Gratiani and to solve still unsolved canonical questions. In the second half of the twelfth century, Solutiones also formed an integral part of canon law training76. Indices are a typical product of the developing searching tools in canon law. Their alphabetical organisation as well as their composition is clearly borrowed in the main, central part of the Memoriale Decreti, where long listings of items are combined with short explanations, glosses and distinctions.

97The major and main principles determining Jean de Jean’s compilatory activity in the Memoriale are that of the development of para-academic literature itself, namely offering a nearly complete or exhaustive set of various data linked with canon law, opening up this extensive mass of data by adding all sorts of searching aids to improve manageability of the text, and, to enhance a speedy retrieval of ‘knowledge’ that is contained in authoritative texts refered to.

98In spite of its enormous advantage – namely the possibility to have access to different source texts by means of only one reference work, instead of having to search through different source texts or even different aids-to-study – this quality seems to have been at the same time Achilles’ heel in para-academic literature.

  • 77  For Calderini, see Schulte, Die Geschichte, t.II, p. 247-253, here esp. p. 250. Calderini’s known (...)

99J. F. von Schulte, the outstanding nineteenth century scholar on the history of canon law, made a telling remark when describing the ‘biblical repertorium’ (the Tabula Auctoritatum et Sententiarum Biblie, a collection comparable to the first section of the Memoriale) of Giovanni Calderini, a contemporary of Jean de Jean : für das Recht ist ihr Wert unbedeutend77. In their discussions on the historical development of law, legal historians (like von Schulte) have often attached little importance to this type of consultation literature. In fact, it has often been considered as stagnation or even decline in the line of the historical progress law was making, since extensively using canon law aids-to-study seemed to imply that the source text was only studied through works of reference and no longer by using the source text itself.

100Yet in contrast with this negative interpretation, when considered from the emergence of consultation literature, fourteenth century canonist study aids offer high quality, interdisciplinary search tools, in which the scholarly development of both canon law and of consultation literature were combined. Texts like Calderini’s biblical repertorium and Jean de Jean’s Memoriale Decreti were closely connected to late medieval academic training in canon law. Changes in the academic system, in particular the renewed attention for the authoritative source text itself, probably account for the sudden ‘impopularity’ of the genre of para-academic texts. By the end of the fifteenth century, e.g., only parts of the Memoriale Decreti were to be re-issued in print, while others were completely forgotten by history. New searching aids were no longer elaborated and the interest in the older generation faded away.

  • 78  Schulte, Die Geschichte, t.II, p. 482 : « Sieht man auf den inneren Geist und Charakter der Werke, (...)

101In a way however, von Schulte’s remark was also correct. Despite the fact that Biblical Repertoria were excellent aids for bridging the gap between everyday practice and authoritative source text, they also witnessed of a new attitude towards the source texts they refered to. A shift took place, unnoticed, from the written word blessed with authority to the authority of the reference. Authoritative texts were no longer read as a whole : only extracts were taken and used. Von Schulte marked this as a sign of decline in canonist scholarship78. However, if we look at this question from the point of view of consultation literature, it becomes clear that he underestimated the value of the genre. Whether von Schulte’s evaluation is correct or not, remains therefore a matter of perspective.

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Notes

1  It lies far beyond the scope of this article to present an extensive overview of canon law’s development, so only its major lines will be presented. For a broader scope, see a.o. R. H. Helmholz, The Canon Law and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction from 597 to the 1640s (The Oxford History of the Laws of England, 1), Oxford, Oxford Univ. Press, 2004; M. Bellomo, L’Europa del diritto comune, Rome, Il Cigno Galileo Galilei, 1988; ibid., The Common legal Past of Europe: 1000-1800 (Studies in medieval and early modern Canon Law, 4), transl. by L. G. Cochrane, Washington, 1995, p. 65-77, 126-148; J. A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (The Medieval World), London, 1995; S. Kuttner, Studies in the History of Medieval Canon Law (Collected Studies Series, 325), Aldershot, Variorum Reprints, 1990; K. W. Nörr, Die kanonistische Literatur, in H. Coing, Handbuch der Quellen und Literatur der neueren Europäischen Privatrechtsgeschichte, Band I, Mittelalter (1100-1500). Die gelehrten Rechte und die Gesetzgebung, Munich, 1973, p. 365-382 ; J. F. von Schulte, Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des canonischen Rechts von Gratian bis auf Papst Gregor IX (Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des canonischen Rechts von Gratian bis auf die Gegenwart, 1), Stuttgart, Enke, 1875, p. 456-511.

2  The editorial history of the Decretum has been studied recently. As a result thereof, the input by Gratian is limited to that of a compiler of already existing parts of the Decretum, the so-called Gratian I and Gratian II. See A. Winroth, The Making of Gratian’s Decretum (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought. Fourth Series, 49), Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 1-33. However, the Decretum gathered ‘universal’ authoritative status rather quickly.

3  The non-exclusiveness of the Clementinae meant that a number of canones and decretales kept circulating outside this collection, refered to with the Latin verb extravagari. For convenience’s sake these were gathered in the collection of the Extravagantes Communes (early fourteenth century), consisting of the latter as well as a small collection of decretales collected by Pope John XXII, the so-called Extravagantes Iohannis XXII.

