Kenneth Pennington

Armsbearing and the Clergy in the History and Canon Law of Western Christianity by Lawrence G. Duggan (review)

General and MiscellaneousArmsbearing and the Clergy in the History and Canon Law of Western Christianity. By Lawrence G. Duggan. (Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press, an imprint of Boydell and Brewer. 2013. Pp. xiv, 264.

Law and Practice in the Age of Reform: The Legatine Work of Hugh of Die (1073–1106) . By Kriston R. Rennie. Medieval Church Studies 17. Turnhout: Brepols, 2010. xiv + 250 pp.

99.00. ISBN 978-1-84383-865-4.)Archbishop Turpins fighting valiantly next to his comrade in arms, Roland, is one of the most dramatic scenes in medieval literature. In the early Middle Ages clerics fought and fought very well. Clerics continued to make their presence felt on the fields of battle during the medieval and early modern period. Duggan paints a broad picture of the moral conflict between a cleric who should never shed blood and the powerful right of self-defense that was a part of the Ius commune of the time. Duggan begins his account in ancient Roman law and carries the story up to the Codices iuris canonici of 1917 and 1983. He points out that by the twentieth century, the issue of warrior clerics had almost disappeared from canonical sources. Duggan writes well and lucidly, and the story he tells will be of interest to historians of many different stripes. The book will also interest people in political science, peace studies, military studies, and maybe even an anthropologist or two.The medieval prohibition of clerics to bear arms in canon law begins with a series of provincial and legatine conciliar canons promulgated at the height of the Gregorian Reform movement in the second half of the eleventh century. One of them, a canon from the Council of Poitiers (1079), made it into the body of canon law at the end of the twelfth century. Gratian, the father of canon law, had simply repeated the traditional prohibition in Causa 23 on war of his Decretum (1140). Bernardus Papiensis, however, included the canon from the Council of Poitiers that had circulated in earlier decretal collections in his path-breaking decretal collection (1191). The Poitiers canon became the place where the jurists discussed the right of the clergy to bear arms for centuries. Through devilishly clever arguments, primarily based on the right of every human being to defend himself, the canonists quickly turned the prohibition to bear arms into a maybe, perhaps, and it depends. Duggan gives a superficial overview of the evolving rich jurisprudence based on the Poitiers canon in a few, scant pages. Much more research could have revealed a complex and rich concatenation of ideas that influenced legal thought far beyond the Middle Ages. Medieval theologians also had much to say about bellicose clerics. There is very little about them and their thought in this book. The late medieval and early modern canonical jurisprudence is also ignored. One of the most important canonists of the seventeenth century, Emanuel Gonzalez Tellez, wrote on the canon from the Council of Poitiers:Natural reason permits that we defend ourselves from danger . . . consequently the law that it is permitted to repel armed force with armed force is said to be conferred by nature. . . . Notwithstanding the reason for doubting this above, in spite of the general prohibition, cases of necessity must be excepted and clerics may defend themselves and their home land. . . . By the same reason if a city is besieged by enemies, clerics can take up arms based on the principle of defense. (Commentaria, [1776] to X. …

87.00 cloth.

