Volume 106, Issue 1

Semantics of the Old, the New and the Modern in Learned Canon Law: Observations on the Interpretation of ‘antiqua’, ‘nova’, ‘hodie’ and ‘moderna’ in the Science of Canon Law, 12th–15th Century . In using the terms ‘antiqua’, ‘nova’, ‘hodie’ and ‘moderna’ as descriptors of change in law and legal knowledge, the science of medieval canon law adopted a longstanding semantic tradition of theology and rhetorics. The article addresses these usages and argues that they represented different understandings of the relationship between the past and the present, ranging from the idea of progress and continuous change to the concept of superior authority of the past towards the present.

Church and Ecclesiastical Law in German language and beyond . Searching for sense in human life, already in prehistoric times, men developed religious notions. Jesus (Christ), born at Bethlehem about 2020 years ago, declared himself to be the unique son of god Jahwe and was therefore crucified by Romans and Jews at Jerusalem. Nevertheless billions of men and women believed in his miraculous resurrection and his sacrifice for the salvation of mankind – among them almost every individual speaking German. The study shows how the Christian term ‘church’, derived from Greek kyrios (master), was adopted and spread in old German languages. Various parts of human law in general, which were and are influenced by Christian thought, were analyzed from the very beginning of the church within the Roman empire, and they were followed up to the global presence.

In search of the system of the state-church relation in the German Constitution – the academic discussion about state church law in the period of Weimar . The academic discussion during the period of Weimar about the state-church relation as it was adjusted by the German Constitution lasted only thirteen years. Among many other themes it focussed on the right of self-determination of religious communities and its limits, on the churches’ status as public corporations, and on the extent of state supervision over the churches. Summarizing these topics, the question how the “system of church politics of the constitution” could be defined was widely discussed. As the state-church regulation was the result of a compromise between fundamentally opposing positions, it was hardly possible to find a summarizing term for this concept. The formulations which were proposed clearly reflect this difficulty. Irrespective of this, the Weimar discussion developed principles of the state church law which are still valid.

A dossier of texts from the time of bishop Anselm II of Lucca . The article analyses an appendix of texts at the end of three manuscripts of the collectio canonum ascribed to Anselm of Lucca. The texts, in their majority contemporaneous, are concerned mainly with simony and might have been intended to supplement the 6 th book (about bishopsʼ rights) of that collection. The texts are of interest as they prove their compilerʼs relations to Bernold of Constance and to Milan, the town, where Anselm and his uncle, pope Alexander II, came from. Two texts of Alexander II, a long letter adressed to the clergy and people of Lucca and a canon of dubious authenticity about simoniac consecrations of churches, can in fact be traced back to Milan manuscripts and allow us a glimpse into the local debates of the 1060s.

Abelard’s Rule. The Paraclet convent and its order . Petrus Abaelardus is the man who divides opinion. This was already the case during his lifetime, and it also becomes evident in current research. It is striking that even though a number of studies have appeared on his capacity as a philosopher, not many discuss him as a theologian and even fewer as the founder of an order. The following article will address this unique aspect. Even though reference will be made to examples of the monastic life of women in the 12th century. Above all an attempt should be made to perceive this role as founder of an order as the logical evolution of Abaelard’s previous development and as the consistent continuation of his theological work. What role did Abaelard play as the founder of a convent for women? What developments had led to this role in the first place? How was the interaction with Heloise, who became the first abbess of the Paraclet convent? Why was the convent’s rule only ever formulated theoretically, but never realised and implemented? In any case, the radically spiritual fresh start which had emerged in the correspondence between Heloise and Abelard, did not take place. Abaelard’s rule, however, remains the fascinating legacy of a man who managed to transform the traumatic experience of castration into deep spirituality. This spirituality turned out to be an extension of his critical dialectic, coupled with the passionate piety of the Middle Ages.

