Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/729

 CANON LAW 719 tine monk, a native of Tuscany, undertook a new collection of canon law, and published in 1151 his Concordantia Diseordantium Cano- num. This was composed of various texts of Scripture, of the Canones Apostolici, of the de- crees of general and particular councils, of the decretal letters of popes, of extracts from the writings of the fathers, and of the enactments of the old civil law of the empire, or of the Frankish kings. It received afterward the title of Decretum, by which name it is now known. It contains many spurious documents, which were for the most part taken from the collec- tion of Isidore. With all its faults, however, it is a wonderful work, considering the age in which it appeared. In more recent times, when general attention had been called to the inaccuracies of the Decretum, many attempts have been made to correct it. Antoninus Augustinus, a learned canonist of the 16th century, devoted a great deal of time and pains to this object. A commission was ap- pointed by Pope Pius IV. (1559-'65) to attend to this important work, which was accom- plished during the pontificate of Gregory XIII. (1572-'85). The persons composing it are commonly known under the name of Roman correctors. After Gratian many learned can- onists either published new collections, or im- proved or commented on those already exist- ing. Among these were Bernard of Pavia, Gilbert and Bernard of Oompostella. How- ever, their works lost almost all their impor- tance on the publication of the collection of Pope Gregory IX. (1227-'41). Gregory has been truly styled the Justinian of canon law. He saw the necessity of a more authentic work than that of Gratian, and intrusted the execu- tion of this idea to St. Raymond de Pennafort, a learned Dominican friar. He faithfully ful- filled his trust, and in 1234 promulgated the celebrated five books of decretals. These em- braced all the laws of the church then in force, containing those texts of Scripture which re- ferred to disciplinary matters ; the decretal let- ters of the popes, from Gregory the Great to Gregory IX. (590-1241) ; the Canones Apos- tolici; the decrees of the councils, from that of Antioch to the fourth general one of Lateran (1215) ; together with many passages of the fathers, which embodied generally received customs or salutary regulations. In publish- ing this collection, Gregory gave it the appro- bation of the holy see, and commanded it to be received as authentic in all ecclesiastical tri- bunals, and in all schools of law. Boniface VIII. added in 1298 another book to the five of Gregory IX. It contained the canons of the second general council of Lyons, together with the different decrees issued by himself. It was called the sixth book of decretals, and received the same authenticity that had been given to. the others. Such, too, was the col- lection made by Clement V. (1305-'14), which embraced various decrees of this pope, together with those of the general council of Vienne. 149 VOL. HI. 46 These canons commonly receive the name of Clementine, though originally called the sev- enth book of decretals. Next came two col- lections, known under the title of Extrata- gantes, laws, as it were, wandering outside of the regular code. The first contains the de- crees of John XXII. (1316-'34), the other those of the popes from Urban IV. to'Sixtus IV. (1261-1484). These different collections, be- ginning with that of Gregory IX., form what is called the jus antiquum, or ancient law, in contradistinction to the jus recens, or modern law. After the great schism of the West, the general council of Constance, convoked in 1414 to put an end to that schism, passed decrees for the extirpation of abuses, and recommend- ed the pontiffs to prosecute the good work with vigor; but the many and incessant troubles that distracted the attention of Rome rendered this extremely difficult. When Luther raised the standard of opposition to Rome, a general council was convoked at Trent in 1545, and set to work in good earnest to reform the Cath- olic body. To this effect many new enact- ments had to be adopted, and the disciplinary decrees of the council of Trent form the basis and principal part of modern canon law. Be- sides these, there are various bulls and briefs of the popes issued for the most part to execute or to explain more fully the canons of Trent. These are precisely the same documents that were anciently styled decretals. They are to be found in the Bullarium, an immense work, first commenced by a Roman lawyer, Laertius Cherubini. He began with Leo the Great, (440), and intended to bring his work down to Sixtus V. (1585), but died before completing it. His son, Angelo Maria, however, finished it. There is also the Bullarium Magnum, pub- lished by Jerome Mainardi, containing the pa- pal letters or bulls, from those of Leo the Great to those of Clement XII. (1740). There is an- other one containing the bulls of Clement XL (1700-'21), and another again embracing those of Benedict XIV. (1740-'58). The Bullariumis yet constantly published, and has been brought down to the reign of Gregory XVI. (1831-'46). The decisions of the congregations of cardinals enter also into the present code. They are binding for the whole church when given in answer to general questions, or when especially declared to be so. Lastly, the concordats with different princes or governments, which are made in order to regulate those modifications of general legislation that the exigencies of the times or other circumstances may demand, are a prominent feature in the present state of ecclesiastical polity, and are gradually effect- ing important changes, by making what was before but a solitary exception to become an almost universal rule. This is the history of canon law in its general bearings on the Catho- lic church. We have refrained from men- tioning those details which have reference to particular provinces or nations. Canon law, in its present state, is almost as voluminous as