3 - The 1179 Canons and the Schools

Summary

While Chapter 2 examines the direct relationship between the papacy and local problems, Chapter 3 investigates the surviving writings of the canon law schools, and their contribution to the debates and ideas present in the 1179 conciliar canons. Using the commentaries written by and for scholars, this chapter attempts to draw links between the opinions of certain canonists and the legal points put forward in the 1179 canons. It assesses the legal learning of Alexander’s curia and cardinals, using that analysis to gauge how far canonists present as part of the papal entourage influenced the contents and direction of the canons compared to those who arrived only for the council itself. It also aims to show that while the 1179 decrees relied on recent canonists’ commentaries and opinions, at times they diverged from those approaches, providing important evidence for the role of papal decision–making. Overall, despite the clear imprint of the curia’s role in shaping the canons, they mostly represent ideas that were current, and in some cases achieved, through the communication and innovation of the legal schools.