Trinity Hall : Repertorium (A) ; Third Book of Decretals (B)

Trinity Hall

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This 14th century manuscript <i>Repertorium</i> is an alphabetical list of topics treated in the Bible which was used to assist with writing sermons. It begins imperfectly with ‘castitas’ and ends with ‘zona’. There is a gap between S and X. The last folio (fol 130v) contains the Arms of William Bateman (c1298-1355) the Bishop of Norwich who founded Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 1350. This suggests that it was one of the original books bequeathed by him to the College and listed in the Master’s Statute book (THAR/1/6), either the <i>Repertorium Tusculani</i> or the <i>Liber Concordantiarum</i>.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>At the end of the manuscript are four parchment pages (<a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(273);return false;'>fols. 132r – 135v</a>) from the opening of the third book of the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX (1227–1241). It ends imperfectly. The Decretals was commissioned by Pope Gregory IX in 1230. Decretals are papal letters that clarify questions of Canon law. The complete <i>Decretals</i> or the <i>Liber Extra</i> is divided into five books (Iudex, Iudicium, Clerus, Connubia/Sponsalia, and Crimen, that is, Judge, Trial, Cleric, Marriage, and Crime). This third Book of Decretals concerns the laws governing the lives of the clergy, including marriage. </p>