Leeds IMC presentation 1339-b 08/07/2015:

Ethical Apocalypticism and Episcopal Authority inBurchard of Worms’ Decretum

Good afternoon everyone. [Can everyone hear me at theback?]

Introduction

My research is focussed on investigating the form and

nature of the eschatological thoughts and beliefs held by

ecclesiastics during the hundred year period surrounding

the first millennium, approximately from 950-1050AD.

Specifically, my interest lies in examining the

exegetical authorities, texts, and interpretive

traditions that shaped both the study of eschatology and

the composition of apocalyptic texts during this

particular period. By uncovering the theological

foundations of the literature that was used to educate

contemporary ecclesiastics we can attain an informed

sense of the mindset and approach they adopted when

administering pastoral care, responding directly to

1

spiritual concerns, or writing about perceived

apocalyptic phenomena.

What I want to do today is to draw attention to a

previously overlooked text which clearly illustrates the

way in which the subjects of eschatology and moral

theology were both constructed and taught within the

Rhineland and other areas in Western Europe. This will be

achieved by exploring the context, eschatological

contents, and transmission, of the final book within

Burchard of Worm’s Decretum, an extremely influential

eleventh century ecclesiastical legal compendium. In

particular I want to consider whether the Augustinian

exegetical tradition significantly influenced the

theology of Burchard’s book, as many historians'

currently would anticipate, or if the eschatology of

Gregory the Great played a more dominant role. By doing

so I hope to demonstrate that Burchard not only adopted a

unique apocalyptic approach towards the interpretation of

eschatological theology, but wielded a varied range of

authorities to shape his own work and mould his

2

ecclesiastical audience’s fundamental understanding of

the subject. This will also include the manner in which

they were to frame and communicate their own thoughts and

beliefs about morality and salvation.

Context for Decretum and Book XX:

Burchard’s Decretum was one of the foremost canon law

collections in Western Europe throughout the eleventh,

twelfth, and early thirteenth centuries. It was composed

between (approximately) 1012-1023 by Burchard and a small

team of compilers after a period of considerable

political instability and institutional decline within

the city of Worms. The Decretum was primarily intended to

help educate Burchard’s clerical community, especially

‘young boys’ (students), in order to re-establish and

ensure the correct regulation of their spiritual life,

moral integrity, and interpretation of divine law, to

help with the practice of pastoral care. For this reason

the Decretum was designed as an encyclopaedic compilation

of canon law in which its wide ranging topics were

3

systematically arranged to provide clear, authoritative

explanations to its readers about the fundamental

theological, customary, and legal codes of everyday

Christian life. For instance, book four [IV] deals with

the subject of baptism, book seven [VII] explores

consanguinity, and book seventeen [XVII] treats the issue

of fornication. What is extremely relevant and

interesting about Liber Vicesimus, titled ‘the speculator’,

is that it constitutes a homogenous body of theological

lore that is thematically arranged to explicate a range

of interconnected moral issues pertaining to ‘the

salvation of the soul’. In relation to the

eschatologically oriented canons of the text [LXIII-CX],

it is clear that Burchard sought to engage with a host of

traditional subjects and actors such as the Antichrist,

the Day of Judgement, and the resurrection of the Saints.

This is quite unique as no other text from the

‘millennial period’ engages with the subject of

eschatology in such an organised, systematic, direct,

and, indeed, lengthy fashion within, what is evidently, a

wide and complex moral framework. Usually, apocalyptic

4

matters are featured as supplementary or incidental

elements within much larger socio-political or historical

works.1

Structure of Book XX:

Liber Vicesimus is comprised of one hundred and ten canons

that are grouped thematically to accord to nine specific

theological topics that relate to the general subject of

the salvation of the soul [divine morality], each with their own

series of sub-groups. These nine thematic groups are

fairly self-evident from extensive reading of both the

chapter titles and the contents of the canons themselves

- despite not being clearly demarked in the text. That is

to say, they are implicit, invisible structures.

