IMC 2026: Sessions
Session 806: Old Sources, New Stories in Medieval Canon Law, IV: Local Ecclesiastical Law-Making over Time
Tuesday 7 July 2026, 16:30-18:00
| Sponsor: | Institute of Medieval Canon Law (IMCL) |
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| Organisers: | Greta Austin, Department of Religion, Spirituality & Society, University of Puget Sound, Washington Danica Summerlin, School of History, Philosophy & Digital Humanities, University of Sheffield |
| Moderator/Chair: | Kathleen Cushing, Department of History, Keele University |
| Paper 806-a | The Decrees of the Diocesan Synod of Auxerre, c. 590: Their Astonishing Career in Medieval Canon Law (Language: English) Index terms: Canon Law, Ecclesiastical History, Law, Manuscripts and Palaeography |
| Paper 806-b | An Attempted Timeline for the Sirmondian Constitutions and Their Manuscripts (Language: English) Index terms: Canon Law, Ecclesiastical History, Law, Manuscripts and Palaeography |
| Paper 806-c | Episcopal Norms and Practices: The Control of the Diocese of Toul at the End of the 15th Century (Language: English) Index terms: Canon Law, Ecclesiastical History, Law, Manuscripts and Palaeography |
| Abstract | These sessions focus on drawing out new stories about medieval canon law, asking diverse and novel questions of our traditional, time-worn sources, looking at (and beyond) questions of temporalities. This session examines the influence of the legislation of local, diocesan courts from the fourth century to the end of the fifteenth century. Bishops’ courts were not just localized; they were sites in which local conflicts as well as broader political and theological issues played out, and their influence was felt not just immediately but centuries later. This session looks at these ritualised events and their laws, investigating the remarkably influential role they played both in the canonical tradition and in quotidian ecclesiastical realities. |