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)Hugh of Die was bishop of Die (1073-1081) and later archbishop of Lyon (1081-1106). Pope Gregory VII demonstrated his appreciation for Hughs reforming vigor and enthusiasm by appointing him as his legate (1074-1085). Pope Victor III (Desiderius of Montecassino) took his legatine commission away, but Pope Urban II reinstated him to a geographically smaller commission in 1094. During the pontificate of Gregory VII he participated in almost all the important church councils and deposed many simoniacal prelates. He made a pilgrimage to Santiago del Compostello in 1095 and to Jerusalem in 1103. In other words, his life was filled with politics, power, ambition, and the burning conviction of a reformer.There are two main sources for Hughs life: Gregory VIIs papal registers and Hugh of Flavignys chronicle. There are a few other sources such as Hughs letter to the Countess Matilda explaining his opposition to the election of Pope Victor III. For the most part we see Hugh through the eyes of others. As his subtitle indicates Kriston Rennie has concentrated his efforts on Hughs work as a legate. He argues that Gregorys Lenten synod of 1074 in which Gregory appointed Hugh legate was an important moment for Hugh where he embraced Gregorys program for reform. If so, he became more Gregorian than Gregory. In January of 1075 Gregory admonished Hugh that he would rather censure him for mercy than chastise him for being too severe. Someone had appealed to Gregory on behalf of ignorant and unlearned clerics (rudes et indocti ) whom Hugh had treated badly. Gregorys concerns and Hughs behavior became a leitmotif of their relationship. In March 1078 Gregory wrote to Hugh again about how his legate had handled six court cases in which Hugh had rigorously followed the black letter of the law but had failed to exercise the proper moderation of discretion (temperantia discretionis). Hugh had suspended, interdicted, and condemned the bishops of Reims, Sens, Chartres, Bourges, and Tours, mainly on the grounds that all had failed to obey his summons. One wonders from which ineffable delusions of grandeur Hugh suffered. The case of Ralph, archbishop of Tours, is especially interesting. Hugh had rendered an unspecified judgment against Ralph, but Gregory pointed out that he did so without any plaintiffs making a complaint. Presumably Hugh acted on the basis of fame or rumor. However, according to the norms of procedure--which Hugh seemed unaware--no one can be condemned without an accuser. This was a fundamental norm in the administration of ecclesiastical justice until the second half of the twelfth century when inquisitorial procedure began to enter episcopal courtrooms. …

James Matthew Powell (1930–2011)

James Matthew Powell died on January 27, 2011, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 9, 1930, he received his AB in 1953 and MA in 1955 from Xavier University. He began to study medieval history at the University of Cincinnati in 1955 but moved to Indiana University, Bloomington in 1957, where he received his PhD in 1959 under the guidance of Arthur Hogue. His dissertation examined the economic policies of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and was published as the monograph Medieval Monarchy and Trade: The Economic Policy of Frederick II in the Kingdom of Sicily (Spoleto, 1962). This study began his long interest in all aspects of medieval Italian history. Later he published an English translation of Frederick Hs Liber Augustalis (Syracuse, NY, 1971) and continued throughout his career to write about the Stupor mundi s world with a variety of essays on diverse topics from Fredericks knowledge of Greek to his environmental policies. He began his teaching career at Kent State University in 1959, transferred to the University of Illinois in 1961, and became an assistant professor of medieval history at Syracuse University in 1965. He was promoted to associate professor in 1967 and full professor in 1972. He taught in Florence on Syracuses Semester Abroad Program during 1970-71, where he also was director of the program. He was acting chair of the History Department in 1972. He became an emeritus at Syracuse when he retired in 1997. Prof. Powell held a number of positions in national and international associations. Most recently, he was the president of the American Catholic Historical Association in 2007, having joined the association in 1954 and become a life member. Before then, he had been general secretary of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East, 1989-95. In 1998 he became a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was the president of the Society for Italian Historical Studies from 1993-95. He spent the academic year 1989-90 as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and spring 1970 as a research fellow at the Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies in Toronto. His interests and horizons expanded as his career progressed. He began to study the crusading movement and published a prize- wmning book, Anatomy of a Crusade, 1213-1221 (Philadelphia, 1986) that was awarded the ACHAs John Gilmary Shea Prize in 1987. His collected essays on the crusades appeared as The Crusades, the Kingdom of Sicily, and the Mediterranean (Burlington, VT, 2007). Prof. Powell delved into the history of the Church during the 1980s and published a number of studies devoted to Pope Innocent III and Pope Honorius III and translated the most important medieval history of Pope Innocent Ills pontificate, The Deeds of Pope Innocent HI (Washington, DC, 2004). …

Die Synoden und Konzilien in der Zeit des Reformpapsttums in Deutschland und Italien von Leo IX. bis Calixt II. 1049–1123 (review)

laymen into one group and separated monks from the secular clergy.As this example suggests,one sometimes wishes Dachowski could have used Abbo to argue with previous scholars, or to make more explicit the point that someone devoted to the reformed monastic life could also be involved in the world’s affairs. But overall, this well-done book will do much to make an important and influential figure better known.

