Usury in the Summa of Monaldus: Sources, Composition, and Intentions of a 13th Century Encyclopedia of Law

Povzetek

The Summa of Monaldus is the first encyclopedia of law. Monaldus introduced the alphabetical order of entries, subsections and itemization of paragraphs. The analysis of the entry on usury shows that the bulk of the text is an integration of Raymond’s Summa and the corresponding William’s gloss. Some editorial decisions and additions reflect Monaldus’s own legal thought. His emphasis on the lender’s intention reveals somewhat lenient views of usury compared to some of his predecessors. Moreover, we can see a general tendency to make the text as accessible as possible. Monaldus omits obscure legal concepts and replaces lesser-known placenames with those familiar to his readers. He quotes only the essential sources, omitting other citations. This approach matches his declared wish to improve knowledge of the law, especially among the “simple”.