4  By the end of the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII ordered an edition of the main collections of canon law, gathered in the so-called Corpus Iuris Canonici, corresponding to its Roman law counterpart (Corpus Iuris Civilis). The official editio Romana issued by the Correctores Romana, the board of cardinals that was ordered to prepare this new edition, was published in 1582. The Corpus Iuris Canonici consisted of the Decretum Gratiani, the Liber Extra, Liber Sextus, the Clementinae and the Extravagantes Communes. Note that this version of the corpus remained in use untill 1917, when the Codex Iuris Canonici was released under authority of Pope Pius X. In contrast to the Codex, promulgated authentic and exclusive in its totality, only parts of the Corpus-edition of 1582 reached this status. In its entirety, it never did. For the development of the different parts and its collection into the Corpus Iuris Canonici, see (among others) Schulte, Die Geschichte ; G. Le Bras – Ch. Lefebvre – J. Rambaud, L’Âge classique (1140-1378). Sources et théorie du droit (Histoire du Droit et des Institutions de l’Église en Occident, 7), Paris, 1965, particularly the second part, Formation du droit classique, p. 133-345 ; particularly K. W. Nörr, Die kanonistische Literatur, in Coing, Handbuch, p. 365-382, and ibid., Die Entwicklung des Corpus Iuris Canonici, in Coing, Handbuch, p. 835-843.

5  Cf. the well-known studies of Richard and Mary Rouse on the subject. E.g. R. H. Rouse – M. A. Rouse, Preachers, Florilegia and Sermons. Studies on the Manipulus florum of Thomas of Ireland (Studies and Texts, 47), Toronto, 1979, in particulary p. 3-90 ; ibid., Statim invenire. Schools, Preachers, and new Attitudes to the Page, in R. L. Benson G. Constable (eds.), Renaissance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century, Oxford, 1982, p. 201-225 ; R. H. Rouse, Le développement des instruments de travail au XIIIe siècle, in Culture et travail intellectuel dans l’Occident médiéval, Paris, 1981, p. 115-144 ; ibid., La diffusion en Occident au XIIIe siècle des outils de travail facilitant l’accès aux textes autoritatifs, in Revue des Études Islamiques 44 (1976), p. 115-147. See also the studies on intellectual vocabulary edited by O. Weijers, Études sur le vocabulaire intellectuel du moyen âge (CIVICMA, 1-8), Turnhout, 1988-1995.

6  The introduction of the mendicant orders in the academic circuit has played a very particular role in the development of all kind of instruments, especially those combining knowledge extracted from large source texts with preaching instruments. See for instance B. Roest, A History of Franciscan Education (c. 1210-1517) (Education and Society in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, 11), Leiden, Brill, 2000.

7  The order of the source texts was not altered, but made more accessible by using a new technique to comment upon text (Glossa Ordinaria) or by using new methods in order to arrange ‘knowledge’ hidden in the text (like for instance in the second part of the Decretum Gratiani, the Causae, where on the basis of quaestiones the appropriate legal knowledge is reproduced, without giving anythting superfluous).

8  RouseRouse, Statim invenire, p. 205-206.

9  The input made by Aristotelian logic is also indebted for the change in teaching.

10  Famous in this respect is the quote of Bernard of Clairvaux, taken from his Sermones in Cantica Canticorum, where he makes reference to the need and the joy of finding knowledge through hard work: …delectet etiam cum labore investigare, nec fatiget inquirendi forte difficultas. While in the introduction to his Sententiae, Peter Lombard offers a completely different approach, reflecting the intellectual mores of the new age: Quod quaeritur offert sine labore…, ut quod quaeritur facilius occurrat. Quoted in RouseRouse, Statim invenire, p. 206-207.

11  In commentaries organised according to the alphabet or summae, it was considered absurd to place entries like angelus before Deus. Cf. Albertus Magnus who apologized for making use of non-thematical order in his De Animalibus. Quoted in RouseRouse, Statim invenire, p. 211, n.28.

12  Ibid., p. 210: It was therefore inevitable that alternative methods of retrieving information must eventually be devised, methods that would require different notions of order, as opposed to ordering information according to the text.

13  It has to be noticed that all of these ‘devices’ already existed. They were, however, used and combined in a different way. RouseRouse, Statim invenire, p. 202-216; Rouse, Diffusion, p. 115-133.

14  Well-known examples are collections of distinctiones, the (very succesfull) biblical concordance (developed by Paris-based Dominicans) and the index to the works of Aristotle (also developed in Paris). Cf. RouseRouse, Statim invenire, p. 221-222; Rouse, Diffusion, p. 117-120.

15  For an extended and still invaluable description of the first phase of this evolution, see S. Kuttner, Repertorium der Kanonistik (1140-1234). Prodromus corporis glossarum, I (Studi e Testi, 71), Vatican City, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, 1937.

16  For a basic survey, see Schulte, Die Geschichte, t.II, p. 485-511. Also Coing, Handbuch, p. 313-364, esp. p. 348-363. For the Tabula, see Schulte, Die Geschichte, t.II, p. 385-391, esp. p. 387-389.

17  Simon Vairet (+ 1347), a Paris-based master in canon law, composed with his Tabula an index referring to eight other indexes and/or reference books, most of them being canon law treatises except for the indexes on the manipulus florum (a reference book for preachers), on the summa confessorum and for the concordance on the Bible (magna concordantia biblie). Cf. Amiens, Bibliothèque Municipale, ms. 383, f. 251r. See also Schulte, Die Geschichte, t.II, p. 405 ; P. Fournier, Simon Vairet, canoniste, in Histoire littéraire de la France 35 (1921), p. 606-609.

