Pope Urban II, the Collectio Britannica, and the Council of Melfi (1089) [Hardcover]

The reign of Pope Urban II (1088-1099) is often seen as a turning point in the period of medieval history known as the Gregorian Reform. This volume presents for the first time modern editions of, and commentary on, the decrees of Urban's first papal council (at Melfi in 1089), and the excerpts of his acts found in the enigmatic canon-law book labelled the Collectio Britannica. Both editions are accompanied by English translations of the Latin texts.

Somerville has produced a splendid piece of work, and Oxford University Press has provided a suitably well-produced book. Urban studies will profit from this book for years to come. --The Catholic Historical Review

The two sets of documents form a substantial proportion of known documents for the first year and a half of Urban's pontificate, and the volume provides a hitherto unavailable critical basis for evaluating the first part of the Urban's reign. --Manuscripta

The present volume begins rather like a certain kind of murder mystery...Robert Somerville and the late Stephen Kuttner undertook to answer the detective's questions about theCollectio Britannica. The title itself is the equivalent of John Doe because it reflects not the origin of the manuscript but the fact that since 1831 it has been in the British Library after having been purchased from a dealer in books and manuscripts. Where it had been since c. 1100, when it was compiled, to the early nineteenth century is completely unknown....Taken as a whole, the present volume underscores the need not only for a complete edition of theCollectio Britannicabut for a fuller appreciation of the legal collections that preceded the publication of Gratian'sDecretum... --Speculum