Bulgarus was a twelfth-century Italian
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
, born in
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
.
He was the most celebrated of the famous
Four Doctors of the law school of the
University of Bologna
The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...
and was regarded as the
Chrysostom of the
Glossators, being frequently designated by the title of the "Golden Mouth" (''os aureum''). He died in 1166 at a very advanced age.
According to popular tradition, all four of the famous Four Doctors (Bulgarus,
Martinus Gosia,
Hugo de Porta Ravennate and
Jacobus de Boragine) were pupils of
Irnerius
Irnerius ( – after 1125), sometimes referred to as ''lucerna juris'' ("lantern of the law"), was an Italian jurist, and founder of the School of Glossators and thus of the tradition of medieval Roman Law.
He taught the newly recovered Roman ...
; however, while there is currently no insuperable difficulty in substantiating this claim with regard to Bulgarus,
Friedrich Carl von Savigny considered the evidence to be insufficient to support this claim. Martinus Gosia and Bulgarus were the chiefs of two opposite schools at Bologna, corresponding in many respects to the
Proculians and Sabinians of
Imperial Rome, Martinus being at the head of a school that accommodated the law in a manner that his opponents referred to as the "equity of the purse" (''aequitas bursalis''), whilst Bulgarus adhered more closely to the letter of the law. Bulgarus' school ultimately prevailed.
Joannes Bassianus,
Azo and
Accursius all numbered amongst its notable adherents, each of whom, in turn, went on to exercise a commanding influence over the course of legal studies in Bologna.
At the
Diet of Roncaglia in 1158, Bulgarus assumed the leading role amongst the Four Doctors, and was one of the most trusted advisors to the emperor
Frederick I. His most celebrated work is a notable commentary, ''De Regulis Juris'', which was at one time printed amongst the writings of
Placentinus. However, this commentary has since been properly credited to its true author,
Cujacius, based on internal evidence contained in the additions annexed to it, which were undoubtedly penned by Placentinus himself. This commentary is the earliest extant work of its kind emanating from the school of the Glossators. According to Savigny, it is a model specimen of the excellence of the method introduced by
Irnerius
Irnerius ( – after 1125), sometimes referred to as ''lucerna juris'' ("lantern of the law"), was an Italian jurist, and founder of the School of Glossators and thus of the tradition of medieval Roman Law.
He taught the newly recovered Roman ...
, and a striking example of the brilliant results obtained in a short period of time by virtue of a constant, exclusive study of the sources of law.
See also
*
Four Doctors of Bologna
References
External links
*
Works of Bulgarus at ParalipomenaIuris
{{Authority control
12th-century Italian jurists
12th-century writers in Latin
Italian Roman Catholics