Papacy, Councils and Canon Law in the 11th-12th Centuries

Download or read book Papacy, Councils and Canon Law in the 11th-12th Centuries written by Robert Somerville and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-10-28 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professor Somerville deals here with the history of Latin Christianity at a crucial time - the century of the Gregorian reform movement and of the Investiture conflict between the papacy and the empire. The articles are concerned with the policies of the popes, as expressed in their letters and the canons of the councils they summoned, and with the impact on the life and laws of the Church. Conciliar history, indeed, forms the main focus of the volume, and the author's aim has been to subject the relevant texts and manuscripts to detailed scrutiny in order to determine their veracity and chronology. In so doing he also demolishes some of the pseudo-historical problems that have arisen from an uncritical reliance upon early printed editions. This investigation of the texts is of evident importance for the study of canon law, but it also shows how they can serve as valuable sources for the history of the Western Middle Ages, revealing much about life in the period, as well as about papal politics. Le professeur Sommerville traite ici de la chrétiénte latine au coeurs de la période cruciale que fut le siècle du movement de réforme grégorien et du conflit d’investiture entre la papauté et l’empire. Ces études se préoccupent de la politique des papes, telle qu’on peut la voir exprimée au travers de leurs lettres et de canons issus des conciles qu’ils réunissaient. Elles s’intéressent aussi à leur influence sur la vie et les lois d’Eglise. L’histoire conciliare forme, en effet, la plus grande part de ce receuil et l’auteur s’y propose de soumettre textes et manuscrits appropriés à une étude détaillée, afin d’en déterminer la véracité et la chronologie. Ce faisant, il élimine aussi un certain nombre de problèmes pseudo-historiques, subvenus en raison de la trop confiance accordée aux editions anciennes. Cette enquête menée sur les textes est, de toute évidence, d’une grande importance en ce qui concerne l’étude du droit