The reign of Pope Urban II (1088-1099) is often seen as a turning point in the period of medieval history known as the Gregorian Reform. This volume presents for the first time modern editions of, and commentary on, the decrees of Urban's first papal council (at Melfi in 1089), and the excerpts of his acts found in the enigmatic canon-law book labelled the Collectio Britannica. Both editions are accompanied by English translations of the Latin texts.

Pope Urban II, the Collectio Britannica, and the Council of Melfi (1089)

History

Somerville, Robert

Europe

Clarendon Press

The Council of Piacenza is among the most important moments of the Reform that was sweeping through the Western Church at the end of the eleventh century. It is often regarded as a launching pad for the First Crusade, though the matter is obscure and serves only to hide the assembly's true significance as a turning point in the papal schism between Popes Gregory VII/Urban II and the so-called anti-pope Clement III. The canons promulgated at Piacenza became landmarks not only for the eleventh- and twelfth-century Reform, but more broadly for the Church of the High Middle Ages and even beyond. Robert Somerville situates Piacenza in historical context, discusses the sources, the attendance, and the need for a new edition of the legislation. The official canons are lost, but several dozen twelfth-century manuscripts were consulted for a new edition of these provisions. The account finishes with a commentary on Piacenza's legislation and a discussion of the subsequent legislation of Urban II's synods. Somerville completes the picture of what can be known about the papal synods of one of the most influential Roman pontiffs of the Middle Ages.

Pope Urban II's Council of Piacenza

Oxford University Press

xi 108p hardback, tan cloth very fresh, tight and clean copy, very good indeed

Pope Alexander III and the Council of Tours (1163 : A Study of Ecclesiastical Politics and Institutions in the Twelfth Century)

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

Univ. Of California Pr.

<div>From the Preface: &nbsp; The 1163 council at Tours met amidst the most protracted conflict between a pope and a secular ruler in medieval history, the eighteen-year struggle between Alexander III and Frederick Barbarossa. The gathering duly receives a paragraph or so in surveys of that dispute, and it usually is included--and properly so--in lists of the important sources for twelfth- and thirteenth-century canon law. But the meeting has been accorded no integrated study of all its political and legislative facets, nor have all of the sources, even all of those available in print, ever been utilized together.&nbsp; &nbsp; The present work strives to offer in one volume a historical account of the synod at Tours which is as complete as possible. That means uncovering the conciliar events as well as pondering their relation to the great issues of the time, especially Alexander's struggle with Frederick. The aim is to reconstruct, as sources permit, what happened at a council of acknowledged import, and at the same time to examine the interdependence of those events with the historical climate in which the gathering convened. Such reciprocity often has become hazy, but synods do not assemble in a vacuum. Their histories gain greater fascination in proportion to how successfully the events in concilio can be linked to movements and pressures from society at large. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977. &nbsp; </div>

Pope Alexander III And the Council of Tours (1163): A Study of Ecclesiastical Politics and Institutions in the Twelfth Century

University of California Press

The Facts About Alternative Medicine

Medical Books

Time Life UK

Do-it-yourself Health

Health, Fitness & Dieting

An updated and expanded version of the original edition, published in 1998. That original edition went up through 1245. This new version extends to 1317 and adds two important prefaces.

Prefaces to Canon Law Books in Latin Christianity: Selected Translations, 500-1317 (Studies in Medieval and Early Modern Canon Law)

Brasington, Bruce C.

The Catholic University of America Press

Professor Somerville deals here with the history of Latin Christianity at a crucial time - the century of the Gregorian reform movement and of the Investiture conflict between the papacy and the empire. The articles are concerned with the policies of the popes, as expressed in their letters and the canons of the councils they summoned, and with the impact on the life and laws of the Church. Conciliar history, indeed, forms the main focus of the volume, and the author's aim has been to subject the relevant texts and manuscripts to detailed scrutiny in order to determine their veracity and chronology. In so doing he also demolishes some of the pseudo-historical problems that have arisen from an uncritical reliance upon early printed editions. This investigation of the texts is of evident importance for the study of canon law, but it also shows how they can serve as valuable sources for the history of the Western Middle Ages, revealing much about life in the period, as well as about papal politics.  Le professeur Sommerville traite ici de la chrétiénte latine au coeurs de la période cruciale que fut le siècle du movement de réforme grégorien et du conflit d’investiture entre la papauté et l’empire. Ces études se préoccupent de la politique des papes, telle qu’on peut la voir exprimée au travers de leurs lettres et de canons issus des conciles qu’ils réunissaient. Elles s’intéressent aussi Ã  leur influence sur la vie et les lois d’Eglise. L’histoire conciliare forme, en effet, la plus grande part de ce receuil et l’auteur  s’y propose de soumettre textes et manuscrits appropriés Ã  une étude détaillée, afin d’en déterminer la véracité et la chronologie. Ce faisant, il élimine aussi un certain nombre de problèmes pseudo-historiques, subvenus en raison de la trop confiance accordée aux editions anciennes. Cette enquÃªte menée sur les textes est, de toute évidence, d’une grande importance en ce qui concerne l’étude du droit

Papacy, Councils and Canon Law in the 11th–12th Centuries (Variorum Collected Studies)

World

Routledge

Fifteen essays by Paul Oscar Kristeller's senior colleagues at Columbia University. Authors include: Roger S. Bagnall, J.M.W. Bean, James Beck, Richard Brilliant, Alan Cameron, James Coulter, Robert W. Hanning, Arthur Hyman, Gillian Lindt, Eugene F. Rice Jr., David Rosand, Karl-Ludwig Selig, Robert Somerville, Leonardo Tarán, and David Yerkes. 218 pp. 18 illustrations, index.

Florilegium Columbianum: Essays in Honor of Paul Oskar Kristeller

Selig, Karl-Ludwig

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Italica Press

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