Folia Theologica 22. (2011)

Szuromi Szabolcs Anzelm O.Praem.: Medieval Canonical Sources and Categories of Singular Administrative Acts

MEDIEVAL CANONICAL SOURCES AND CATEGORIES ... 115

verse themes, and in their unequivocally binding character.45 The Council of Trent (1545-1563), which closes the medieval period of legislation, makes a clear distinction between decisions in matters of doctrine or discipline, and regards only the latter as part of papal legislation. This appears also in the structure of the text of the Ecumenical Council (decreta de fide, decreta de reformatione).46 It is indicated as well from the interpretation of the arrangements contained in the individual decrees relating to the assignment of a concrete ecclesiastical office or to the vacancy of such an office - of course, here we do not include the question of granting a privilegium or dispensation. In spite of the fact that such decrees were made mainly for the arrangement of a concrete case (not having universal intention, but restricted application to very particular affairs), they were generally imputed to have normative effect in the assessment of subsequent similar cases. The best examples of this are the great canonical collections of the 11th century, in which the collected individual canons, the decisions made originally for individual cases, resulted in a number of cases with seemingly irresolvable contradictions. Shortly afterwards, reference was made to those maxims that were due to the principles of the Prologus,47 belonging to the Panormia textual-family of the canonical collection of Ivo of Chartres,48 as well as to the works of Bernoldus of Constance (1054-1100)49, De ex45 (...) secundum hanc formam in Ecclesia distinctio servata est dignitatum, et sicut in humano corpore pro varietate officiorum diversa ordinata sunt membra, ita in structura Ecclesiae ad diversa ministeria exhibenda diversae personae in diversis sunt ordinibus constitutae, aliis enim ad singularum Ecclesiarum, aliis autem ad singularum urbium dispositionem ac regimen ordinatis, constituti sunt in singulis provinciis alii, quorum prima inter fratres sententia habeatur, et ad quorum examen subiectarum personarum quaestiones et negotia referantur. Super omnes autem Romanus pontifex tanquam Noe in arca primum locum noscitur obtinere; qui ex collato sibi semper in apostolorum Principe privilegio de universorum causis iudicat ac disponit, et per universum orbem Ecclesiae filios in Christianae fidei firmitate non desinit confirmare (...). PL CC. 301-302.

46 COD 660-799.

47 Cf. Erdő, P., Storia delle fonti dei diritto canonico (Istituto di Diritto Canonico San Pio X, Manuali 2), Venezia 2008. 101. Edition: Yves de Chartres, Prologue, texte latin et traduction française (Sources canoniques 1), Paris 1997.

48 Szuromi, Sz. A., Ivonian intention to collect the «ancient canons» together with new decretal materials, in The Jurist 67 (2007) 285-310, especially 287-297.

49 Erdő, P., Geschichte der Wissenschaft vom kanonisschen Recht. Eine Einführung (Kirchenrechtliche Bibliothek 4), Berlin 2006. 45.