''Margaritae'' are collections of canon law and decretals. Canon lawyers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries taught canon law by commenting on the '' Decretum of Gratian'' and on the various collections of the

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 sometimes ...

. The ''margaritae'' were developed as collections to aid memory. They arranged the more important propositions, denominated "résumés", and

axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...

s in alphabetical order or by subject matter, including mnemonic verse. Many of these ''margaritae'' have been preserved, but not all of their authors are certainly known. Some of them have been printed with the ''Decretum'' or the '' Decretals of Gregory IX''.

Notes

References

{{Catholic, wstitle=Margaritae , first=Auguste , last=Boudinhon, volume=9 Canon law codifications Jurisprudence of Catholic canon law Catholic canonical documents Academic canon law Canon law history