Laws of the Romans and Their Application in the 8th Century Spain According to the Letters of Gregory the Great

Marey, Elena

doi:10.18254/S0001908-7-1

Home>Issue 6 (60)>“Laws of the Romans” and Their Application in the 8th Century Spain According to the Letters of Gregory the Great

“Laws of the Romans” and Their Application in the 8th Century Spain According to the Letters of Gregory the Great

Table of contents

Annotation Estimate Publication content

References Comments

“Laws of the Romans” and Their Application in the 8th Century Spain According to the Letters of Gregory the Great

Annotation

PII

S207987840001908-7-1

DOI

10.18254/S0001908-7-1

Publication type

Article

Status

Published

Authors

Elena Marey Send message

Affiliation: Higher School of Economics
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow

Edition

Volume 8 Issue 6 (60)

Abstract

This articles is dedicated to the analysis of three letters from the Register epistolarum of the Pope Gregory I of Great (590–604), which describe the case of the bishops Januarius and Stefan (XIII. 46, 47, 49). Letter XIII.46 is an instruction to the papal defensor John, sent in 603 by the pope to Byzantine Spain to investigate how and under what circumstances were convicted the bishops Januarius and Stefan several years ago. According to these letters we can learn that the bishops were removed from office and sent into exile by the Byzantine governor named Komitiol. The reason for their disgrace probably lies in their close connection with the bishops of the Kingdom of Toledo, the enemy of Byzantine Empire. The letter XIII.47 is the John’s retourn: we learn that the bishops were not only subjected to a completely unjust sentence, but the whole procedure of the trial was conducted with numerous violations. Finally, by letter XIII.49, which are the subtitle Exemplum legis, Gregory dismissed the accusation from Januarius and Stefan, and imposed a penance on their offenders and excommunicated them. The verdict also affected the successor of Komitiol (who had perished by that time): he had to return to Januarius the confiscated property. To confirm the legitimacy of his decisions, Gregory quoted in the letter fragments of 123-th Novellae by Justinian, as well as some of the constitutions of the Code. This is the only case of direct appeal of the pope to the legislation of Justinian, and generally to the norms of secular law. Partly the literal quoting of fragments of the Code can be explained by lacunae in the canon law of the VI century, which Gregory tried to close with the imperial legislation. However, this explanation is not exhausted. Gregory cited the laws though carefully (preserving the inscription and the subscript, noting the abbreviations, etc.), but still selectively: he leaved behind the scenes those fragments that could not justify his interference and his decision. We do not know exactly, if Corpus iuris civilis was known, how it was applied, so it is probable that the pope's addressees did not have the very books of the Codex and Novellae in their hands, and Gregory had no choice but to quote them. With the support of the norms of the imperial legislation Gregory the Great could defend his point of view in a correspondence dispute with the governor of Byzantine Spain, having taken a decision that was contrary to his interests.

Keywords

Gregory the Great, Gregory the Great’s letters, Corpus iuris civilis, Byzantine enclave in Spain, Kingdom of Toledo, canon law

Received

11.05.2017

Publication date

16.07.2017

Number of characters

28063

Number of purchasers

Views

8465

Readers community rating

0.0 (0 votes)

Cite Download pdf 200 RUB / 1.0 SU

To download PDF you should pay the subscribtion

GOST	Marey E. “Laws of the Romans” and Their Application in the 8th Century Spain According to the Letters of Gregory the Great // ISTORIYA. – 2017. – V. 8. – Issue 6 (60). URL: https://history.jes.su/s207987840001908-7-1/. DOI: 10.18254/S0001908-7-1
MLA	Marey, Elena "“Laws of the Romans” and Their Application in the 8th Century Spain According to the Letters of Gregory the Great." ISTORIYA. 8.6 (60) (2017). DOI: 10.18254/S0001908-7-1
APA	Marey E. (2017). “Laws of the Romans” and Their Application in the 8th Century Spain According to the Letters of Gregory the Great. ISTORIYA. vol. 8, no. 6 (60) DOI: 10.18254/S0001908-7-1

