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Latin · canon-law ·

Decreta Ex Gratiano Desumpta

SS Lucius I · ogl-pl

BothSourceEnglish
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machine-draft · no human review 2 passages · 498 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Decreta Ex Gratiano Desumpta is a medieval compilation of canons extracted from Gratian's Decretum (ca. 1140), spuriously attributed to Pope Lucius I (r. 253–254). It served as a concise epitome for teaching canon law in schools lacking the full Decretum. The text contains no authentic 3rd-century legislation but rather pseudo-Isidorian and patristic excerpts. Surviving in 13th–14th-century manuscripts, it reflects the medieval practice of excerpting papal decrees from Gratian for separate circulation. The work lacks a critical apparatus and does not identify specific Gratian canons, requiring consultation of the full Decretum for source-critical analysis.

The Decreta Ex Gratiano Desumpta illustrates the medieval reception and adaptation of Gratian's Decretum, showing how canon law was condensed for teaching. Its false attribution to Pope Lucius I exemplifies the medieval tendency to lend authority to compilations by linking them to early popes. The work also highlights the gap between authentic 3rd-century Christianity and later canonical traditions, reminding scholars to treat such ascriptions critically. It relates to the broader pseudo-Isidorian tradition and the development of medieval canon law education.

Historical context

The Decreta Ex Gratiano Desumpta cannot predate Gratian's Decretum, compiled around 1140 in Bologna, which became the foundational text of Western canon law. The attribution to Pope Lucius I (253–254) is a medieval ascription, not historical; Lucius I reigned during the mid-3rd century, a period of persecution and early papal development, but the work's content derives from 12th-century scholastic canon law. The compilation was used in medieval schools as a handy epitome, especially where the full Decretum was unavailable. It survives in several 13th–14th-century manuscript copies, indicating its circulation in ecclesiastical and academic settings. The canons excerpted include pseudo-Isidorian forgeries and earlier patristic sources, not original 3rd-century legislation. The work's transmission reflects the broader medieval practice of extracting and re-circulating papal decrees from Gratian for pedagogical purposes.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