18  For the scarce data on Jean de Jean, cf. H. Gilles, Jean de Jean, abbé de Joncels, in Histoire littéraire de la France, 40 (1974) p. 53-111, p. 54-75 ; ibid., Les moines juristes, in L’Église et le droit dans le Midi (XIIIe-XIVe s.) (Cahiers de Fanjeaux, 29), Toulouse, Privat, 1994, p. 89-93, esp. p. 89-90 ; ibid., Un canoniste oublié : l’abbé de Joncels, in Revue Historique de Droit Français et Étranger, 4e série, 38 (1960), p. 578-602 ; Schulte, Die Geschichte, p. 379.

19  The abbey was a stop on the pilgrimage’s route from Arles to Santiago de Compostella, between Montpellier and Toulouse. Currently, Joncels is a small municipality in the department of l’Hérault (arrondissement Lodève, canton de Lunas). The abbey itself was devastated twice, first during the religious wars of the 16th century, and finally following the French revolution.

20  Jean de Jean mentions the Toulouse faculty of law and its alumni in one of his sermons. Cf. Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. Lat. ms. 7656, f. 176r: Sicut rusticus, videns multos juristas Tholoze in scolis,… as well as the fact that – once he had become a monk – his abbot sent him to Toulouse to recruit poor clerics for monastic life. Cf. Vatican City, B.A.V., Vat. lat. ms. 7656, f. 183v: et tunc misit me in Tholose pro querendo et ducendo pauperes clericos… According to Gilles, these references might allow us to conclude the fact that Jean de Jean graduated in Toulouse. See Gilles, Un canoniste, p. 579-580; ibid., Jean, p. 55-56. In spite of this supposition, it remains most unclear whether he actually took a law degree in Toulouse or Montpellier. The only fact to be concluded for sure is that Johannes was well-acquainted with the context of a late medieval law-school, as he held a doctor’s degree in canon law.

21  Gilles, Un canoniste, p. 582-583 ; ibid., Les moines, p. 89 ; ibid., Jean, p. 58.

22  Fontevrault was the main monastery of a mixed foundation living according to the Benedictine rule. The problem urging papal intervention seemed to have been the fact that parts of the male population disagreed over the administration by Abbess Eleanor of Brittanny. According to Gilles, Johannes made a mistake by choosing the side of the insurgent male part. Eleanor of Brittanny appealed against the measures taken for the reform, and was finally reinstated by the Rota. See Gilles, Jean, p. 62-64. For the Fontevrault-order, see J. M. Bienvenu, Fontevrault, in Lexikon des Mittelalters, Band 4, Munich, 1989, col. 627-629; Fontevrault, in F. L. Cross – E. A. Livingstone (eds.), The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford, 1974, p. 521; J. Daoust, Fountevrault, in Dictionnaire d’Histoire et de Géographie Ecclésiastiques, t. 17, Paris, 1971, c. 961-971.

23  Cf. Paris, BnF, ms. lat. 3921, f. 469r, col. 2, line 30: Completum fuit hoc opus…anno Domini millesimo CCCXXXIX mense novembris in die sancte Caecilia. The date referred to, is November 22, liturgical feast of sainte Cecile. Cf. A. Cappelli, Cronologia, Milan, 19835, p. 49 (giving the liturgical calendar for 1339).

24  Cf. Bernkastel-Kues, Cusanus-Stift, ms. 227. This manuscript contains the so-called Reportata super Decreto, a school-type comment on the Decretum Gratiani. It is quite unclear why Johannes came to Montpellier. According to a marginal note in a contemporary manuscript, Johannes had been teaching while he resided in Avignon (cf. Cordoba, Biblioteca de la Catedral, ms. 40, a manuscript containing quaestiones and allegationes by Oldradus de Ponte de Laude, a contemporary and fellow cleric in Avignon; f. 175vb reads: Allegationes domini Iohannis Iohannis decretorum doctoris nunc Avinione ordinarie decretales legentis). Another probably complementary explanation can be found in the fact that at the time, the benedictine order exerted considerable influence on academic training in Montpellier, since Benedict XII had made arrangements to improve training in the benedictine order (1336). Cf. M. Fournier, Histoire de la science du droit en France. Tome III, Les universités françaises et l’enseignement du droit en France au moyen-âge, Paris, 1892, p. 341-562.

25  Cf. Gilles, Jean, p. 75-76, n.4 and the manuscripts mentioned there.

26  For an overview of the manuscript’s transfers, see ibid. ; and M.-H. Jullien de Pomerol, J. Monfrin, La bibliothèque pontificale à Avignon et à Peñiscola (Collection de l’École Française de Rome, 141, I), Rome, École Française de Rome, 1991, p.XX-XXII, 49-55. Ownership marks on f. 1r confirm at least some of this transfer history. On top of this folio, in margine, the shelfmark Cod. Colb. 89 is given, referring to minister Colbert’s collection, while the shelfmark Reg. 3615. 3.3. indicates the presence of the manuscript in the Royal Library. At the bottom of f. 1r both the seal Bibliothecae Regiae (accompanied by the Bourbon arms) and the current shelfmark are given (ms. lat. 3921). Gilles’ assumption remains to be proven however.

