Law and Theology in Twelfth-Century England: The Works of Master Vacarius (c. 1115/1120 - c. 1200)

This book explores the legal and theological thought of Master Vacarius (c.1115/20 - c.1200), the renowned twelfth-century jurist. It focuses on this Italian master's four works, composed in the second half of the twelfth century, which deal with the resolution of conflict in law and theology. Vacarius is a paradox for scholars. They have found it difficult to reconcile his role as a legal teacher, notably through his textbook the Liber pauperum ('Book of the Poor'), which established a school of Roman law at Oxford, with his 'extra-legal' works on marriage, Christology and heretical theology. This study accounts for this paradox by exploring these three extra-legal treatises, composed in the 1160s and 1170s, in light of Vacarius' legal textbook. The author argues that Vacarius applies the legal method of the ius commune (European common law) to theological and sacramental debates. In this way, Vacarius represents a trend in medieval intellectual history, particular to the twelfth-century renaissance, which has been little appreciated to date - the hermeneutic of the 'lawyer-theologian'. Acknowledgements vii List of Abbreviations ix Introduction: 1 Biography: A Twelfth-century Life 2 Legal and Supra-legal Works 9 Scholasticism 13 Lawyer-theologian 19 Chapter Outline 21 Chapter 1: Teaching Law 25 Law and Society in the Twelfth Century 25 The 'Liber pauperum' 31 Law Teaching at Oxford 35 Canon Law, Roman Law, and the 'Ius Commune' 43 Conclusion 52 Chapter 2: The Law of Marriage 55 Part I: Background 55 Part II: Terms and Language in the 'Summa de matrimonio' 69 Part III: 'Traditio' in the 'Summa de matrimonio' 88 Part IV: Dissolution 108 Part V: Marriage Law in Practice 117 Final Conclusions 129 Chapter 3: Christology 131 Part I: Christological Debates in the Twelfth Century 131 Part II: The 'Tractatus de assumpto homine' 153 Part III: The 'Liber contra' 192 Final Conclusions 211 Chapter 4: Heresy, Theology, and Sacramental Matters 215 Part I: Background 215 Part II: Sacramental Matters: Holy Orders 228 Part III: Sacramental Matters: Baptism 249 Part IV: Sacramental Matters: Eucharist 258 Part V: Sacramental Matters: Penance and Confession 275 Part VI: Other Theological Matters 277 Final Conclusions 288 Conclusion 291 Bibliography 295 "This book explores the legal and theological thought of Master Vacarius (c. 1115/20-c. 1200), the renowned twelfth-century jurist. It focuses on this Italian master's four works, composed in the second half of the twelfth century, which deal with the resolution of conflict in law and theology. Vacarius is a paradox for scholars. They have found it difficult to reconcile his role as a legal teacher, notably through his textbook the Liber pauperum ('Book of the Poor'), which established a school of Roman law at Oxford, with his 'extra-legal' works on marriage, Christology and heretical theology. This study accounts for this paradox by exploring these three extra-legal treatises, composed in the 1160s and 1170s, in light of Vacarious' legal textbook. The author argues that Vacarius applies the legal method of the ius commune (European common law) to theological and sacramental debates. In this way, Vacarius represents a trend in medieval intellectual history, particular to the twelfth-century renaissance, which has been little appreciated to date - the hermeneutic of the 'lawyer-theologian'."--BOOK JACKET