Publisher's Synopsis
Profound changes in dealing with texts characterize the period since the middle of the 11th century. These changes were instrumental in advancing the scientification of ecclesiastical law. Although they have remained largely unnoticed, the biblical texts are not exempt from the methodological-historical turn in law. This study enters into this gap. Choosing dispute literature as an example, it shows the importance of the struggle for the correct understanding of the biblical texts for the scientification of ecclesiastical law on the one hand and of the Bible for the law of the church on the other hand. Moreover, in the dispute with and about the biblical texts, a turning away from custom as the central figure of thought of early medieval secular law is in the offing. Truth became the paradigm of a new age, exerting a crucial influence on the process of change of the church and its law.
