Paulus Castrensis was an 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 ...

of the 14th century.

Life

He studied under

Baldus de Ubaldis Baldus de Ubaldis (Italian: ''Baldo degli Ubaldi''; 1327 – 28 April 1400) was an Italian jurist, and a leading figure in Medieval Roman Law and the school of Postglossators. Life A member of the noble family of the Ubaldi (Baldeschi), ...

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

, and was a fellow-pupil with Cardinal de Zabarella. He was admitted to the degree of doctor of civil law in the

University of Avignon A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, but it is uncertain when he first undertook the duties of a professor. A tradition, which has been handed down by Panzirolus, represents him as having taught law for a period of fifty-seven years. He was professor at

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

in 1390, at

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

in 1394, and at

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

in 1429; and, at different periods, at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, at

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 ...

and at Perugia. He was for some time the vicar-general of Cardinal Zabarella at Florence, and his eminence as a teacher 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 ...

may be inferred from the appraisal of one of his pupils, who styles him ''famosissirnus juris utriusque monarca''. His most complete treatise is his readings on the Digest, and it appears from a passage in his readings on the ''Digestum Vetus'' that he delivered them at a time when he had been actively engaged for forty-five years as a teacher of civil law. His death is generally assigned to 1436, but it appears from an entry in a manuscript of the ''Digestum Vetus'', which is extant at

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, made by the hand of one of his pupils who styles him ''præceptor meus'', that he died on 20 July 1441.

Works

* (posthumous work) ** ** ** * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) ** * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * (posthumous work) * * (complete posthumous work) * ** ** ** ** ** ** **

References

Attribution: * * Canon law jurists University of Perugia alumni University of Avignon alumni Academic staff of the University of Siena Academic staff of the University of Padua Academic staff of the University of Florence Academic staff of the University of Bologna Academic staff of the University of Perugia 14th-century Italian jurists 15th-century Italian jurists 1441 deaths Year of birth unknown {{Italy-law-bio-stub