In the history of

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

, the decretalists of the thirteenth century formed a school of interpretation that emphasised the

decretals Decretals () are letters of a pope that formulate decisions in ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church.McGurk. ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms''. p. 10 They are generally given in answer to consultations but are sometimes given due to the initia ...

, those letters issued by the

Popes The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

ruling on matters of church discipline (''epistolae decretales''), in preference to the (1141), which their rivals, the decretists, favoured.Rhidian Jones, ''The Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England: A Handbook'' (T&T Clark, 2000), 45–46. The decretalists were early compilers of the papal decretals, and their work, such as that of Simon of Bisignano (), was used by the dominant decretist school."Decretalist", ''

New Catholic Encyclopedia The ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'' (NCE) is a multi-volume reference work on Catholic Church, Roman Catholic history and belief edited by the faculty of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The NCE was originally published in 196 ...

'' (Gale, 2002). The decretalist practice can be divided into three periods. The first (–1200) is characterised by the collection of decretals; the second (–1234) by the organisation of the collections and the first signs of decretal exegesis; and the final (1234–1348) by extensive exegesis and analysis. Important early decretalists include Bernard of Pavia, who wrote the ''Summa Decretalium'', the ''Summa de Matrimonio'' and the ''Brevarium Extravagantium'', and Henry of Susa, whose ''Summa Copiosa'' melded canon law with

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

and was influential into modern times.

References

{{Reflist Medieval law Canon law jurists Canon law history Canon law codifications