27  Incipit memoriale decreti editum a fratre Iohanne Iohannis abbate Iuncellensi, doctore decretorum quinque continens in effectu ¶ Primo auctoritates biblie reducendo eas ad ordinem librorum et capitulorum biblie seriatim ¶ Secundo dicta poetarum tam metrice quam prosaice dicta et aliquorum sanctorum ¶ Tercio aliquas auctoritates textuales magis notabiles decretorum ad ordinem alphabeti dictionaliter redactas ¶ Quarto expositiones dictionum ¶ Et quinto materias glosarum iuxta ordinem supradictum. See f. 1r, col. 1, lines 1-17.

28  The author of the Memoriale, Jean de Jean, has added a searching aid to the complete text to indicate the separate parts as well as the subdivision in the second part, by using running titles at the head of each folio. One might argue that this aid was added by a scriptor or transcriber, not necessarily by Jean de Jean himself. The author of the text, however, uses these running titles when adding cross-references inside the text itself. The following running titles were used:
Part 1: for the (
Auctoritates bibliae): title used: Biblia, for the addendum to part 1, the (dubito in quotis istis): Quote dubie. Part 2: for the (Poetica metra): Poetica, for the (Prosayce dicta): Prosayce, for the (Vulgaria proverbia): Vulgaria, for the (Cantat ecclesia): Cantat, and for the (Dicta sanctorum): Dicta. Part 3: for the (Auctoritates textuales): Textus. Part 4: for the (Expositiones dictionum): Expo; and for the (Materiae glosarum) of Part 5: Glo. The added collection of glossary contraditions is given Contra as running title.

29  The first part of the Memoriale, the auctoritates bibliae, covers almost 35 folio’s, running from f. 1r until 34v, col. 1. To this collection of biblical fragments Jean de Jean has added a small collection of dubia, entitled Dubito in quotis istis quae sequntur (running from f. 34r, col. 2, line 45 until f. 34v, col. 1, line 12). According to the author, within the different canon law source texts, these fragments are wrongly attributed to the biblical canon.

30  Et ego dico tibi quia tu es Petrus et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam en porte inferi non prevalebunt adversum eam et tibi dabo claves regni celorum et quodcumque ligaveris super terram erit ligatum et in celis. et quodcumque solveris super terram erit solutum et in caelis.

31  The text references are given on f. 19r, col. 1, line 34 to col. 2, line 10. In order:
di. 19, c. 7: he who withdraws from the unity with Peter, loses the right to take part in liturgy. Mt 16, 18a is quoted verbatim;
di. 21 (on the papal primacy) dictum ante c. 1 (paraphrasing verses 18-19), c. 2 (verbatim quote of v. 18-19a), c. 3 (verbatim quote of v. 18a);
di. 22 (defines the ranking among metropolitan churches), c. 1 (paraphrase of v. 18a), c. 2 (letter of Pope Anacletus to all bishops, quoting v. 18a as well as the end of v. 19);
di. 50 (discusses various conditions for becoming a member of the clergy), c. 25 (quote of Augustin, with reference to v. 19c), c. 54 (taking Peter as an example, verbatim quote of v. 18-19);
C. 9, q. 3, c. 14 (no other authority can judge the Holy See. Verbatim quote of v. 18a and 19b), c. 17, c. 18 (both canones have been taken from letters by Pope Gelasius I, implicitly refering to the v. 18 and 19);
C. 2, q. 7 (main issue of this quaestio: si laici, monachi uel quilibet inferiorum ordinum in accusatione maiorum sint audiendi?), c. 4, ibi: vice fungimur etc., c. 9, dictum ante c. 34 (indirect and implicit mentions of the biblical fragment);
C. 3, q. 6, c. 9, ibi : domino instituente etc. (id.);
further implicit and indirect references to this text, in
di. 11, c. 3, in fi.; di. 12, c. 2 (Apostolicis praeceptis nullus superbe resistat); C. 11, q. 1, c. 14; C. 24, q. 1, dictum post c. 4; c. 10, c. 15, c. 17, c. 18, in princ., c. 20, c. 22, c. 31, in verbo evangelica, c. 6 of 27; C. 24, q. 2, dictum post c. 1, c. 2, c. 4; C. 24, q. 3, c. 1; de pen., di. 1, c. 44, c. 88, c. 49; de pen., di. 2, c. 40, ante medium; de pen., di. 3, c. 10; di. 10, c. 6; di. 93, c. 3; di. 96, c. 1, in fi., c. 9; C. 1, q. 3, c. 8, in princ.; di. 73, c. 1, in fi. (et in unitate sanctae ecclesiae in qua Petro datum est ius ligandi atque solvendi, reference to v. 19b-c); C. 11, q. 3, c. 14, c. 21, c. 31, c. 48; C. 23, q. 4, c. 24, post princ., ibi, accepit ecclesia, etc.; C. 33, q. 2, c. 8, in fi.; X.1.33.6; X.4.17.13; X.5.39.28; VI.5.13.2; Clem. 5.13.2.

32  The division of the Bible books into chapters developed about 1230, as a tool for the study of the bible, by Stephen Langton o.p. See Rouse, Diffusion, p. 115-147, 119.