Full text is available to subscribers only

Subscribe right now

Only article and additional services

Subscription benefits

200 RUB / 1.0 SU

Whole issue and additional services

Subscription benefits

800 RUB / 10.0 SU

All issues and additional services for 2017

Subscription benefits

2500 RUB / 50.0 SU

References

Additional sources and materials

Aurov O. V. Vestgotskie koroli-ariane posle ehpokhi Iordana (kharakter, ideologiya i simvolika vlasti) // Vspomogatel'nye istoricheskie distsipliny. T. 31. SPb., 2010. C. 74–103.
Vestgotskaya pravda (Kniga prigovorov). Latinskij tekst. Perevod. Issledovanie. M., 2012.
Grigorij I Velikij. Pis'ma / per. s lat. V. B. Prozorova // Antologiya mirovoj pravovoj mysli. T. 2. M., 1999. S. 199–205.
Zvyagina E. D., Marej E. S. Rim, Vizantiya i Korolevstvo vestgotov v perepiske papy Grigoriya Velikogo // Teologiya i politika. Vlast', Tserkov' i tekst v korolevstvakh vestgotov (V – nachalo VIII vv.). Issledovaniya i perevody. M., 2017. S. 257–306.
Boesch Gajano S. Gregorio Magno. Alle origini del Medioevo. Roma, 2004.
Brehaut E. An Encyclopedist of the Dark Ages. N. Y., 1912.
Castaldi L. Il Registrum epistolarum di Gregorio Magno // Filologia mediolatina. Studies in Medieval Latin Texts and their Transmission. Rivista della Fondazione Ezio Franceschini. 2004. T. XI. P. 55–98.
Churruca J. de. Las fuentes de la definición de codicilo en san Isidoro de Sevilla // Anuario de Historia del Derecho Español. 1964. T. 34. P. 5–30.
Damizia G. Lineamenti di diritto canonico nel “Registrum epistolarum” di San Gregorio Magno. Roma, 1949.
Dudden F. H. Gregory the Great. His place in History and Thought. London, 1905. Volume I–II.
Forlin Patrucco M. Registrum epistolarum // Scrittura e storia. Per una lettura delle opere di Gregorio Magno. Firenze, 2005. P. 339–356.
García Gallo A. Nacionalidad y territorialidad del derecho en la época visigoda // Anuario de Historia del Derecho Español. 1936. T. 41. P. 168–264.
Gibert R. Historia general del derecho español. Madrid, 1981.
Giordano L. Giustizia e potere giudiziario ecclesiastico nell’epistolario di Gregorio Magno. Bari, 1997.
Giordano L. “Lex fori” e “lex Dei” nel “Registrum epistolarum” di Gregorio Magno // Gregorio Magno e le origini dell’Europa / Sotto la dir. di C. Leonardi. Firenze, 2014. P. 259–268.
González Fernández R. Las cartas de Gregorio Magno al defensor Juan. La aplicación del derecho de Justiniano en la Hispania bizantina en el siglo VII // Antigüedad cristiana (Murcia). 1997. T. XIV. R. 287–298.
Hillgarth J.N. Coins and Chronicles: Propaganda in the Sixth-Century in Spain and the Byzantine Background // Historia: Zeitschrift fur Alte Geschichte. 1966. Vol. 15. №4. P. 483–508.
La colección canónica hispana / ed. G. MartínezDiez, F. Rodríguez // Monumenta Hispaniae sacra: Serie canónica. Vol. 3. Madrid, 1982.
Larraona A., Tabera A. El derecho justinianeo en España // Atti del congresso internazionale di Diritto Romano. Vol. 2. Pavia, 1935. P. 85–182.
Markus R. A. Gregory the Great and his World. Cambridge, 1997.
Morossi D. The Governors of Byzantine Spain // Bizantinistica. Rivista di Studi Bizantini e Slavi. 2013. T. XV. P. 131–156.
Norberg D. Qui a composé les lettres de saint Grégoire le Grand? // Studi medievali. 1980. T. 21 (1). P. 1–18.
Orlandis J. Gregorio Magno y la España visigodo-bizantina // Estudios en homenaje a don Claudio Sánchez Albornoz en sus 90 años. Buenos Aires, 1983. T. 1. P. 329–348.
Padoa-Schioppa A. Gregorio Magno giudice // Studi medievali. 2010. T. 51 (2). R. 581–610.
Pietri Ch. Concordia apostolorum et renovatio Urbis (culte des martyrs et propagande pontificale) // Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire. 1961. P. 275–322.
Pietri Ch. La Rome de Grégoire // Gregorio Magno e il suo tempo (Incontro di studiosi dell’Antichità cristiana, 9-12 mai 1990). T. 33. Rome, 1991. Vol. 1. R. 9–32.
Richards J. Consul of God. The Life and Times of Gregory the Great. L., 1980.
S. Gregorii Magni Registrum epistolarum / ed. D. Norberg // Corpus Christianorum. Series Latina CXL A. T. 2. Turnholti, 1982.
Vallejo Girvés M. Bizancio ante la conversión de los visigodos: los obispos Jenaro y Estebán // Concilio III de Toledo: XIV Centenario. 589–1989: Congreso. Toledo, 1989. P. 477–483.
Villela Masana J. Gregorio Magno e Hispania // Gregorio Magno e il suo tempo (Incontro di studiosi dell'Antichità cristiana, 9–12 mai 1990). T. 33. Rome, 1991. Vol. 1. P. 167–186.