GRATIAN, DECRETUM OF (CONCORDIA DISCORDANTIUM CANONUM)

The Decretum of Gratian was composed in the first half of the 12th century by a Camaldolese monk about whom there exists no precise information, except that he was born in Chiusi and resided in the monastery of SS. Felix and Nabor. The work appeared in the earliest manuscripts under the title of Concordia discordantium canonum. It is one of the most important canonical collections in the history of Canon Law, despite the fact that it was never officially adopted as an "authentic" source of Canon Law by papal authority (see corpus iuris canonici).

Contents. The Decretum is a vast compilation that includes about 4,000 capitula and is divided into three parts. Part one comprises 101 distinctiones: the first 20 define the sources of law; the remainder may be looked upon as a sort of canonical illustration of pastoral problems, dealing with clerics and various aspects of ecclesiastical discipline. The second part is composed of 36 causae, which in turn are divided into a certain number of quaestiones. Each causa ordinarily deals with a specific question, but occasionally several causae treat of the same matter, forming a distinct treatise. For example causae 2 to 7 constitute an ordo judiciarius; causae 12 to 14 are a treatise on temporal goods of the Church and of the clergy; causae 16 to 20 present a section on monks; and causae 27 to 36 constitute a treatise on Matrimony. The third part, titled De consecratione, is generally divided into five distinctiones and is a treatise on the Sacraments.

The Decretum of Gratian is composed of texts of different origin: apostolic constitutions, canons of the councils, decretals and patristic texts, all of which constitute the auctoritates. Hence Gratian's work does not differ from the collections that immediately preceded it, namely those of anselm of lucca, burchard of worms, and ivo of chartres (see canonical collections before gratian). A thorough study of the auctoritates cited in the Decretum has determined that the collections of Ivo of Chartres, particularly the Decretum and the Panormia, were Gratian's main sources. However there remain a certain number of auctoritates, taken especially from patristic texts, the origin of which has not been determined.

Gratian did not simply collect texts with rubrics in a skillful manner. He accompanied them with an original commentary, which, in a certain sense, represents the unifying element of his work. Each division and subdivision is preceded by a brief summary of the subject matter to be treated. The auctoritates or groups of auctoritates are likewise connected by means of commentaries (dicta ), which vary in length. Gratian realized that the auctoritates cited often contradicted one another, and in his commentary he attempted to reconcile these oppositions. As a general rule his commentary underlines the particular features of the various opinions presented and draws the conclusion to which they lead. In addition Gratian sought to demonstrate that the conflicts among the various doctrines were more apparent than real and were frequently attributable to a different interpretation of terms. Finally, he attempted to formulate a general conclusion. It was indeed a Concordia discordantium canonum.

Gratian's Decretum was the object of commentaries from the middle of the 12th century. Among the first commentators were paucapalea and Roland Bandinelli, who in 1159 became Pope alexander iii. The Decretum was used in the schools of law from the end of the 12th century, and it rapidly achieved a universal recognition that had not been enjoyed by any previous canonical collection.

Textual Questions. The Decretum of Gratian poses a number of technical problems that modern criticism is endeavoring to solve.

There is considerable discussion as to the origin of Gratian's treatment of Penance (De penitentia ) and his De consecratione. His treatment of Penance is introduced without explanation in the middle of causa 33. Both treatises, and particularly the one on Penance, differ noticeably from the rest of the work. A study of the manuscripts has revealed numerous anomalies in the transcription of these two treatises, with the De penitentia appearing in some ancient manuscripts as an addition. At any rate, if the De penitentia and the De consecratione were not an integral part of Gratian's work, they must have been added to it shortly following publication since they were known to the first commentators.

It is not certain whether the summaries or rubrics, which precede the auctoritates, are to be attributed to Gratian or rather, as A. Vetulani suggests, to one of the first commentators whose summary of the Decretum is contained in a manuscript of the library of Gdansk. A careful examination of these summaries reveals the following facts: certain rubrics reproduce either the dictum that precedes them or the first word of the text that follows them; several others reproduce the summaries of the Panormia of Ivo of Chartres; finally some rubrics were formed over a period of time, as is demonstrated by the numerous differences which are found in the manuscripts.

The paleae by themselves present several problems: the origin of the term, which texts may be considered as paleae, and how they were introduced into the Decretum.

Various explanations have been given for the origin of the term palea: some see it as coming from the name Paucapalea; others, such as Huguccio, see in it a reference to straw (palea ), indicating that which must be separated from the good grain; still others, in modern times, noticing that a large number of doublets are found in the paleae, see this word as deriving from the Greek palin. This last explanation seems to be hardly probable; nonetheless it is difficult to accept with certainty either one of the first two.

The paleae, which are auctoritates like all the others, present four essential characteristics: they do not appear in all the manuscripts; they frequently appear to have been transcribed in the margin at a date later than that of the manuscript; they are found scattered throughout various sections of the Decretum; from the second half of the 12th century they were often accompanied by the word palea or by a note calling them to the attention of the reader.

It has been established that all the texts considered as paleae antedate Gratian. Furthermore, even though individual manuscripts from the end of the 12th century contain fewer paleae than those of the 14th century, almost all the paleae existed as such in the 12th century. Moreover, small collections of paleae used to complete the Decretum were found in certain manuscripts dating from the end of the 12th and early 13th centuries. The collections that have been examined indicate 162 fragments taken from collections prior to Gratian and from the decretals of the popes prior to the years 1170–73; 64 of them were incorporated into the Decretum, 13 of which cannot be classified as paleae. The paleae of the Decretum probably came from these collections. The collections prepared the way for the first compilations of decretals, which flourished from the last quarter of the 12th century.

There is some doubt as to whether the texts of the Corpus iuris civilis and the treatises of Roman Law, which are found in the Decretum in a rather large number, are later additions. Most of the fragments of the Corpus iuris civilis inserted in the Decretum possess the four essential features of the paleae, even though the indication palea is often replaced by the word lex. Moreover, in many instances the interpolation is evident. However, the texts appear to have been introduced into the Decretum by a process entirely different from that used for the paleae. In the earliest glosses are often found references to the Code or the Digest. Later on there is found a marginal transcription of the text thus selected, and then the addition into the very body of the Decretum.

See Also: canon law, history of, 4.

Bibliography: Editions. a. adversi, "Saggio di un catalogo delle edizioni del 'Decretum Gratiani' posteriori al secolo XV," Studia Gratiani 6 (1959) 285–451, 164 eds. a. villien and j. de ghellinck, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al. (Paris 1903–50) 6.2:1727–51. f. torquebiau, "Corpus juris canonici," Dictionnaire de droit canonique, ed. r. naz (Paris 1935–65) 4:611–627. Critical studies. Studia Gratiana, ed. j. forchielli, and a. m. stickler (Bologna 1953–). g. lebras et al., eds., Histoire du droit et des institutions de l'Église en Occident (Paris 1955–) v.7 L'Âge classique (1140–1378): Sources et théorie du droit (Paris 1965) 51–129.

[j. rambaud-buhot]