33  For an extensive introduction to this system of abbreviations, see J. Berlioz, Sources et citations (L’Atelier du médiéviste 1), Turnhout, Brepols, 1994, p. 145-176. To read and decipher abbreviations correctly, X. Ochoa, A. Diez, Index titulorum, Rome, 1965, remains indispensible.

34  The references to canon law sources are taken from the Decretum Gratiani: de consecratione, d. 2, c. 83; de consecratione, d. 2, c. 88; distinctio 21, c. 6; and the last gloss to distinctio 84, c. 6. From the decretales gathered in the Liber Extra: X.1.2.3. being book 1, bhapter 2 De constitutionibus, canon 3.

35  It has to be noted that inside the Paris ms. of the Memoriale, a ‘corrector’ has been adding corrections in the marginal Roman numbering (by adding strokes to the numerals or crossing out numbers, as well as in the titles of Bible books. E.g., f. 24v, col. 3, line 46, where the former numbering has been crossed out. The excerpt on line 43, Iam vos mundi estis… corresponds to John 15, 3 so the ‘corrector’ added .XV. in the margin.

36  Jean de Jean enumerates twenty-nine textual fragments in the corpus of canon law (mainly the Decretum Gratiani) that were – incorrectly – considered to be biblical texts. He names three types of dubia, the first one indicated by notions like Iuxta scripture testimonium, in veteri lege, in apostolo, et cetera. See e.g. the passage Iuxta scripturae testimonium omnia membra caput sequntur. XII.d.c.I. (f. 34r, col. 2, lines 52-54). The text of the first canon under distinction 12 (first section of the Decretum Gratiani) goes as follows : Non decet a capite membra dissidere, sed iuxta scripturae testimonium omnia membra caput sequuntur. Nulli vero dubium est, quod apostolica ecclesia mater sit omnium ecclesiarum, a cuius vos regulis nullatenus convenit deviare… This canon mentions a letter by Pope Calixtus I, in which, by means of Pauline ecclesiology, the principle of papal primacy is founded. The iuxta scripturae testimonium therefore seems to refer to 1 Cor 12, 12 f., where the passage on the Church being the body of Christ, is read allegorically, but no such connection is made by Jean de Jean, who, when presenting references for the text from the First Letter to the Corinthians (on f. 28r, col. 1, lines 14-19), only refers to di. 89, c. 1. In a second type of dubia, the context in which the dubious text is quoted suggests it is of biblical origin. See e.g. f. 34r, col. 3, lines 14-15: Aaron vestem talarem habebat. XXIII. d. c. penultima. Reference is made to di. 23, c. 32 of which the text is derived from a writing by Pope Martinus I concerning a clerical dresscode: Item ex Concilio Martini Papae. […] Nec oportet clericos comam nutrire, et sic ministrare: sed atonso capite, patentibus auribus, et secundum Aaron talarem uestem induere, ut sint in habitu ornato. In spite of the fact that reference is made to Aaron, the patriarch of the priestly house of the Levites, who were considered to be the clergy’s forefathers, and of the fact that the dresscode in question was founded in the Pentateuch, there is no concrete biblical text founding Pope Martinus’ argument. A third group of dubia enumerates simple incorrect biblical references. Such as the reference given on f. 34r, col. 3, lines 56-58 : In libro numerorum tribus ad benedicendum ponitur. XXIIII. q.III. §.sed qui. The fragment referes to Causa 34, quaestio 3, dictum following canon 11, were we read : Item, sicut in libro Numerorum legitur, Moyses ex precepto Dei duodecim tribus filiorum Israel in duas partes divisit, et sex tribus iussit, ut iuxta montem Gebal incedentes maledictionem transgredientium legem vociferarent; aliis vero precepit, ut iuxta alium montem incedentes benedictiones observantium inclamarent. To no avail, one will go through the book of Numbers, the correct reference is Deuteronomium 27, 11-12.

37  This part runs from f. 34v, col. 1, line 18 until f. 41r, col. 1, line 52. Incipit: Acave dilecto dominum earum <fere> scripto; explicit: Beatorum angelorum numerus post ruinam malorum est diminutus, et ex numero electorum hominum supplebitur qui numerus soli deo est cognitus. secundum. Guidon. de con. d.I. c.hii duo. unde cantat ecclesia. deus cui soli et cognitus numerus electorum. etcetera. et sumitur ex libro officiorum.

38  Seen from a technical point of view, most of the texts presented in this part of the Memoriale, would not comply with the definition of an hexameter. The notion or definition is only used for the sake of convenience.

39  For the use of the alphabet as a principle for organising information, see a.o. the classical study by L. W. Daly, Contributions to a History of Alphabetization in Antiquity and the Middle Ages (Collectio Latomus, 90), Brussels, 1967. In this study, Daly develops a search for a long line of historical development in the genesis of alphabetically organised systems for reference and ordering of information that became more and more complex and better elaborated in the course of time. K. Miethaner-Vent, Das Alphabet in der mittelalterlichen Lexikographie. Verwendungsweisen, Formen und Entwicklung des alphabetischen Anordnungsprinzips, in C. Buridant (ed.), La lexicographie au Moyen Âge (Lexique, 4), Lille, 1986, p. 83-112, opposes to Daly’s development thesis, by studying medieval forms and uses of alphabetical organisation and ordering in their specific contexts.

40  Only a very few exceptions to this principle have to be noted. See e.g. f. 35v, col. 1, lines 6-10.

41  One can find references to ancient Latin and Greek grammars, liturgical rubrics, historical data, moral rules, elements of canonical procedure, marriage law, texts on ecclesiology, and general encyclopaedic knowledge.

