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Giovanni d'Andrea or Johannes Andreæ (1270  1275 – 1348) was an Italian expert in
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 ...
. His contemporaries referred to him as ''iuris canonici fons et tuba'' ("the fount and trumpet of canon law"). Most important among his works were extensive commentaries on all of the official collections of papal
decretal Decretals () are letters of a pope that formulate decisions in canon law (Catholic Church), ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church.McGurk. ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms''. p. 10 They are generally given in answer to consultations but are some ...
s, papal judgments in the form of letters to delegated judges that were at the core of canon law.


Life

Giovanni d'Andrea was born at Rifredo, near
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, and studied Roman law and
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 ...
at the
University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...
, the great law school of the age, where he distinguished himself in this subject so much that he was made professor at
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 then at
Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
before returning to Bologna, where he remained from the season of 1301–02 until his death, save for brief seasons at
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 ...
1307–09 and 1319. He wrote the statutes by which the university was governed, in 1317. The 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' related curious stories of him: that by way of self-mortification he lay every night for twenty years on the bare ground with only a bear's skin for a covering (yet it is known that he remained a layman, was married and had children); that in an audience he had with
Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...
his extraordinary shortness of stature led the pope to believe he was kneeling, and to ask him three times to rise, to the immense merriment of the
cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
s; and that he had a daughter,
Novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...
, so accomplished in law as to be able to read her father's lectures in his absence, and so beautiful that she had to read behind a curtain lest her face should distract the attention of the students. He was also the father of Bettina d'Andrea. He is reported to have died at Bologna of the
Black Death The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
in 1348, and an epitaph in the church of the Dominicans in which he was buried (calling him ''Rabbi Doctorum, Lux, Censor, Normaque Morum'') testifies to the public estimation of his character. Johannes Calderinus (1300–1365) was his student and later his adoptive son. Paulus de Liazariis and Johannes de Sancto Georgio were among his students, and he counted the
humanists 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" has ...
Cino da Pistoia Cino da Pistoia (1270 – 1336) was an Italian jurist and poet. He was the university teacher of Bartolus de Saxoferrato and a friend and intellectual influence on Dante Alighieri. Life Cino was born in Pistoia, Tuscany. His full name was ' ...
and
Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...
among his friends.


Works

Giovanni d'Andrea's output was voluminous: * a gloss called (''Novella sive commentarius in decretales epistolas Gregorii IX'') on the ''Liber Extra'' (1234), compiled under the direction of
Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...
(see
Decretal Decretals () are letters of a pope that formulate decisions in canon law (Catholic Church), ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church.McGurk. ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms''. p. 10 They are generally given in answer to consultations but are some ...
s) * an encomium of Saint
Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...
, the ''Hierominianum'' * glosses on the '' Constitutiones Clementinae'' or Clementines of 1317 which became the standard gloss (the ) for this text * a commentary called the ''Mercuriales'' on the ''Regula iuris'' in the ''Liber Sextus'' (1298) of
Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections to the p ...
. Among lesser works, his additions to the ''Speculum'' of Durandus are simply an adaptation from the ''Consilia'' of Oldradus de Ponte, as is also his ''De Sponsalibus et Matrimonio'', from Johannes Anguisciola. *


Notes


References

*" Giovanni Andrea" in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 9th Edition, Vol. II, p. 20. * *


External links


"Giovanni d'Andrea"
''New Catholic Dictionary''

compiled for the ''History of Medieval Canon Law'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrea, Giovanni De 1270s births 1348 deaths People from the Metropolitan City of Florence 14th-century Italian jurists Canon law jurists Italian Renaissance humanists 14th-century deaths from plague (disease) 13th-century Italian jurists 14th-century writers in Latin