[PP Thematic arrangement of Book XX]

1 The reason for this being that between the period of thecomposition of Thietland of Merseburg’s and Atto of Vercelli’scommentaries on 2nd Thess. (Saec. Xmed), and Bruno of Segni’s and Rupertof Deutz’s Commentaries on Rev. (c. 1085-Saec. XIIin), no exegeticalcommentaries on any biblical book appear to have been produced in theWest

5

As we can see, the order of these nine thematic groups is

fairly linear in relation to the ‘natural progression’,

or ‘lifespan’ of a human soul from a Christian point of

view. For instance, the canons in theme group one [I:I-

IX] explain the origin of salvation by discussing the

‘The form, nature, and creation of souls’; the canons in

theme groups two-to-eight (all) detail the various

‘Factors that affect the fate of a soul during a

lifetime’, such as ‘Goodness, the Grace of God, and the

practice of free will’ [III:XV-XVIII], ‘Predestination’

[IV:XIX-XXXIX], ‘Sin’ [VI:LVI-LXXI], and ‘The order and

form of God’s realms’ and how He decides the fate of each

(immortal) soul [VII:LXXII-LXXXII], and the canons in

theme group nine describe a soul’s transition to the

afterlife by detailing the ‘Eschatological events that

will take place before, during, and after God’s

judgement’ [IX:XCIII-CX]. Within this framework it is

evident that Burchard is guiding his audience towards the

perspective that all moral progress and spiritual

development is directly oriented towards the eternal

judgement that ones soul will receive from God at the end

6

of time. In other words, if one is to attain the ultimate

goal of salvation, acting and thinking in a moral manner

remains permanently relevant throughout ones life.

Source composition of Book XX:

In order to explain his understanding of all these

differing moral and spiritual issues, Burchard formally

drew upon ten texts composed by eleven theologians, most

of them Bishops. On screen, I have set them out with a

percentage calculation of their frequency of use.

[PP Formal sources of canons in Book XX]

What is significant about Liber Vicesimus is that fifty nine

(point one) percent, that is, sixty five of the formal

sources (discounting repeats), are citations taken from

both Gregory’s Dialogues and Moralia on Job. Evidently

Burchard has relied very heavily on Gregory’s authority

to teach the various subjects connected to salvation, in

particular eschatology. This is in contrast to solely, or

7

greatly, relying on Augustine, or any other agnostic

eschatological authority such as Jerome or Bede.

[PP Intended sources of canons in Book XX]

Indeed, even if we were to account for the intended

sources of the entire text (that is, the sources and

authorities cited in the text, but are not used in

actuality), then sixty percent, that is, sixty six

sources, are citations taken from both of Gregory’s texts

and only twenty percent, that is twenty two sources, are

‘derived’ from either Augustine’s City of God or On

predestination. Again, this communicates to us that Gregory

was considered by Burchard, in relation to expressing his

exegetical disposition regarding the explanation of the

‘salvation of the soul’, to have greater authority than

Augustine.

Structure of theme group nine:

8

If we now look more closely at the contents of theme

group nine, specifically canons XCIII-CX, we can observe

very clearly the frequency of the authorities and texts

from which Burchard cited. In addition we can get a sense

of the theological dynamic he sought to provide his

readers with, about the form and nature of the various

‘Eschatological events that will take place before, during, and after

God’s judgement’ in relation to their position in time and

the occurrence of temporal events.

[PP Formal sources of canons in theme group nine]

If we first turn to the statistical breakdown of the four

formal sources used within this thematic section, what is

very striking is that fifty percent, that is nine of the

eighteen formal sources, are taken from Gregory’s Moralia

on Job. The next frequently cited source, Isidore of

Seville’s Sententiae, is only used to construct twenty two

percent, that is, four of the eighteen canons. There are

three very revealing points that can be made about these

figures. The first is that Gregory’s moral theology

dominates Burchard’s explanation of eschatological

9

subjects pertaining to salvation; the second is that the

three alternative authorities he cites from are used with

less than half as much frequency as Gregory’s work, which

would further communicate an overriding inclination

towards Gregory’s outlook, and thirdly, Burchard has not

sought to use an Augustinian text (or any other

alternative conservative authority) to convey his

thoughts on eschatology. In other words Burchard, and his

team of compilers, not only chose to communicate a more

apocalyptic, rather than cautions, approach towards

eschatology, but one that was quite varied with regards

authorities it was derived from.

[PP Intended sources of canons in theme group nine]

That said, once we look at the intended sources of theme

group nine, we do begin to see a slightly different

picture with regards to the authorities and texts

Burchard is seeking to present to his readers. Again,

Gregory’s Moralia is cited with the same frequency as

before, but what is notable is that Burchard has

10

overwritten Julian’s authority by increasing Isidore’s

frequency to thirty three percent, that is six canons,

whilst converting Gennadius’ authority to that of

Augustine in three canons. This tells us that whilst

Burchard still favoured Gregory’s authority and approach

towards explaining many of the prophesised events

surrounding, and the spiritual issues concerning, the end

times, he recognised the need to increase the authority

of his canons by restricting them to that of widely known

Church Fathers.