42  Indicated as follows: de qua sequitur versus, quod hoc versu, in versibus.

43  Cle. 3.10.1.: … Cum autem ad serviendum in divinis officiis albis (n) vel sacris vestibus induentur, aut cum occupabuntur in operibus, uti eis liceat scapulari. The gloss to albis goes as follows: Albis: non ponitur pro colore, sed pro veste sacra, de quae sequitur versus. Dicitur urbs alba, vestitur presbyter alba. Urbs illa de quae loquitur versus, est de provincia (Lombardica).

44  This extra-gloss results from a development in legal/canonical commentary on the source texts. In spite of the fact that from the early thirteenth century on, glosses to the source texts where standardised and acknowledged as such by papal authority (authenticated), development of commentaries continued, leading to a set of glosses that were added to the already existing Glossa Ordinaria. In the composition of manuscripts containing canon law source texts, the ordinary gloss was always added in the margin, while the extra-gloss would be placed also in the margin, but next to the glossa ordinaria. In early printed editions of the 1582 Corpus of canon law, these extra glosses are printed far right (or left) besides the standard gloss.

45  See the collection of decretales, the Liber Extra (X.2.9.4. = de feriis, c. capellanus).

46  Reference is made to Causa 33, quaestio 1, canon 3 : Si quis accepit uxorem, et habuit eam aliquo tempore, et ipsa femina dicit, quod numquam coisset cum ea, et ille vir dicit, quod sic fecit, in veritate viri consistat, quia vir est caput mulieris. The gloss to tempore gives the textual fragment and its author : Tempore : … Item quia fuit sola cum solo, creditur cognita ab ipso, ut XXXII. q.I. dixit. XXVII. q.I. nec aliquam. Iuxta illud Ovidii : A iuvene et cupido credatur reddite virgo.

47  F. 34v, col. 1, line 18 until f. 38r, col. 1, line 53.

48  The list contains the following names (spelling according to the Paris ms.): Aristoboles, Boecius, Cato, Claudianus, Domicius, Epigmenides, Fulgencius, Galienus, Iuvenalis, Marcialis, Macrobius, Oracius, Ovidius, Plato, Salustius, Seneca, Socrates, Terencius, Tullius, Virgilius, Ypocras. The obvious (at least in our eyes) misspellings of names like Aristoboles (= Aristoteles, as becomes clear when looking up the references in the canon law source texts), Epigmenides and Galienus, are most probably due to the fact that either the author, Jean de Jean, or the transcriber of the Paris manuscript, had an insufficient knowledge of Greek. Apparently, they were no exception to the rule.

49  To the textual fragment Innocencia est secundum tullium etcetera., a reference to the fifth section, infra. in glosis, is added. On f. 362r, col. 2, lines 49-51, following the second fragment to the catchword Innocencia, Cicero is mentioned: Et est secundum tullium animi p<uer>itas omnis iniurie <…> aborrens. secundum. Guid. XXIII. q.IIII. c.ita. Four out of six textual fragments following the catchword Horatius, refer to the first section of the Memoriale’s second part by using the phrase supra in versibus, e.g. the fifth fragment: Sincerum nisi vas etcetera.ibidem. On f. 37r, col. 3, line 47, the verse Sincerum est nisi vas quidcumque infundis accessit. de pen.d.III.c.inter hec yrchum.I. (= de pen. di. 3, c. 34) can be found.

50  Commonly refered to with the phrases secundum Guidonem and secundum (H)ostiensis.

51  Book 5, title 6 (De Iudaeis et Saracenis et eorum servis), canon 13 (Etsi Iudaeos).

52  Mus in pera, serpens in gremio et ignis in sinu, male consueverent suis hospitibus exhibere. pre. c. si iudeos.

53  Compare A. Hughes, o.c., p. 282, n. 2001.

54  De consecratione, d. 1, c. 31 : Altaria, si non sint lapidea, crismatis unctione non consecrentur. Ad celebranda autem divina officia ordinem, quem metropolitani tenent, conprovinciales eorum observare debebunt.

55  Derived from Genesis 28, 18 : Surgens ergo mane tulit lapidem quem subposuerat capiti suo et erexit in titulum fundens oleum desuper.

56  Canon law in general and the Decretum Gratiani in particular make use of numerous texts of Church fathers and early councils as corroborative arguments in juridical questions. Hence it could be expected to find a much longer list with ‘sayings of saints’ then present in the Memoriale.

57  The list of names (according to the Paris ms.): Augustinus, Ambrosius, Andreas, Agnes, Beda, Bernardus, Brictius, Cassianus, Cassiodorus, Ciprianus, Crisostomus, Gregorius, Hugo, Ieronimus, Iohannes, Lucia, Marcialis, Macarius, Martinus, Petrus, Salomon, Silvester, Teodora, Ysidorus.

58  See for instance a reference to the fifth part of the Memoriale, the Materiae Glosarum. E.g. to a fragment following the catchword Gregorius, f. 40r, col. 3, lines 37-43: Valde cavendum est illud vicium quod nascitur ex victoria viciorum. infra. in glo. in verbo. peccatum superbie. etcetera. On f. 407v, col. 1, lines 19-22, the fragment is repeated literally with the preceeding addition Et Gregorius.

