Antonio Agustín y Albanell (1516–1586), also referred to as Augustinus, was a Spanish

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

historian,

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

, and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

archbishop of Tarragona, who pioneered the historical research of the sources of

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

Life

Born in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, Agustín studied law and classical literature in Alcalá,

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

and

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, notably as a pupil of Andrea Alciati. With his nomination as an auditor of the

Sacra Rota Romana The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate court, appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Ea ...

in 1544, Agustín started his ecclesiastical career, which saw him become a

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

in 1554/55. On 21 Dec 1557, he was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

bishop by Giovanni Giacomo Barba - Bishop of Terni, with Cesare Cibo - Archbishop of Turin, and Ferdinando Pandolfini - Bishop of Troia, serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. In 1556, he was named Bishop of Alife, and then named

Bishop of Lleida This is a list of bishops of Lleida. *Itxió 203 *Sant Filó 227 *Joan 230 *Pere 258 *Màrius Seli 259 *Sant Lleir 268–311 *Diperdió 313 *Amili 380 *Prudenci 400 *Atanasi 413 *Saguici 413 *Jacobo 419 *Seberí 460 *Fortunat 517 *Pere 519 *And ...

in 1561. After participating in the Council of Trient in 1561–63, he was named Archbishop of Tarragona in 1576.

Work

Agustín is now primarily remembered as the first canon law historian; Peter Landau counts him among the other authors that enabled us to consider the 16th century the founding age of the science of history. His first main work, '' Emendationum et opinionum libri IV'', proposed the now widely accepted thesis that the ''

Littera Florentina The parchment codex called ''Littera Florentina'' is the closest surviving version of the official '' Digest'' of Roman law promulgated by Justinian I in 530–533. The codex, consisting of 907 leaves, is written in the Byzantine-Ravenna un ...

'' manuscript was the source for all other copies of the

Pandects The ''Digest'' (), also known as the Pandects (; , , "All-Containing"), was a compendium or digest of juristic writings on Roman law compiled by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in 530–533 AD. It is divided into 50 books. The ''Dige ...

. This undermined the authority, fundamental to medieval Roman law, of the Latin Vulgate text of the Pandects. Agustín's other main historical works are: * '' Antiquae Collectionis Decretalium'' (1576) * '' De Emendatione Gratiani dialogorum libri duo'' (1587), a textual criticism of the ''

Decretum Gratiani The , also known as the or or simply as the , is a collection of Catholic canon law compiled and written in the 12th century as a legal textbook by the jurist known as Gratian. It forms the first part of the collection of six legal texts, whic ...

'' * '' Epitome iuris pontificii veteris'' (1587/1611), a compendium of canon law prior to

Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

* '' De quibusdam veteris canonum ecclesiasticorum collectoribus iudicium ac censura'' (1611, posthumously published), a history of the pre-Gratian sources of ecclesiastical law

Notes

References

*
«Agustí i Albanell, Antoni, 1517-1586»Universitat de Barcelona. CRAI Biblioteca de Reserva
* Falkowski, Mateuz, "The Limits of Philology: Antonio Agustín and Textual Criticism of Canon Law in Tridentine Europe," ''Renaissance Quarterly'' 76 (2023): 1340-1388. * Sommar, Mary, ''The '"Correctores Romani": Gratian's "Decretum" and the Counter-Reformation Humanists'' (Berlin: Lit Verlag, 209). {{DEFAULTSORT:Agustin Y Albanell, Antonio 1516 births 1586 deaths People from Zaragoza Historians of the Catholic Church 16th-century Spanish jurists Spanish historians of religion Bishops of Lleida Archbishops of Tarragona 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Spain Canon law jurists Spanish Latinists University of Salamanca alumni