Example of a ‘Gregorian’ approach to time:

Although I do not have the time to explain the contents

of all eighteen canons within this particular theme

group, a clear sense of the form and nurture of the

eschatological outlook being presented to Burchard’s

readers can be easily observed within a few select

passages from one of its canons. If we look at an extract

from canon XCIII, titled, ‘The Antichrist’, we can see

that Burchard has presented his readers with an

11

exegetical passage that encourages an approach towards

interpreting contemporary events in relation to the

nearness of the coming of Antichrist:

[PP Isidore quote]

‘Everyone who either does not live according to the rule

of his profession, or teaches otherwise is an Antichrist.

But there are many that will not be seen in the time of

the Antichrist, but they are to be found among the

members of the Antichrist. Before the Antichrist should

come, many of his followers will proceed him and they

precede his own head worthily with depraved action,

according to the Apostle’s sentence, who affirms that he

is now working the mystery of iniquity, even before he is

revealed’.

[Canon CXIII – Isidore – Sententiae].

This is an extremely revealing and important passage for

the simple fact that it engages with and confirms the

sentiments expressed by St. Paul in II Thess. 2:7 in a

contemporary context. [PP] It is worth noting that

12

Augustine flatly refused to comment upon this particular

Pauline passage in De Civitate Dei, book 20, chapter 19, to

uphold his agnostic position. In effect, this canon,

explains that some of the signs that indicate the

nearness of the coming of Antichrist, and by extension,

God’s final judgement, are presently occurring. In

essence, this canon provides Burchard’s audience with a

theological platform that supports the view, albeit in an

un-contextualised manner, that signs of the apocalypse,

that is, iniquity and the actions of the followers of

Antichrist, are currently being revealed. This would

indicate that if Burchard’s readers were to develop or

express their understanding of eschatology, they would be

likely to do so using qualitative perceptions of reality.

That is, by using a predominantly Gregorian, or

moderately apocalyptic, model. Moreover, it highlights

Burchard’s perspective that if a person is to attain

salvation, they should think and act morally when

responding to the manifestations of the apocalyptic

prelude, otherwise they will be counted amongst the

damned.

13

The Transmission and Distribution of the Decretum and Book Twenty:

Having observed the broad moral and spiritual framework

of book twenty and the key elements inherent to

Burchard’s eschatology, we need to briefly attain a sense

of the likely proliferation and adoption of his outlook

on the nature of salvation.

[PP Historical production of Burchard’s Decretum]

Production as evidence for popularity:

From the matching historical patterns of production and

survival of the complete, abridged and fragmentary forms

of the Decretum, it would appear that Burchard’s canonical

work was most widely copied in the eleventh and twelfth

centuries, tailing off in the decades surrounding the

turn of thirteenth century. The Decretum’s initial surge in

production can partly be attributed to the fact that that

it was transmitted to other ecclesiastical establishments

14

surrounding the diocese of Worms within a few short years

of its creation, which helped facilitate its wider

dissemination. As Hoffmann and Pokorny’s, and Kéry’s

studies demonstrate, there are at least three instances

of complete Decretum manuscripts copied in the Worms

scriptorium for other ecclesiastical establishments,

specifically Bamberg (MS B), Cologne (MS K), and

Frankfurt (MS F), by the end of the first quarter of the

eleventh century. That is, within two to thirteen years

of the Decretum’s completion period (c. 1012-23 to 1025).

The Decretum’s rapid regional reception indicates that it

was regarded as a valuable and useful text almost

immediately after its completion.

Interestingly, the utility and production of the Decretum

became more specialised from the twelfth century,

especially regarding the themes dealt within books 17-20,

all of which feature within four of the five ‘single

book’ manuscripts. They are: ‘Fornication’,

‘Reconciliation of the sick’, ‘Penance’, and, again,

‘Speculative theology’. These facts indicate that the two

15

books in the Decretum which concern themselves with

providing the most practical and detailed answers to

some, if not the most common everyday questions (i.e. how

a Bishop or magistrate should practically administer

penance in an given situation, and the key issues

relating to ‘the salvation of the soul’), continued to be

prized by contemporary ecclesiastics, as they do not

really feature in the same way, if at all, in the later

canonical works of Ivo of Chatres (Panormia (c. 1094-

1095)) and Gratian (Decretum, or Concordia discordantium

canonum (c. 1139-1140)). This is significant as it

suggests that the copying of Liber Vicesimus as a single

book, or as purposely select text within a small set of

books, during a time in which the majority of the

contents of the Decretum had been largely rendered

obsolete, was a focussed attempt by certain religious

communities to continue the transmission of it contents

to either members of the clergy or members of their

laity.