59  As is indicated in the title of the canon: Simulatio utilis est et in tempore assumenda.

60  Compare the introduction on f. 1r, col. 1, lines 11-14: Tercie aliquas auctoritates textuales magis notabiles decretorum ad ordinem alphabeti dictionaliter redacta. The alphabetical order can be considered to be more or less absolute, i.e. not only according the initials of the catchwords, but taking into account the entire word. Yet only the basic catchwords are organised alphabetically, while a majority of these is followed by grammatical derivations, that, when ordered strictly alphabetically, would receive another position in the list. See H. Gilles, Jean, p. 92 : quant au classement des mots-clefs, il se fait dans un ordre logique et non selon le pur ordre alphabétique. See for instance Alter, Altilis, Altus. tior. ssimus. tudo, Amare. The grammatical derivations Altior, Altissimus would then have to be placed before the basic catchword Altus. Yet grammatical derivations are not taken into account. The ‘correct’ order therefore is Alter, Altilis, Altus, Amare…

61  The auctoritates textuales, cover more than 117 folio’s, running from f. 41r, col. 2, line 1 until f. 158v, col. 3, line 57. Incipit : A. preposito. A terrenis celestia superantur. X. d. c. suscipitis. Explicit : Cum devitamus zizania. XXV. q. II. c. fi. in fine. Part four, the expositiones dictionum, covers 124 folio’s (f. 159r, col. 1, line 2 until f. 283v, col. 2, lines 47-50). Its incipit goes : A. prima littera. XXXV. d. c. ab exordio ; the explicit : ¶ Zonas. scilicet. singula lac<unia>. XXVII .q.I .c. monachus. et muliebria secundum Hu. ar. de sta. mo. c.I. post prin. in Cl fle. Part five, materiae glosarumruns from f. 285r, col. 1, line 1 until f. 463r, col. 2, line 35. Incipit : Aaron. abbas.tissa. abigeus. ablactatio. ¶ Aaron fuit maior quam moyses in administratione. XXII.d. c.II ; explicit : Et zelo non bono diffamatur matrimonium. XXXV. q.VI. c.II. The Solutiones run from f. 463r, col. 2, line 43 until f. 469r, col. 1, line 58. The last column is incomplete. The incipit goes: Humanum genus ibi actoribus et ministris sicut equus regitur per militem…; the explicit: Ieiunium ibi. §. non autem. So<lutio>. ibi totum po<.>itus pro te .et. l. pro. Xla. ut ibi non. secundum Guidon.

62  Compare the example Altus.tior.ssimus.tudo.

63  For explanations added to the basical grammatical form, see for instance the letters A (f. 41r, col. 2, line 1) and E (f. 71v, col. 2, line 27) where prepositio is added to the keyword/letter, or a distinction is presented, as with Adver.sus nomen (f. 43v, col. 1, line 31) and Adversus prepositio (ibid., line 55).

64  According to Gilles, Jean, p. 91 only the Decretum Gratiani and the Liber Extra appear to be refered to : Le Sexte et les Clémentines ne paraissent pas avoir été mis à contribution dans cette troisième partie. This might be explained by the fact that Jean de Jean was a doctor decretorum, specialised in the Decretum Gratiani and the early papal legislation following Gratian’s work.

65  Ca.Ia.IIa. then refers to Causa prima, Causa secunda.

66  The running title de con is missing on top of col. 1 on f. 469r, including indications in the margin.

67  The following passages with abbreviated references are given: Petrus petra dicitur, di. 50, c. 54; In petra moyses ponitur, C. 24, q. 1, c. 22; Licet petras habere, C. 26, q. 7, c. 18; Aqua de petra fluxit, de con. di. 2, c. 69; Aqua vomeret de petram, idem; Immobilis petra, quem populum sequebatur, de con. di. 2, c. 83; Verbo dei tangit petram, idem; Petri sedem sequi viderit, di. 11, c. 3; In memoriam B. Petri, di. 19, c. 3; Petro aeterne vitae clavigero, di. 22, c. 1; Petrus primus ad fidem populum, di. 21, c. 2; Fidelior factus est Petrus, di. 50, c. 54; In loco Petri et Pauli stare, di. 40, c. 2; Quia non vides Petrum, di. 68, c. 6; Cathedram Petri deserit, di. 93, c. 3; Multi corriguntur ut Petrus, C. 2, q. 1, c. 18; Attendis Petrum et Iudam considera, C. 2, q. 7, c. 29; In Petrum contumeliosus existam, C. 2, q. 7, c. 35; Imitare Petrum tercio dicentem, C. 6, q. 1, c. 10; Petrum et alios apostolos, C. 23, q. 4, c. 43; Piscante Petro inventum, C. 23, q. 8, c. 22; Manet Petro privilegium, C. 24, q. 1, c. 5; In persona Petri significati, C. 24, q. 1, c. 6; Navis que Petrum habet, C. 24, q. 1, c. 7; In utraque Petrus, idem; Soli Petro dicitur duc in altum, ibidem; Tollit ergo Petrus aurem quare Petrus, C. 24, q. 1, c. 17; Petrus ferrum pro Christi nomine, C. 23, q. 3, c. 4; Petrus doluit et deflevit, de pen. di. 1, c. 1; Non habent Petrus hereditatem qui Petri, de pen. di. 1, c. 52; Herba Petrus fuerat, de pen. di. 2, c. 15; Computo eum cum Petro, de con. di. 4, c. 39.

