A Diplomatic Mission of Francis Accursius and His Oration before Pope Nicholas II George L. Haskins; Ernst H. Kantorowiez. The English Historical Review, Vol. 58, No. 232 (Oct., 1943), 424-447. Stable URL htp:/flinks jstor-org/sicisici=0013-8266% 28 1943 10% 29S8%3232%3C424%3AADMOFA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M_ ‘The English Historical Review is currently published by Oxford University Press. ‘Your use of the ISTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use, available at hup:/www,jstororglabout/terms.hml. ISTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use ofthis work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at hutp:/wwwjstor.org/joumals/oup htm. 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Such material as relates to his eight years in the latter country has ‘been summarized elsewhere ; it is not extensive, but it is sufficient. to assure us of the importance of his position.® Arriving in 1273 by royal invitation, Accursius acted as Edward's secretary until 1281. He attended regularly the meetings of the king’s council ‘and apparently took part in its deliberations. He appears ‘a royal procurator in France on political and judicial missions. ‘There are grounds for supposing he may have taught law at Oxford. For his services he received an ample salary and other perquisites, and he was even given a pension on his final return to Italy. The influence of Accursius in the routine of the royal ad- ministration in England, in foreign affairs, and in the shaping of English law at a formative period are scarcely to be doubted. It is only to be regretted that for his activities while in the service of Edward I there is not more available material. Some light, however, is shed upon an episode in Accursius’ career when he ' For his life in gonerl, see M. Sarti and M. Fattrini, De Claris Archigymnasis Bononionsis Profesorius (Bologna, 1888-06), i, 199-208; T. Sevigny, Geschichte ‘denromiachen Bucs Mitelalor (Heidelberg, 1850), v, 306-22; se lao bibliography, id. 306, "feo Be Davidsohn, GuachicNe won Florens, iv. 2 (Berlin, 1925), pp. 200, 296 ; Hormann U. Kantorowicr, Albertus Gandinus und dan Strafeeh dor Scholett (Bein, 1907), 1.80 171M, 107 H, 5 idem, im Revita di toria del dito Halo, i (1820), 85M, 198 A, onthe brary of Accursus; cf. Zalueta, Low Quarterly Review, xivi (1990), 148-60. 1G. L. Haskine, “Three Rnglish Documents Relating to Francis Accursus Law Quarterly’ Review, liv (1988), 87-4; "Francia Accursin: “A” New Document”, Speculum, xi (1998), 16-7, ‘A subject which remains tobe investigated and which i suggested by the presence of Accursus in Bngland, i the aims and interesteof Faard Tin the field of learning fd education. ‘The king’ relations with Italian men of letors s matter of impor tance and gret interest. ‘The invitation to Accursiue to come to England is by no ‘means an isolated incident. Edward succeeded also in bringing the Apulian Stefano 4: San Giorgio to the English court, ‘This man was» disciple of the later Capuan “School of epistolary style and a close friend of many of the intimaten of Petrus de1943 DIPLOMATIC MISSION OF ACOURSIUS 425 ‘was in Rome at the special instance of the king by an arenga, or formal oration, which he delivered before Pope Nicholas IIT in 1278, This oration has never been published and is practically unknown, even though it has not been completely neglected. Savigny mentions having found it in a manuseript in ‘Turin? ‘Hermann U. Kantorowiez, in his discussion of arengae attributed to Petrus de Vinea, refers to a copy in a manuscript in Vienna.* It is also extant in a codex in Berlin ;* and there may be other ‘manuscripts as well which contain this speech. ‘That an address delivered by a lawyer of Accursius’ distinction has remained unpublished, although occasionally its publication has been recommended, may be due to the condition of the text which is equally corrupt and unsatisfactory in both the manuscripts which have attracted the attention of legal historians and in the one which is preserved in Berlin. However, the goneral obscurity of the text is reduced by the variant readings of the three copies ; and although more than one sentence still remains uncertain, and more than one allusion incomprehensible—not Vinea, He came to England at almost the same time ss Accusiu, and he can be traced in the English offical records foralmont a decade ; cf. T. F. Tout, Chaplere fn the Adminiraive History of Mediaeval England, it (Manchester, 1037), 23-4 Calendar of the Patent Rolls, 1272-1281, pp. 61, 70, 148, 208, 242, 295. His corre spondence withthe king, with English dignitaries and with somo South-[alian fronds 1h preserved in a Paris manwcript willbe published elewhere ; cf Harvard Phelogicat Review, xxxiv (1041), 134, n. 19. After his departure, thero must have been eome other Tialian clerk in Edward's chancery of wardrobe, asthe dition of certain groupe tf ltters is very obviously thet of an Taian dictator; aoe, eg, the letors published by G. L. Haskins, “The University of Oxford and the “Tus ubique docendi", ane, Wi (Io4i), 281, 290 f, nos. i and v. ‘That Berard of Naples, the famous diator tnd papal chancllor,recelved a pension from Edward I (Cal. Pat, Rolls, 1272-121, Dp. 148, 886) does not imply any near relations, as Berard predeosssor, Richard of Pol, probably enjoyed a similar privilege; ef P. M. Baumgarten, “Richard von Posi ein GronsneffeInnocenz IIL’, Neves Archio, xxxvi (1910), 745 £748 'Suvigny, op. cit. v. 300, 320, The Aifteenth-century manuscript, Turin, Bibl Naz, G1 3, fs. 207-8, jg doeribed by A. Sorbell in G. Maszatint's Inoetari det ‘mancocrt delle bibitecke d'Italia, xxvii (Florence, 1022}, 97, no. 059. Tt containe letters of Frederick II, Amadeo VIII of Savoy, Emperor Sigmund, and others also a treatise on the Orimenlavsae maizltie, lectures of Bartols, a treatise De fre ‘mphitatico, Accarsas’ Arenga, and a collection of Arengae super varie diversis Imateris by Petras de Vivero (sie for Vinea). 1H. U. Kantorowicn, “Uber dio dem Petrus de Vines zugeschrisenen Arenge Miesangen dea Inatitie far dtereichiche Gtschichforchung, xxx (1000), 659 fo ‘analyues meticulously the manuscript, Vienna, Nationalbibl, las 2257, Potrus do Vinea's Arengae preede (fos. 60-2) Accursius' oration (fo. 62°). SCH. Valentin Hose, Die lateniechon Handachrifen der ipl. Stootbibliotek in Bern i. $ (erin, 1908), 1138, no. 828, who nnalyaes the MS. lat. Fl. 08. On fo {61 begins an anongmous collection of public speeches, beginning * Arengar dicuntur ‘advocati quta_arengam faciunt ad_commendandam indicem " Tor, the addres of Accursias, and, on for. 7¥-8%, the Avengue of Petrus do Vinea 1s wel as « trative De moribus advoctoram et exordice era tn caus, » anal of jndical rhetoric with several models of arengee. All three mancripta soma to be of ‘alien erigin, ‘S00 HU. Kantorowies, oe eit; the reprint mentioned by Sevigny obviously doesnot exist,