In the history of

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

, a decretist was a student and interpreter of the ''

Decretum Gratiani The ''Decretum Gratiani'', also known as the ''Concordia discordantium canonum'' or ''Concordantia discordantium canonum'' or simply as the ''Decretum'', is a collection of canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook b ...

''. Like

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and w ...

, the decretists sought to provide "a harmony of discordant canons" (''concordia discordantium canonum''), and they worked towards this through glosses (''glossae'') and summaries (''summae'') on Gratian.Rhidian Jones, ''The Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England: A Handbook'' (T&T Clark, 2000), 45–46. They are contrasted with the decretalists, whose work primarily focused on papal

decretals Decretals ( la, litterae decretales) are letters of a pope that formulate decisions in ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church.McGurk. ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms''. p. 10 They are generally given in answer to consultations but are sometim ...

. Early decretists of the Italian school include

Paucapalea Paucapalea was a canon lawyer Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or ch ...

, a pupil of Gratian's; Rufinus, who wrote the ''Summa Decretorum''; and

Huguccio Huguccio (Hugh of Pisa, Uguccio) (c. 1140- died 1210) was an Italian canon lawyer. Biography Huguccio studied at Bologna, probably under Gandolphus, and taught canon law in the same city, perhaps in the school connected with the monastery of ...

, who wrote the ''Summa super Decreta'', the most extensive decretist work. There was also a French school of decretists starting with

Stephen of Tournai Stephen of Tournai, (18 March 1128 - 11 September 1203), was a Canon regular of Sainte-Geneviève (Paris), and Roman Catholic canonist Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulati ...

.Weigand, Rudolf. "The Transmontane Decretists." In ''The History of Medieval Canon Law in the Classical period,1140-1234: From Gratian to the Decretals of Pope GregoryIX'', edited by Wilfried Hartmann and Kenneth Pennington, 174–210. History of Medieval Canon Law. Washington, D.C: Catholic University of America Press, 2008.

Notes

{{Reflist Medieval law Canon law history Canon law jurists Canon law codifications