Gratian: The Father of Canon Law
Gratian: Father of Canon Law (12th Century)
Gratian (Medieval Latin: Gratianus) was a canon lawyer from Bologna. He flourished in the mid-12th century. Little else is known about his biography.
He is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Franciscus Gratianus, Johannes Gratian, or Giovanni Graziano. For a long time, he was believed to have been born at the end of the 11th century, at Chiusi in Tuscany. He was said to have become a monk at Camaldoli and then he taught at the monastery of St. Felix in Bologna and devoted his life to studying canon law, but contemporary scholarship does not attach credibility to these traditions.
Since the 11th century, Bologna had been the center of the study of canon law, as well as of civil law, after the Corpus Juris Civilis was rediscovered in western Europe. Gratian’s work was an attempt, using early scholastic method, to solve seemingly contradictory canons from previous centuries. Gratian quoted a great number of authorities, including the Bible, papal and conciliar legislation, church fathers such as Augustine of Hippo, and secular law in his efforts to reconcile the canons.
Gratian found a place in Dante’s Paradise among the doctors of the Church:
| “ | This next flamelet issues from Gratian’s smile, he who gave such help to the ecclesiastical and civil spheres as is acceptable in Paradise. | ” |
He has long been acclaimed as Pater Juris Canonici (Latin, “Father of Canon Law”), a title he shares with his successor St. Raymond of Peñafort.
Textual History
The vulgate version of Gratian’s collection was completed at some point after the Second Lateran Council, which it quotes. Research by Anders Winroth established that some manuscripts of an early version of Gratian’s text, which differs considerably from the mainstream textual tradition, have survived. With later commentaries and supplements, the work was incorporated into the Corpus Juris Canonici. The Decretum quickly became the standard textbook for students of canon law throughout Europe, but it never received any formal official recognition by the papacy. Only the Codex Iuris Canonici of 1917 put it out of use.
Research by Anders Winroth shows that the Decretum existed in two published recensions. The first dates to sometime after 1139, while the second dates to 1150 at the latest. There are several major differences between the two recensions:
- The first recension is a more coherent and analytical work.
- The second recension places a much greater emphasis on papal primacy and power.
- The second recension includes Roman law extracts taken directly from the Corpus Juris Civilis, whereas the first recension does not demonstrate substantial familiarity with Roman jurisprudence.
These differences led Winroth to conclude that Roman law was not as far developed by 1140 as scholars had previously thought. He has also argued that the second recension was due not to the original author of the first recension (whom he calls Gratian 1), but rather another jurist versed in Roman law. However, Winroth’s thesis of two Gratians remains controversial.