In this episode, we welcome Dr. Atria Larson to discuss her book Master of Penance: Gratian and the Development of Penitential Thought and Law in the Twelfth Century. Who was Gratian, a monk who lived in the 12th Century AD - and why does he matter? Though likely unintentionally, Gratian is often deemed the Father of Ecclesiastical Jurisprudence, even the “Father of Canon Law” and the study thereof. His major work: the Concordia Discordantium Canonum (A Concordance of Discordant Canons), or the Decretum is one of the most important works in the history of the West, and may be deemed “the first comprehensive and systematic legal treatise in the history of the West, and perhaps in the history of mankind”. Both jurist and theologian, Gratian collected authorities such as Scripture, the church fathers, church councils, Papal decretals, and even roman law, and sought to discover a comprehensive whole – for both education and pastoral purposes. Taking us into the rich complexity of the twelfth century of the medieval period – Dr. Larson explains to us the scholastic method, how Gratian weighs the various authorities, as well as why Gratian would write a theological treatise on Penance within what is often seen only as a legal text. Indeed, perhaps Gratian is a great example of one living in a century marked by a rich and rigorous culture of scholarship, often wrongly deemed a "dark age" and dismissed in too many over-simplistic distorted narratives. What is Penance, and how was it both theologically justified as well as practiced by priests and laity alike? Dr. Larson helps us think how Protestants should think through the medieval period more generally, as well as Gratian more specifically. How can Protestants affirm the need for Reform of the church, based on Scripture, while also avoiding the errors of dismissing a thousand years of church history? Perhaps Gratian can be a test case for a more mature Protestant engagement with a heritage far too often forgotten, if not ignored. Book: Master of Penance: Gratian and the Development of Penitential Thought and Law in the Twelfth Century Also, Gratian’s Tractatus De Penitentia: A New Latin Edition with English Translation Other resources by Dr. Larson: - The Fourth Lateran Council and the Development of Canon Law and the Ius Commune - Thomas Aquinas and Medieval Canon Law - A Companion to the Medieval Papacy: Growth of an Ideology and Institution - “Gratian, Original Sin, and the Sins of the Fathers: A Question of Sources and the Influence of the School of Laon” (Bulletin of Medieval Canon Law) - “From Protections for ‘Miserabiles Personae’ to Legal Privileges for International Travelers: The Historical Development of Medieval Canon Regarding Pilgrims” (Glossae: European Journal of Legal History) - “Passive Instrument and Active Intercessor: Anselm’s View of Mary’s Role in Redemption” (Cistercian Studies Quarterly) Other resources: “The Biography of Gratian, Father of Canon Law” by Kenneth Pennington Law and Revolution by Harold Berman Gratian the Theologian by John Wei (also here) Christian Political Theory and Church Politics in the Mid-Twelfth Century: The Ecclesiology of Gratian’s Decretum by Stanley Chodorow Engaging Thomas Aquinas by Leonardo De Chirico Reclaiming the “Dark Ages”: How the Gospel Light Shone from 500-1500 by Yannick Imbert and Iain Wright The Spirit of Early Christian Thought by Robert Louis Wilken The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen Religion and the Rise of Western Culture by Christopher Dawson Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400-1400 by Marcia L. Colish The Greek East and the Latin West by Philip Sherrard Ligonier The State of Theology Survey 95 Theses by Martin Luther (also here) Concerning the True Care of Souls by Martin Bucer John Calvin’s Letter to Sadoleto War Against the Idols by Carlos Eire
