Written in Latin on vellum, circa 1300, the Liber Extra is a consolidation of other various decretals into one. Prior to this consolidation, the separate decretals were added to and copied by various church scholars. The edits and revisions made to the texts led to inconsistencies. Pope Gregory IX (pope from 1227-1241) ordered all the texts to be combined. The completed text was called Collectio seu liber extra, or Liber extra for short. It deals with canon law for church leaders, civic law, and laws for clerics.
• Decretals – paper letters with the force of law
• Gregory prepared a compilation of all papal decretals
• Manuscript denotes handwritten not printed
• Medium – India ink on vellum (sheepskin)
• Note pin holes on margins-cheap, for student (pricking method)
• Pecia System- renting portions of a text so the student may copy it
• Copy is incomplete but in good condition
• Unique in that it is unglossed (no notations)
• 4 flyleaves made from recycled manuscripts