12 commentary units 2 structure2 term2 background2 reception2 caution1 parallel1 scripture 0 derived notes 5 open questions 2 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • coverageNo English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed.
  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: canon-law in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 2 narrative.
  • sourceSource edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
stoa0180b.stoa003.opp-lat1:1 · narrativehigh
Source
DECRETA LUCII PAPAE EX GRATIANO DESUMPTA. I. Officio et beneficio privetur episcopus, presbyter vel diaconus, uxorem suscipiens, vel susceptam retinens. Ministri (Dist. 81) altaris, presbyteri sive diaconi, ad dominica tales eligantur officia, qui continentiam servent. Si vero post ordinationem suam ministros contigerit propriae uxoris invadere cubile, sacrarii non intrent limina, neque sacrarii portitores fiant, neque altare collobgant, neque ab offerentibus holocausti oblationem suscipiant, neque ad Dominici corporis portionem accedant, neque propinquent, neque sine majoris natu auctoritate majora gerant officia, urceum sane ad altare vel calicem non sufferant. EX EISDEM DECRETIS. II. Clericus matronarum domicilia frequentans deponatur. Clericus (Dist. 81) solus ad feminae tabernaculum non accedat, neque frequenter properet sine majoris natu sacerdotis jussione. Nec solus presbyter cum sola femina fabulas misceat. Nec archidiaconus, sub praetextu humilitatis aut officii, frequenter intret domicilia matronarum, aut forte per clericos aut domesticos matronae mandet aliquid secrete. Si quid agnitum fuerit, et ille deponatur, et illa liminibus ecclesiae arceatur.
English
Decrees of Pope Lucius Taken from Gratian. I. A bishop, presbyter, or deacon who takes a wife, or retains one already taken, shall be deprived of office and benefice. Ministers (Dist. 81) of the altar, presbyters or deacons, shall be chosen for such lordly offices as keep continence. If, however, after their ordination it happens that ministers invade the bed of their own wife, they shall not enter the thresholds of the sanctuary, nor become bearers of the sanctuary, nor touch the altar, nor receive the offering of the sacrifice from those who offer, nor approach the portion of the Lord’s body, nor draw near, nor without the authority of a senior perform greater offices; indeed, they shall not carry the ewer to the altar or the chalice. FROM THE SAME DECREES. II. A cleric who frequents the dwellings of matrons shall be deposed. A cleric (Dist. 81) shall not go alone to a woman’s dwelling, nor hasten there frequently without the command of a senior priest. Nor shall a presbyter alone engage in conversation with a woman alone. Nor shall an archdeacon, under the pretext of humility or office, frequently enter the dwellings of matrons, or perhaps through clerics or servants of the matron secretly command something. If anything is discovered, he shall be deposed, and she shall be barred from the thresholds of the church.
stoa0180b.stoa003.opp-lat1:2 · narrativehigh
Source
EX EISDEM DECRETIS. III. De eodem titulo. Sed si forte (Distinct. 81, Sed si forte) aliqua intercessio fuerit, episcopo suggeratur. Et si talis est ad quam ire debeant, ipse per interventum pergat. Sin autem, de latere suo dirigat cum duobus aut tribus testibus, nemo tamen cum extranea habitet femina, nisi soro(??) aut proxima fuerit, et hoc cum magna sollicitudine fiat. Non enim ignoramus malitias Satanae (II Cor. II.) EX EISDEM DECRETIS. (Ex vet. Poenitentiali, apud Canisium, Vett. Lect. t. II, p. 131, edit. Basnagii; ex nov. supplem. Mansi, I. I, p. 14.) IV. Quod sit simoniacus quicunque reconciliat onem pro munere vel dignis negaverit, vel indignis contulerit. Ut nemo presbyterorum xenium vel quodcunque emolumentum temporale, imo detrimentum spirituale a quocunque publice peccante vel incestuoso accipiat, ut episcopo vel ministris peccatum illius reticeat; nec, pro respectu cujusque personae, aut consanguinitatis vel familiaritatis, alienis communicans peccatis, hoc episcopo innotescere detractet; nec a quoquam poenitente aut gratiam, aut favorem, aut munus suscipere praesumat; aut minus digue poenitentem ad reconciliationem adducat, et testimonium reconciliationis ferat: vel quocunque livore alium quemlibet dignius poenitentem a reconciliatione removeat; quia hoc simoniacum, et Deo et hominibus contrarium est.
English
From the Same Decrees. III. On the same title. But if, by chance (Dist. 81, But if by chance), some intercession should occur, let it be suggested to the bishop. And if the person is such that they ought to go to her, let him go himself by way of intercession. Otherwise, let him send someone from his side with two or three witnesses; however, let no one dwell with a foreign woman, unless she be a sister or a close relative, and let this be done with great care. For we are not ignorant of the malice of Satan (2 Cor. 2). From the Same Decrees. (From the old Penitential, in Canisius, Vett. Lect. t. II, p. 131, Basnage edition; from the new supplement of Mansi, I. I, p. 14.) IV. That whoever grants reconciliation for a bribe, or denies it to the worthy, or confers it upon the unworthy, is a simoniac. That no presbyter accept a gift or any temporal emolument, indeed spiritual detriment, from any publicly sinning or incestuous person, in order to conceal that person's sin from the bishop or ministers; nor, out of regard for any person, or for consanguinity or familiarity, by sharing in the sins of others, should he fail to make this known to the bishop; nor should he presume to receive from any penitent either grace, or favor, or a gift; nor should he lead a less worthy penitent to reconciliation and bear testimony of reconciliation; nor, out of any spite, should he remove any other more worthy penitent from reconciliation; because this is simoniacal, and contrary to God and men.
Citation. Tergwame, “Decreta Ex Gratiano Desumpta”, stoa0180b.stoa003.opp-lat1:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/stoa0180b.stoa003.opp-lat1#s1
Colophon. Source: ogl-pl · licence: Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0017 · generated 2026-11-15.