Gratian was a Roman canon lawyer. He is the author of Concordantia discordantium canonum (The Harmony of Discordant Canons), which is widely known as Decretum Gratiani. He is considered to be the “Father of Canon law”, which he taught at the University of Bologna. Due to the fact that very little is known about his life, he is a semi-mythological personality.
Background
The exact year of Gratian's birth is unknown but considering that he worked on Decretum Gratiani in the middle of the 12th century, it is safe to presume that he was born somewhere at the beginning of the twelfth century (some sources state 1101) or at the end of the 11th century. There is no known data of his parents.
Education
Some sources claim that he was born in Chiusi, in Tuscany, Italy. When the Corpus Iuris Civilis, a collection of works in jurisprudence released by the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I, was rediscovered in the Western Europe, Bologna became the centre for all canon law studies. This is the reason why Gratian also decided to reside in Bologna for some time and study canon law.
Career
Gratian is considered to be the Father of Canon Law but very little is known about his career. In fact, a big majority of the things are presumptions. What we know for sure is that he lived in Bologna during the 12th century where he was teaching canon law at the University of Bologna. According to some sources, he was teaching at the St. Felix Monastery in Bologna when he decided to become a monk. Other sources claim that he gave up his teaching career to become a bishop, possibly the Bishop of Chiusi. Either way, his teaching career seems to not have been very long.
Far more is known about his most important work – Concordantia discordantium canonum (“The Harmony of Discordant Canons”), also known as Decretum Gratiani (Gratian’s Decree). This is actually a collection of around 4,000 texts in various fields of church disciplines. Gratian used recent collections that he could have at his disposal. It was pretty common to have copies of canons that were agreed upon at councils and synods distributed. This is how Gratian obtained materials for his collection. The great thing about Decretum Gratiani is the way in which the materials were organized and analyzed.
Gratian presented his work in the form of a treatise. He was aware of many inconsistencies and contradictions that could be found in rules that were obtained from various sources. This is why he presented all texts in the form of a treatise, so he could bring up different views of a certain question. After that, he would offer a possible solution, which would harmonize all the inconsistencies and propose how the discord can be resolved. In this part where he offered a solution, he would often add quotes from the Bible or a citation from a widely respected person, like St. Augustine of Hippo. The Holy See never officially adopted Decretum Gratiani but it was widely accepted as the fundamental text of Church law.
As for the time when Decretum Gratiani was written, it is known for sure that it was somewhere after 1139 when the Second Council of the Lateran was held. Considering that there are references that he left Bologna in 1143 to become the Bishop of Chiusi, this puts the timeframe of his work between 1139 and 1143. His work was later modified and improved by other scholars who followed his lead.
According to a reference in 12th-century Necrology from Siena, which was recently found, Gratian died on August 10th. The year cannot be certainly known, but since there is a reference about the new Bishop of Chiusi in 1146, it is believed that he died in either 1144 or either 1145. it cannot be claimed that he died in Bologna, although a monument was erected in his honor in the St. Petronius' Church in this city.
(Collection of texts touching on all areas of church disci...)
Religion
As a father of the canon law, Gratian was very tightly connected with religion his entire life. He dedicated his life to studying and teaching canon law, so it is safe to presume that he had stong religious beliefs.
Politics
It can be discussed whether Gratian was a political genius. He did manage to get his message across to a great number of people with his compilation of texts but he did it in a very smart way. Gratian would never add his own commentary without covering it to be just an interpretation of the source he used. Aside from that, he would always add a quote from The Bible or a significant person to support the way he proposes to solve a certain discord between the rules.
Views
Gratian lived in the time of great political, religious, cultural and social developments that some historians even called the "renaissance of the twelfth century". This is why his attempt of founding the science of canon law and harmonizing many different rules was that well received.
Among other things, Gratian discussed the position of woman in society or in a family. Decretum Gratiani states that wife is subject to her husband in everything and by nature, and that a woman cannot teach at church, baptize or touch sacred objects. However, as with everything else that Gratian discussed in his collection of texts, it cannot be claimed that these were his personal views, since in most cases he would quote others.
Personality
Very little is known about Gratian's personality. If we take into consideration that he was a teacher and a man who devoted his life to religion, we could maybe assume that he lead a peaceful, ascetic life, avoiding fights or any other form of violence.
Interests
reading
Philosophers & Thinkers
Peter Lombard
Politicians
Pope Innocent II
Writers
Peter Comestor
Connections
There is no data about Gratian's family. It can be considered that he devoted his life to God and didn't have a wife or children but it would also be an assumption.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Johannes Gratian
The little that is known concerning the author of the 'Concordantia discordantium canonum', more generally called the 'Decretum Gratiani', is furnished by that work itself