68  The complete list of references connected to the keywords, goes as follows: Petro vivente non fuit clemens papa. di. 93, c. 1, in titulo, C. 8, q. 1, c. 1; Et Petrus dedit Paulo licentiam predicandi. di. 11, c. 11; Et quando est datus pontificatus petro. di. 21, c. 2; Et fuit par et maior aliis. di. 21, c. 2; Et per que verba factus est princeps. di. 50, c. 53, de elec., c. significasti (= X.1.6.4.); Et fuit presbyter. di. 93, c. 24, in verbo conpresbyter; Et passus est eodem die cum Paulo. di. 21, c. 3, et. per Archidiaconum. de elec., c. fundamenta. in verbo. una die. Li. VI. ( = VI.1.6. .) scilicet post passionem Domini anno. XXXVIII. ut habetur in cronicis. secundum Guidonem, C. 2, q. 7, c. 37 ; Et reliquit paupertatem tamen, et fuit pauper piscator. C. 1, q. 2, § 7 ; Et non peccavit utendo gladio. C. 23, q. 3, c. 4, spe. ti. 2. §. iuxta. verbum. numquid. ergo beatus Petrus. cet<era> (the reference spe. ti. etc. might refer to the Speculum Iudiciale by Guillaume Durant) ; Petrus piscatur hamo. et rethe. et quare. C. 24, q. 1, c. 8 ; Et piscatori petro fabri filio. successorem querimus. non augusto. C. 24, q. 1, c. ? ; Et ter confessus est. C. 25, q. 1, c. 2 ; Et peccatum fuit petro ore negare. et corde adorare. de pen. di. 1, c. 52, de pen. di. 2, c. 15 ; Et fuit electus ante passionem Domini. sed postea confirmatus. secundum Guidonem. pred. c. in novo ( = di. 21, c. 2) ; Et <vide compo.> pred. c. significasti ( = X.1.6.4.) ; Petrus cecidit et quare. di. 45, c. 16 ; Et abnegando lapsus est mortaliter. di. 50, c. 54 ; Sed quidam contra et male. C. 11, q. 3, c. 85, de pen. di. 2, c. 16 ; Et licet corde crederet tamen fidem virtutem perdidit. Sed qualemcumque credulitatem retinuit, sicut credit malus catholicus. secundum Guidonem, di. 50, c. 38. in fi. et Hu. pre. c. fidelior ( = di. 50, c. 54) ; Secundum Petri substituentis clementem ad consequentiam trahi non debet. di. 79, c. 10 ; A tempore Petri limitate sunt ecclesie. supra. in verbo limitate ; Ad Petrum refertur qu<omodo> fidei. di. 80, c. 2 ; C. 16, q. 1, c. 52 ; de bapti. c. maiores ( = X.3.42.3.) ; Et non dicitur cecidisse. quia stat<.>i <s.>rexit. de pen. di. 2, c. 40 in verbo crib<…>aret ; Et Petro peccante, cetera. supra in versibus. et de hec in verbo sequenti ; ¶ Petrus a petra christo vocatus est. di. 19, c. 7 ; Petra percussa dabat aquas. de con. di. 2, c. 69, in verbo petra.

69  Distinctio 50, canon 53.

70  Distinctio 50, canon 54.

71  Here, Extra refers to the Liber Extra. The complete reference is X.1.6.4.

72  Causa 24, quaestio 1, canon 18.

73  Causa 2, quaestio 7, canon 35.

74  Distinctio 25, canon 1.

75  Meaning that he searched particularly the gloss on the Decretum and the decretales to compile some of the sub-sections.

76  For the development of these genres, see Kuttner, Repertorium, p. 154, 209-219.

77  For Calderini, see Schulte, Die Geschichte, t.II, p. 247-253, here esp. p. 250. Calderini’s known writings cover a wide range of legal texts. Besides the Tabula auctoritatum et sententiarum biblie, he wrote several treatises on legal questions (tractatus), consilia, answers to quaestiones (responsa) and specific casus (resolutiones casuum) and a commentary on the Clementinae with additions (super Clementinas and additiones super commentarium Clementinarum). In the educational field he contributed distinctiones, repetitiones and several arengae (speaches held during graduation ceremonies). Besides the Tabula auctoritatum Calderini also wrote another repertorium (repertorium sive dictionarium iuris), consisting of an alphabetically arranged list of keywords, but instead of biblical and canonical textual fragments, references to both canon and Roman law were given. For the arengae, see a.o. P. Weimar, Zur Doktorwürde der Bologneser Legisten, in Festgabe für H. Coing zum 70. Geburtstag (Ius Commune, Sonderheft, 17), Frankfurt-am-Main, 1982, p. 421-443.

78  Schulte, Die Geschichte, t.II, p. 482 : « Sieht man auf den inneren Geist und Charakter der Werke, auf die Methode und besonders die wissenschaftliche Forschung, so tritt zusehends nach und nach ein Verfall ein. »

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Dirk Claes, For a Better Handling of Science : Para-academic, Encyclopaedic Texts in Late Medieval Canon LawBabel [Online], 16 | 2007, Online since 02 August 2012, connection on 29 March 2024. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/babel/714; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/babel.714

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Dirk Claes

K. U. Leuven

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