The University of Bologna is known as the first University established in Europe. It is also known for its scholarship in the fields of Civil and Canon Law. This is because when scholars working near Bologna resurrected the old Roman Law (Corpus Juris Civilis) and used it as a basis for rewriting unified codes of both Civil and Canon Law, law students from all over Europe were drawn to Bologna to study the new codes.
From the Fall of Rome throughout the early Middle Ages, civil law in Western Europe was not unified. Every nation or kingdom had its own laws, and most were based on tribal customs and passed down orally. In general, the old Germanic laws were a mix of tribal customs, Roman practices, and Church canons, and every nation recognized only the decrees of its own king.
As Barbarian kingdoms converted to Christianity, their law codes were modified to reflect Catholic principles, especially in the fields of marriage and worship. Barbarian marriage customs, for example, sometimes made provisions for concubinage, infant marriages (arranged at birth), or bride kidnapping. Christian marriage requires both monogamy and the "consent" of both parties, which made these practices problematics. Other primitive customs that were gradually replaced or reduced under Christian influence were Trial By Combat, Trial by Ordeal and certain cruel punishments. However many regional customs were respected under barbarian law, and became the basis of "common law".
In multi-ethnic kingdoms, it was not uncommon to have separate legal codes for persons of different races or positions. In Visigoth Spain, for example, there was one code for the Arian Aristocracy (Visigothi) and another for the native Catholic Population (Romani). In most Christian kingdoms, Clerics were governed by Canon Law and tried by ecclesiastical courts rather than Civil courts. In almost all cases Church courts were more lenient. The privilege of being tried by Church courts was called "Benefit of Clergy", and it some cases it was extended to all literate (upper class) subjects.
The Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Laws) promulgated by Emperor Justinian was the best known version of the Laws of the Roman Empire for which complete records were preserved. Although they remained the basis for civil law in some parts of the Eastern Roman Empire until the crusading era, they were entirely abandoned in the west after the Fall of Rome. The Corpus Juris Civilis, known informally as Roman Law, was resurrected by Catholic scholars in the 11th century and it played a great role in the development of both Canon Law and Civil Law throughout Christendom.
The Corpus Juris Civilus was rediscovered in the 11th century, by an Italian Jurist named Irnerius, who used it as the basis for his law courses. The CJC included three parts:
All three were far more sophisticated than any law codes developed by the Germanic kingdoms of the age, in all areas of law, especially laws of commerce. The Digest was especially impressive it its handling of difficult and conflicting cases. Professors in Bologna who instructed students using the 'Digest' and 'Institutes' gained so much renown, they drew students from all over Europe and by 1088 the University of Bologna was chartered as the first University in Europe and recognized as the leading law school in western Christendom.
Most European nations eventually rewrote their civil laws to incorporate more elements of Roman Law. The transition to Roman law was popular with the Church and nobility because it offered more a sophisticated manner of disposing of property, engaging in trade, and making contracts. These changes obviously benefitted the propertied classes but they were less popular with common folks because they de-emphasized local customs. Also some laws that gave the landed classes more flexibility in disposing of their property had adverse effects on tenants. Overall, however, the adoption of Roman Law throughout most of continental Europe greatly aided commerce and increased the cosmopolitan nature of European society.
The Corpus Juris Civilis was primarily a Body of Civil Law, but its success inspired another Jurist-monk, known as Gratian, to start organizing and revising the first organized collection of Canon Law. He used as sources a diverse collection of civil laws, legal briefs, papal decrees, acts of Church councils, writings of Church Fathers, and commentaries of Catholic lawyers. He analyzed all these sources, attempted to resolve conflicts, and created a legal textbook known as Decretum Gratiani, that became the basis for Canon law.
The Decretum Gratiani was recognized immediately as an extremely important work, and further increased the prestige of the Law Faculty at the University of Bologna. Gratian's decrees were divided into three parts, and addressed 1) General principles of Canon Law, 2) Rules for dealing with important matters of Church administration and civil matters, such as marriage. 3) Rules regarding sacraments, worship, and sacred rites.
The decrees were written around 1150 and quickly became the standard texts for Canon Law throughout Europe. They were never officially promulgated for the universal Church, however, and over time were revised by various authors. And because there was no "official" version, conflicts between the interpretations of different scholars began to be seen as a problem.
Raymond Penyafort was a Spanish Dominican Friar who lived about a century after Gratian and studied Law at the University of Bologna. He was active in founding the Mercedarian Order and served as the confessor of King James I of Aragon. After having established a great reputation for himself he was called to Rome to be and advisor to Pope Gregory IX, one of the great reformers of the 13th century. Under the direction the Pope he extensively revised and updated Gratian's collection. Gratian's version referenced many of Gratians sources along with those of other jurists and more recent canons, including those adopted at the 'Great Council' of Lateran (1215).
Once Penyafort had completed his collection, the Pope officially promulgated his work as the offical Canon Law of the Church, and for this reason, they are referred to as the Decretales of Gregorii IX' Although Gratian's works were highly regarded, they had never been officially designated as the law of the Church, while Penyafort's version remained enforce, with relatively minor revisions after the Council of Trent, until 1917.
Penyafort is now recognized as the Patron saint of Canon Lawyers, and the University of Bologna remained the most important center of study for both Canon and Civil Law, until the 16th century, when Spanish Jesuits from the School of Salamanca began to develop new legal concepts.
Some famous Students who studied at the University of Bologna included: Thomas Becket, Erasmus, and Nicolas Copernicus