Folia Theologica et Canonica 6. 28/20 (2017)

IUS CANONICUM - José Miguel Viejo-Ximénez, Raymond of Penyafort decretalist

RAYMOND OF PENYAFORT DECRETALIST

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ween the two texts and also by the fact that this section of Alfonso X’s Code welcomes Raymond’s opinions, which sometimes are contrary to those of Hugh of Pisa, Laurentius Hispanus, Melendo and others. To highlight the influence of the Summa de matrimonio -the fourth book of the SdC- in the Cuarta Partida, it has been said that this fourth part is a Spanish version of Raymond’s work. Although this image could offer an unreliable picture, Raymond’s presence in the Siete Partidas is not only obvious in the parallels with the SdC: those who work at the various stages of the composition borrowed directly or indirectly to the Liber Extra of Gregory IXxv. The Siete Partidas, a compendium of the ius commune, occupied an important place in the legal systems of the realms and regions that belonged to the Spanish Crown, on both sides of the Atlantic, until the modern codification movement. The Wise King of Castile is one of the twenty-three lawgivers depicted in the marble relief portraits over the gallery doors of the US House of Representatives for their work in establishing the principles that underlie American law.

Raymond’s contribution to universal canon law is also perceived in the relief of the US House Chamber dedicated to Gregory IX. The Catalonian Friar was not a lawgiver because, as Gratian asserts, «negotiis diffiniendis non solum est necessaria scientia, sed edam potestas.» (D.20 pr.) The pope relied on the aucto- ritas of his chaplain to put an end to the confusing situation of the ius novum. Raymond did not restrict himself to eliminating the superfluous passages of the decretals («resecatis superfluis»): in some cases, especially in the 195 pieces attributed to Gregory IX, he reshaped the text to achieve a certain degree of abstraction''". The details of the enactment process of the Liber Extra are unknown, but from Rex Pacificus one can conclude that the collection became official: «Volentes igitur, ut hac tantum compilatione universi utantur in iudiciis et in scholis, districtius prohibemus, ne quis praesumat aliam facere absque auctoritate sedis apostolicae speciali». The Liber Extra is not a Codex: Gregory IX did not intend to appropriate the decretals of his predecessors, as Justinian did (Cod.Just. 1.17.1.6: «[...] omnia enim merito nostra facimus, quia ex nobis omnis eis impertietur auctoritas»), nor did the canonical discipline lose its ca- 89 *

89 Cf. BlDAGOR, R., El derecho de las Decretcdes y las Partidas de Alfonso el Sabio de Espaha, in Acta Congressus Juridici Internationalis VII saeculo a Decretalibus Gregorio IX et XIV a Codice Estimanopromulgatis, III. Roma 1936. 297-313. Giménez, J. - de Carvajal, M., El Decreto V las Decretales fuentes de la primera partida de Alfonso el Sabio, in Anthologica annua 2 (1954) 239-248. Giménez, J. - de Carvajal, M., San Raimundo de Penafort y las Partidas de Alfonso X el Sabio, in Anthologica annua 3 ( 1955) 201 -338. García y García, A., Fuentes ca- m'micas de las Partidas, in Glossar 3 (1992) 93-101.

911 Kuttner, S.. Raymond of Penafort as editor: The “decretales" and “constitutiones” of Gregory IX, in Bulletin of Medieval Canon Law 12 (1982) 65-80.