[PP Historical distribution of Burchard’s Decretum – Italy]

16

Geographical distribution as evidence for transmission and availabilityof thought:

If we now look at the geographical distributions of the

complete copies of the Decretum, it is clear that by the

end of the eleventh century they had spread across large

swathes of Germany, Lombardy, Italy, Burgundy, and

France. For instance, if we just focus on the twenty-four

complete Decretum manuscripts which were written in Italy

throughout the eleventh century, it is evident that they

were being copied in cathedrals and abbeys that were very

distant from one another such as Benevento, Rome, Lucca,

and Ivrea. In addition, when we factor in the other

twenty-four Italian copies of the Decretum made throughout

the twelfth century, we can see that not only was the

Decretum well-known and widely distributed, especially in

the northern and central regions, but that its utility

remained fairly consistent for nearly two hundred years.

Evidently, Burchard’s interpretation of canon law, in

particular his interpretation of eschatolog in Liber

Vicesimus, was widely available and accessible to a

17

considerable range of Western European churchmen and

their lay communities during this period.

Comparative popularity in relation to contemporary compilations: [skipb/c time]

The Decretum’s wide geographical distribution also

testifies to its popularity, especially when compared to

that of other contemporary, or near contemporary

canonical collections. For example, the Collectio Duodecim

Partium, a moderately sized canon collection composed in

Freising c. 1020-1050, has only five complete extant

manuscripts, three manuscripts of various excerpts, and

two fragments, all of which were copied between the mid-

eleventh to late-twelfth century in Southern Germany and

North East France. Similarly, Archbishop Lanfranc of

Canterbury’s (c. 1005-1089) Collectio Lanfranci (c. 1059-

1075), is another moderately sized canonical collection

that has only fourteen complete extant manuscripts, and

only seventeen partial, fragmentary, or abridged

manuscripts, all of which were copied between the mid

eleventh- to late twelfth- century in England and

18

possibly Northern France. Alongside other collections

which have survived in comparably low numbers, such as

Atto of Vercelli’s (c. 924-964) Collectio Canonum (Saec.

Xmid), Abbo of Fleury’s Collectio Canonum (c. 988-996), and

the ‘anonymous’ Collectio 233 capitulorum (Saxony, c. 964-

1000), it would appear that most canonical texts did not

receive that same of level of interest as the Decretum, as

they were neither copied or preserved in the same

numbers, nor circulated as far internationally. These

comparisons make clear that Burchard’s Decretum was the

most important and influential legal collection in the

Latin Church at this time.

Conclusion

Unfortunately I do not have time to go into further

detail here. In any event, we can plainly see that

Burchard’s innovative work presents us with a fully

fleshed out, composite model of divine morality and

eschatology that is rooted in a wide, thorough reading of

exegetical materials, and, one could posit, a grounded

understanding of scripture. Certainly, there is ample

19

evidence to observe that Gregory’s moral works were used

as the primary sources of authority for the canons in Liber

Viscesimus to frame, discuss, and teach, the subject of

‘the salvation of the soul’, in particular the key

eschatological process that one must respond to in a

moral fashion. If we then consider the widespread

transmission and enduring popularity of Burchard’s

Decretum, it is clear that Gregory’s authority and

eschatological outlook played a definitive, central role

within the education of many clerics within the Rhineland

and Western Europe before, during, and after the

composition of Liber Vicesimus.

In turn, this would suggest that there was a strong

ethical dimension to the way in which many young clerics

were being educated to think about, approach, and respond

to eschatology. This is because the entire volume of Liber

Vicesimus, in particular theme group nine, on ‘Eschatological

events that will take place before, during, and after God’s judgement ’,

was designed to impart a deep sense of moral authority as

to the full meaning of eschatological lore as well as its

20

concurrent and future presence in the world. This is

highlighted by the fact that Burchard’s early audiences

were specifically being taught, that both during and

after the period between the millennial anniversary of

Christ’s Incarnation and Passion, that the key

eschatological phenomena that would usher in the

apocalypse could happen at any time, as that the mystery

of iniquity and the activities of the followers of

Antichrist, were currently becoming manifest. Therefore

we can begin to see that some ecclesiastics’ engagement

with eschatological theology both during the millennial

period (and for several centuries afterwards) was framed

by its debt to the events and signs within Gregory’s

authoritative moral texts and the biblical sources he

drew on.

In conclusion, I think this all suggests we should talk

about ‘ethical apocalypticism’ as a term to frame our

discussions about the nature of eschatological traditions

during the early medieval period.

21

[Thanks for your time.]

22