Procès de canonisation au Moyen Âge: Aspects juridiques et religieux/Medieval Canonization Processes: Legal and Religious Aspects (review)

This set of essays arose from a Wallenberg Seminar held at the Collegium Budapest in 2001.The purpose of the meeting was to explore the legal framework through which saints were created—that is, how the Romano-canonical Ordo iudiciarius was employed to determine whether a holy person was, in fact, worthy of the designation saint. In the Middle Ages the process was not frivolous. One contributor asserts that between 1198 and 1447 papal tribunals rendered decisions on less than forty saints. During the pontificate of John Paul II 486 new saints were canonized.Whether or not the first figure is exact, there is no question that the rules governing the creation of saints in the Middle Ages did not cheapen the coin.

Storia delle elezioni pontificie (review)

Storia delle elezioni pontificie. By Ambrogio M. Piazzoni. 2nd Edition. (Casale Monferrato: Edizioni Piemme. 2003. Pp. 349. euro19.90 cloth.) Pope John Paul II has had one of the longest pontificates in the history of the Church. His longevity has encouraged scholars to reflect on all aspects of the oldest institution in Western culture. As the pontificate of Pope John Paul II draws to a close, cognoscenti romani, journalists, and scholars have speculated about what the new popes nationality, linguistic background, status in the hierarchy, and age might be. Ambrogio Piazzoni is the Vice Prefect of the Vatican Library. His office is only a few short steps from the Sistine Chapel, where the next election will be held. It will not surprise us then when he writes at the beginning of this splendid history of the papal election that his subject is from time to time a story as intriguing as a detective novel, dramatic as a tragedy, amusing as a comedy, enchanting as poetry, interesting as a travel journal, and passionate as an adventure story. He has not exaggerated the appeal of his book. The story of how the popes have been elected over the centuries provides us with much to reflect upon and stimulation for all our emotions. The evolution of the rules governing the election also provides us with a roadmap that charts the course of the Churchs constitutional development over 2000 years. Jesus bestowed on Peter a primacy among the apostles, and in one way or another, all the other pre-Reformation Christian communities accepted Peters and Romes special position. The first twelve popes on the lists compiled in the second century were not Latin or Roman. We have no information how they were selected. Pope Victor I (189-198) was an African and the first Latin pope. It is an assumption, but a good one, that the Roman clergy and people began to play a role in papal elections abovit the time of his election. The evidence for this assumption is the story with which Piazzoni begins his history of the election:the controversy surrounding the election of Pope Callistus (217-222). Callistus was a man whose life was extraordinary. He was a slave of a Christian. When he was freed, his former master opened a bank for him. The bank failed, Callistus absconded, and Roman Christians were outraged. His life did not end in simple financial ruin. Afterwards he worked on a treadmill, was charged with brawling in a synagogue on the sabbath, and was condemned to the mines in Sardinia. Pope Victor would not give him a place in the Roman church, but his successor, Pope Zephyrinus (ca. 198-217), appointed him deacon and gave him control of the lower clergy. When Zephyrinus died, he was elected pope. A rival, Hippolytus, also had himself elected by other Romans. It was the first of many schisms in the Church. The schism was caused by political and religious rivalries in the city of Rome but also by no clear rules about how the bishop of Rome should be elected. Although the College of Cardinals became the electoral body and the primary source of popes in modern times, in the early centuries bishops were excluded from being considered for the papal office. …

From Personal Duties towards Personal Rights: Late Medieval and Early Modern Political Thought, 1300-1600

Part 1 Civic republicanism and renaissance liberty in Italy: 14th-century political and legal developments Bartolus of Sassoferrato Baldus de Ubaldis 15th-century humanist political thought 16th-century humanist political thought. Part 2 Constitutionalism and the church: introduction John of Paris conciliar thought in the 14th century conciliarism at the time of the Great Schism and Basle conciliarism after Basle conciliarism secularized - George Buchanan. Part 3 Consent and limit in spanism neo-scholasticism Spanish scholasticism Cardinal Cajetan (Tommaso de Vio) Alonxo de Castrillo Juan Luis Vives Francisco de Vitoria Juan de Mariana Francesco Suarez. Part 4 Emerging rights as a basis for resisting authority - reformation political thought: introduction Martin Luther John Calvin Theodore Beza Peter Martyr Vermigli Francois Hotman: the Francogallia Mornay - the Vindiciae contra tyrannos Richard Hooker.