Cresconius Africanus (Crisconius) was a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

canon lawyer Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is the ...

, of uncertain date and place. He flourished, probably, in the latter half of the 7th century. He was probably a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the African Church.

Concordia canonum

Cresconius made a collection of canons, known as ''Concordia canonum'', inclusive of the

Apostolic Canons The Apostolic Canons, also called Apostolic canons (Latin: ''Canones apostolorum'', "Canons of the Apostles"), Ecclesiastical Canons of the Same Holy Apostles, or Canons of the Holy Apostles, is a 4th-century Syrian Christian text. It is an Anc ...

, nearly all the canons of the fourth- and fifth-century councils, and many papal decretals from the end of the fourth to the end of the fifth century. It was much used as a handy manual of ecclesiastical legislation by the churches of Africa and

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...

as late as the tenth century. Few of its manuscripts postdate that period. The content is taken from the collection of

Dionysius Exiguus Dionysius Exiguus (Latin for "Dionysius the Humble", Greek: Διονύσιος; – ) was a 6th-century Eastern Roman monk born in Scythia Minor. He was a member of a community of Scythian monks concentrated in Tomis (present day Constanța ...

, but the division into titles (301) is copied from the ''Breviatio canonum'' of Fulgentius Ferrandus, a sixth-century deacon of Carthage. In many manuscripts the text of Cresconius is preceded by an index or table of contents (''breviarium'') of the titles, first edited in 1588 by Pithou. In its entirety the work was first published by Voellus and Justellus.In the appendix (33-112) to their "bibliotheca Juris canonici" (Paris, 1661). It is in ''

Patrologia Latina The ''Patrologia Latina'' ( Latin for ''The Latin Patrology'') is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1841 and 1855, with indices published between ...

'', LXXXVIII, 829 sqq. One of its best manuscripts, the tenth-century ''Vallicellianus'' (Rome), has a note in which Cresconius is declared the author of a metrical poem called "Bella et victorias" by the "Patricius" Johannes in Africa about the Saracens. This was formerly interpreted to mean the African victory of the Byzantine Patricius Johannes in 697, hence the usual date of Cresconius. Some, however, hold that the poem in question is the ''Johannis'' of

Flavius Cresconius Corippus Flavius Cresconius Corippus was a late Berber-Roman epic poet of the 6th century, who flourished under East Roman Emperors Justinian I and Justin II. His major works are the epic poem '' Iohannis'' and the panegyric ''In laudem Iustini minoris''. ...

, a Latin poet of about 550, and on this basis identify him with the canonist, thus placing the latter in the sixth century. Others (with Maassen, p. 810) while admitting that the poem in question can be none other than the ''Johannis'' of the aforesaid Latin poet (unknown to

Fabricius Fabricius ( la, smith, german: Schmied, Schmidt) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *people from the Ancient Roman gens Fabricia: **Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome * Johann Goldsmid (1587� ...

, and first edited by Mazzuchelli, Milan, 1820), maintain that it has been wrongly attributed to this Cresconius, and that it cannot therefore aid in fixing his date.

Notes

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' article
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