Rufinus was an Italian

canon lawyer 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 ...

, described as the most influential canonist at 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 ...

in the mid 12th century. He composed a ''Summa'' on

Gratian Gratian (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...

's Decretum before 1159, which soon became the most influential commentary in Bologna, surpassing all previous ones in detail and length.

Stephen of Tournai Stephen of Tournai (18 March 1128 - 11 September 1203) was a Canon regular of Sainte-Geneviève (Paris), and Roman Catholic canonist who became bishop of Tournai in 1192. Biography He was born at Orléans in 1128; died at Tournai in Septembe ...

, his pupil, quoted from his ''Summa'' several times.J. F. von Schulte, ''Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des Canonischen Rechts von Gratian bis auf die Gegenwart'', 3 vols, Stuttgart 1875-1880, I, p. 123 and n. 6, and p. 134.

References

Bibliography

* Wilfried Hartmann and Kenneth Pennington, ''The history of medieval canon law in the classical period, 1140-1234'', Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2008.

External links

Rufinus. ''Summa Decretorum''. Edited by Heinrich Singer. Paderborn: Ferdinand Schoningh, 1902. Reprint Aalen: Scientia, 1963.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rufinus Canon law jurists 12th-century Italian jurists