Medieval Canon Law

Past Imperfect

by Kriston R. Rennie

Canon law is an unavoidable theme for medieval historians. It intersects with every aspect of medieval life and society, and at one point or another, every medievalist works on the law. In this book, Kriston Rennie looks at the early medieval origins and development of canon law though a social history framework, with a view to making sense of a rich and complex legal system and culture, and an equally rich scholarly tradition. It was in the early Middle Ages that the ancient traditions, norms, customs, and rationale of the Church were shaped into legislative procedure. The structures and rationale behind the law’s formulation – its fundamental purpose, reason for existence and proliferation, and methods of creation and collection – explain how the medieval Church and society was influenced and controlled. They also, as this short book argues, explain how it ultimately functioned.

112 pages, Paperback

Published September 10, 2018

Reviews

[Fr. Nicholas Blackwell, O. Carm. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful little book for the field! Great research tool and introductory text on the matter.

[Jacabaeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative little book, but suffers greatly from writing that feels like a slog to get through. Chapter 5, entitled "Practice", doesn't actually get in to the practice if canon law in the medieval period. I was looking forward to some info about procedure, rules, regulations, qualifications, etc., but none of this was really touched upon.