This essay considers medieval leprosy in ecclesiastical legislation through the lens of legal pluralism, that is the range of normative orders that are independent from the “state” as a monolithic entity. It focuses on the period between the mid-eleventh and the turn of the fourteenth century marked by efforts at church reform, by the proliferation of leprosaria , and by canonical interest in matrimonial law. It argues that the environment in which various legal authorities worked influenced how they engaged with leprosy. The policies they enacted resulted from a negotiation of their circumstances and needs, which were not necessarily the same. The result was a rich and overlapping legal tradition that, over time, coalesced into a comprehensive legislative policy that both protected the rights of the afflicted as well as the safety of the healthy. The first section of this essay sets forth research on leprosy and the arguments to be pursued. The second section argues that the “old law” in canonical collections used leprosy as an allegory for sin and as a metaphor for simony in pursuit of personal reform and renewal. The third section focuses on the proliferation of leprosaria and argues that the challenge of arranging for pastoral care fell on the shoulders of councils and prelates making policy at the regional or local level. The fourth section argues that the papacy and jurists worked parallel to other legislative bodies. Yet it would be the requests to which the papacy responded and the importance of juridical commentary as a source clarifying the legal ambiguities in these responses that would provide the inroad for the papacy, acting similar to the proverbial “state”, to normalize ecclesiastical life and Christian society.

The claim of prelates of collegiate churches to precede the canons of cathedrals. The fundamentals of ritual precedence in medieval times . The pluralistic stratification of the ecclesiastical hierarchy is mirrored in accumulated appearances of the office-bearers during synodal congregations by attending liturgy in the choir stalls as well as by walking in procession. Conflicts relevant to liturgical law and discipline concern claims to precede. The present investigation deals with the relationship between high prelates (provosts, deans) of institutes of secular canons and the simple members of the chapter of a cathedral. In this way a theory of procession-arrangement could be developed. Unknown sources of the Roman Curia, suppressed in medieval times, can be presented.

From Fine to Gods Law: The Reformation oft the Swedish Penal Law . The medieval Swedish Landscape Laws punished criminal offences by fines. In early modern times the number of corporal punishments and especially death penalties increased. Only from the 14 th century male and female offenders were punished alike. Further great changes were brought about by the Reformation as the biblical Mosaic death penalties were put into action for serious offences according to Guds och Sveriges lag (God’s and Sweden’s Laws). During the 16 th and 17 th centuries no pardon was given in cases of biblical serious offences. Only in the 19 th and 20 th centuries criminal law was humanized. Death penalties were not abolished before the twentieth century.

Theology in laicistic times. The breakdown of Habsburg monarchy and the consequences for protestantic colleges in the region of Danube and the Carpats . The article deals with the fate of protestant colleges in the Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy and its descendant states. Protestant teaching was restricted by a laicistic course of policy in Czechoslovakia (under Masaryk) and Austria (Socialist party). In Hungary, Horthy expected help and hope by the churches during the depression after the lost war, and therefore founded ecclesiastical academic institutes on university level. To this day, pastoral training is located in church-directed universities and colleges, whereas the public universities and colleges offer no theological courses. In Austria, the „Großdeutsche“ party supported the „Christlichsoziale“ party and its powerful (clerical) leader Ignaz Seipel under the condition that the 100 year old protestant seminary was incorporated with Vienna University. In Prag and Bratislava, Masaryk’s system of separation of state and church postboned the academic incorporation until 1990.

A canon law lighthouse. The critical edition of the Summa Lipsiensis . This is an in-depth review of the edition of the chief work (ca. 1186) of anglo-norman canon law, presented in five volumes by Peter Landau and his team.

Remarkable names of persons and places in the glosses to the Codex Iustiniani of Roffredus Beneventanus . The first part of this paper is a review of Manlio Bellomo’s recent edition of glosses preserved in a Prague manuscript of the Code of Iustinian and now attributed to the famous jurist Roffredus Beneventanus († after june 1243). The second part deals specifically with some strange names mentioned in the glosses. Those names lead to certain persons and places not known from the life and work of Roffredus. With a few exceptions, they cannot be identified, but in general they seem related to the region of Umbria, the Marche and particularly to Spoleto.

Radical early Enlightenment in Germany . The habilitation paper of Martin Mulsow, now enrichend, provides for a new in-depth look into the scientific discussions of the 17 th and 18 th century. Though Mulsow treats many subjects and touches issues of law only occasionally, the implication of this new publication reveals many new insights also for legal historians. We see that there was a wide spread belief into the existence of scientific liberty, although there was no law or rule to prove this assumption. Though we find no new Gabriel Naudé, Pierre Bayle, or John Locke, the German professors used their debate in order to extend the topics and opinions which could lawfully be discussed. The hermeneutical issues involve insight also for the history of legal evidence.