Resources

  • International Congress of Medieval Canon Law

    These week-long, quadrennial Congresses, alternating sides of the Atlantic, constitute the premier academic conference in the field of medieval canon law. Traditionally they have drawn scholars from many countries, including not only medievalists and canonists, but also those who study related fields, such as Western jurisprudence and legal norms, Roman law, ecclesiastical and papal history, theology and biblical exegesis, manuscript studies, and the history of culture, society, and ideas.

    • The 18th International Congress of Medieval Canon Law, co-sponsored by ICMAC (Iuris Canonici Medii Aevi Consociatio / International Society of Medieval Canon Law) and the University of Navarra, will take place in Pamplona from Sunday, 16th July, through Saturday, 22nd July 2028.

    • The 17th International Congress of Medieval Canon Law, co-sponsored by ICMAC (Iuris Canonici Medii Aevi Consociatio / International Society of Medieval Canon Law) and the University of Kent, took place in Canterbury from Sunday, 7th July, through Saturday, 13th July 2024.

    • The 16th International Congress on Medieval Canon Law, co-sponsored by by ICMAC (Iuris Canonici Medii Aevi Consociatio/ International Society of Medieval Canon Law) and Saint Louis University, took place from Sunday, July 17, to Saturday, July 23, 2022, on the campus of SLU in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

  • Institute of Medieval Canon Law

    The organisation's task of the Institute of Medieval Canon Law as an independent institution is to promote research in the area of medieval canon law and to promote and strengthen international scholarly exchange. One focal point of the Institute is the study of the twelfth-century Decretum Gratiani and of the legal scholars who, in subsequent centuries, exepanded and commented on both this work and on collections of papal letters, as well as the study of pre-Gratian canonical collections. The publication of texts that are not yet available in print form or in critical editions and the development of research aids, such as manuscript catalogues and bibliographies, serve this goal as does regular schedule of congresses and other events.

    OCLSNA

    OCLSNA(Orthodox Canon Law Society of North America) promotes the study of canon law in the Eastern Churches in all periods of history, including medieval, and has recently held its inaugural conference at Boston MA (18-19 October 2024). ICMAC and OCNLSA have agreed to collaborate in our field of shared interest, and we look forward to its members joining us at future meetings of ICMCL.

    EHS

    The EHS (Ecclesiastical History Society) founded in 1961 in the UK promotes the study of all periods of Church History, including medieval, and holds an annual Summer conference and smaller Winter meeting, each year on a specific theme. Its proceedings are published in the series ‘Studies in Church History’ (SCH). Some of its annual themes are relevant to canon law, notable ‘The Church and the Law’ (2018; SCH 56) and especially in 2025-2026 when its theme will be ‘ Creeds, Canons and Councils’.

  • Carolingian Canon Law Project

    The Carolingian Canon Law Project is a searchable, electronic rendition of works of canon law used by Carolingian readers. This project maps the extent of variation in "standard" legal texts known to Carolingian readers, and identifies particular points of variation. In addition to clarifying the textual history of medieval canon law, the project will provide historical and bibliographic annotation of several hundred canons used by jurists before, during, and after the Carolingian period.

    Corpus Juris Canonici (1582)

    The complete text of all three volumes of the Corpus Juris Canonici is online at the UCLA Library Digital Collections site. This means scholars who are already experts in canon law are able to access these texts from the comfort of their own offices.

    Domus Gratiani

    Gratian homepage with pictures of manuscripts and links to scholars who work on Gratian and to other Gratian related ressources.

    The Medieval Canon Law Virtual Library

    The purpose of The Medieval Canon Law Virtual Library is to bring together in a single virtual location publicly accessible electronic resources for the study of medieval canon law.

    Late medieval papal chancery rules

    Project for the new edition of the late medieval papal chancery rules by Prof. Dr. Andreas Meyer (†).

    Projekt Pseudoisidor

    The Projekt Pseudoisidor deals with the False Decretals of Pseudoisidor. This is a complex of forgeries of canon law that emerged around the middle of the 9th century.

    Rechtshistorie (Otto Vervaart)

    On the homepage Rechtshistorie (Otto Vervaart) the subject is the law of the Catholic Church, mainly during the Middle Ages. Special pages concern text editions for medieval canon law and medieval legal procedure.

  • Novellae: News of Medieval Canon Law is an offspring of the news bulletin Novellae issued by the Stephan Kuttner Institute of Medieval Canon Law and by Iuris Canonici Medii Aevi Associatio the International Society of Medieval Canon Law. For a (free) subscription to Novellae: News of Medieval Canon Law, please contact the subscription manager, Mr. Jin U. Kim at novellaemcl@gmail.com.

    Novellea: News of Medieval Canon Law (Facebook)

    The Facebook Group Novellea: News of Medieval Canon Law connects the international ICMAC community with regular posts from the Novellea bulletin.

    Novellae back issues:

  • Bulletin of Medieval of Canon Law (BMCL)

    Canon law affected almost every aspect of medieval society. It structured the personnel, possessions, and liturgical functions of the institutional Church, all of which interacted with the wider world. It guided and reinforced the conduct of Christians, regardless of status. It intersected with intellectual and secular legal traditions. Canon law did not operate in isolation, but rather played an integral role in legal, social, political, economic, and religious developments.

    The Bulletin of Medieval Canon Law (BMCL), published annually, is devoted to examining canon law’s place in the medieval world, considering its continued influence in the early modern period, and understanding its contributions to legal history in general. The journal publishes high-quality double-blind peer reviewed articles. To help scholars easily find resources, it also provides a select bibliography of recently published essays and books, review essays, and a list of digital projects.

    Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: Kanonistische Abteilung (ZRGKA)

    The ZRGKA annually publishes a volume of on the history of the church and its branches. Each volume includes, next to an article, also a literature section and a Chronik and Mitteilungen section.