Glosses and Glossatores

Glosses And Glossatores of the Roman and canon law. In the 12th century the Roman law, which after the downfall of the Western Roman empire had retained but little of its former importance, was again brought into notice, and studied with great zeal. The law school of Bologna, founded towards the end of the 11th century or the beginning of the 12th by Irnerius (Warnerius, Guarnerius), was the center of this new movement. The reputation of the school and of its professors brought students from all parts of Europe to Bologna. The activity of the teachers did not confine itself to the expounding of the sources of the law, but also made these researches the foundation of a literary activity, and created a body of Glossatores (Glossarists), so called. The written interpretation of the Corpus jusns appeared in the form of glosses, consisting sometimes in the explanation of some particular word or expression, sometimes in full and complete elucidations, and this sometimes between the lines of the text (interlinear glosses), sometimes on the margin (marginal-glosses). Besides these the glossatores also wrote summae, reviews of the contents of some particular chapter of law; casus, real or imaginary cases intended as illustrations of particular points in connection with quaestiones and distinctiones; and also brocarda or brocardica, etc. (see Savigny, Gesch. des Rom. R. i. Mittelalter, 3:537-574, 2d ed.). This literary activity of the glossatores of Roman law was an example for scientific treatment of canon law, which afterwards (in the 12th century) gave rise in Bologna and in Paris to lectures on the subject, and thus by the side of the legists rose the schools of the canonists, the decretists, and the decretalists. A number of the pupils and disciples of Gratian (q.v.) composed glosses (probably interlinear) on his Decretum. Among the oldest of these glossatores was Sicardus of Cremona, who was made bishop of Cremona in 1185. When the number of glosses in different MSS. became very great, it was naturally found expedient to collect and arrange, them. This labor was undertaken by John Teutonicus, who wrote in 1212 a commentary on the Decretum, compiled from the glosses of his predecessors, and this Apparatus, augmented and improved by Bartholomew of Brescia about 1236, became the Glossa ordinaria; i.e., was endorsed by the school, appended to the MS. copies of the Decretum, and subsequently printed with it. Glosses on the collection of decretals of Gregory IX were written by Vincentius Hispanus (about 1240), Goffredus Tranensis (t 1245), and Sinibaldus Fliscus, who afterwards sat on the pontifical throne (1243-54) under the name of Innocent IV. From these glosses Bernhard de Botono of Parma (t 1266) compiled his Apparatus, which was also recognized as glossa ordinaria. Among the glossatores of the Liber sextus are to be named Johannes Monachus (t 1313), Guido de Baysio, and Johannes Andrese (f 1348). The glosses of the latter were originally written in his youth; he afterwards improved them, and they have been copied and printed as glossoe ordinarie. He also wrote the first glosses on the Clementines, and they were also recognized as glossae ordinarie. Among the other glossatores of the same collection we remark Zenzelinus de Cassanis, a teacher of Toulouse, Johannes de Lignano, Petrus de Ancharano, Franciscus Zabarella (1417), etc. The glosses on the Extravagantes were the work partly of Gulielmus de monte Lauduno, and partly of Johannes Monachus. Those on the collection of John XXII were chiefly by Zenzelinus de Cassanis. The glosses have to this day great scientific value for the history of law. They have also exerted an important influence in the practice of the law. See Sarti, De claris archigymnasii Bonon. professoribus, t. 1, p. 1, 2 (Bonon. 1769, folio); Herzog, Real-Encyklop. 5:191. (J.N.P.)