Law and Practice in the Age of Reform

In reconstructing Hugh of Die’s legatine and conciliar activity, this book offers intriguing new arguments about the many relevant and often confused issues surrounding eleventh-century legates, councils, and the law - three inextricable components of church reform and administration. Hugh’s efforts in promulgating and disseminating reform in France in the 1070s, 1080s, and 1090s were shaped significantly by his council activity. The manner in which he conducted this business sheds light on every aspect of his work, revealing not only his personal interpretation and application of the law, but also his vigour in suppressing clerical marriage, the selling of church offices, lay investiture, and the gravity with which he conducted his duties as legate. New light is cast on Hugh’s personality and achievements by looking at the nature and influence of his legatine and legal activity in France, qualities that can only be appreciated in light of the ferment of activity during Gregory VII’s pontificate. The dialectical relationship between reform and law in eleventh-century France is a recurring theme throughout this investigation, illustrating in more demonstrable terms the flow of ecclesiastical business between the papal court in Rome and France and vice versa.