German Historiography of the 19–20th Centuries of Medieval Canon Law

The article is devoted to the characteristics of the main concepts and trends in the study of medieval canon law in German historiography and their evolution in the 19th-20th centuries.The author stated that in the 19th century scientific study and publication of canon law sources was started.The opinion is expressed that these publications of sources and the data of source studies were based on generalizing works on the theory and history of canon law, its functions, place and significance in the Church and the social structure of medieval society.Approaches to the study of medieval church law, basic concepts and final generalizations of Friedrich Maasen and Johann Friedrich von Schulte are analyzed.It is proved that the work of the German school of church law researchers of the 19th century. is the basis of modern views of law historians on the development of canon law.It was noted that in the 20th century, there are many provisions of the German school of ecclesiastical law relating to the history of the creation of the Gratian 'Decretum', the early period of the history of decretalism, the assessment of the role of the University of Bologna in the formation of ecclesiastical law, the influence of the papal curia on this process, and the degree of control of the Roman throne over the activities of universities and the development of canonical rights, etc., have been revised, but the general pattern of the development of canon law still remains the same.