Gratian was a twelfth century canon lawyer, traditionally described as a monk and teacher at a monastery in Bologna, who worked in ecclesiastical centers including Tuscany, Bologna, Rome and Chiusi, where he served as bishop before his death around 1150. He compiled the Concordia discordantium canonum, known as the Decretum Gratiani, finalized in a vulgate version soon after the Second Council of the Lateran in 1139, which attempted to reconcile centuries of seemingly contradictory church canons into one coherent, systematically organized body of law. The Decretum served as the primary source for canon lawyers until Pope Gregory the Ninth's own Decretals gained official status in 1234, and Gratian's pioneering of systematic canonical jurisprudence earned him the title Pater Juris Canonici, the Father of Canon Law.
Facts
Place of Death Classification
Field of Law Role
Role (category) FAQs
Did the Church ever officially adopt Gratian's Decretum?
It was widely used but never recognized by the Church as an official collection.
No. Although the Decretum had a great reputation and wide diffusion, it was never recognized by the Church as an official collection. It was a private legal textbook compiled by Gratian, which is why later official collections had to be issued separately.
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Sources
1. Gratian (jurist) (Wikipedia)
Author section
Gratian (Medieval Latin: Gratianus) was a canon lawyer from Etruria
Author section, gender
He is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Franciscus Gratianus, Johannes Gratian, or Giovanni Graziano.
Author section, death place
He died on 10 August around the middle of the 12th century as bishop of Chiusi in Tuscany.
Author section, death year
He died on 10 August around the middle of the 12th century as bishop of Chiusi in Tuscany.
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