On Thu, 17 Jul 1997, Paul Chandler wrote:
> Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 18:42:44 +1000 (AEST)
> From: Paul Chandler <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Lateran IV and the Jews
>
> On Tue, 15 Jul 1997, Thomas Izbicki wrote:
>
> > Repetition might be concerned with non-observance, efforts to reach the
> > people of a different region (local synods addressing the same topic) or
> > (with the lapse of time) efforts to indoctrinate a different generation.
> > Local studies often show not just different local usage but also local
> > non-compliance with what higher authorities mandate. (Brentanno did an
> > interesting article on these local phenomena in the festschrift for
> > Stephan Kuttner edited by Somerville & Pennington.)
>
> Thanks, Tom. I wonder if inertia must often be considered as a factor too.
> Constitutions of religious orders, for example, tend to remain
> comparatively stable over long periods of time even when occasionally
> reissued. The considerable difficulty of revising legislative texts
> (particularly if lengthy, and especially in committee, as we all know),
> must militate against making more amendments than strictly necessary,
> particularly if the competent legislator (chapter, synod, etc.) does not
> have much time at its disposal for the task, which is often the case.
Inertia might be a factor, or an effort to reaffirm the constitutions as
a whole while adding new chapters. How were the revized constitutions of
an order distributed? I know that the Dominican masters general wrote
encyclycal letters, but was there a recompilation issued by an order to
the entire membership via the individual houses?
>
> Do we need not only to note the fact of repetition, but to evaluate the
> circumstances of it in the particular case? This would require addressing
> such issues as you mention and perhaps others, including the usual rate of
> change and adaptability of the kind of legislation in question.
>
> My own order (Carmelites) had pretty much the same Constitutions from
> mid-14th century till 1645, and then from 1645 till 1904, though they were
> reissued with revisions several times and regularly had capitular decrees
> added. In this case, the inertia factor would make it hazardous to
> conclude much from the fact of repetition alone: it is rather the changed
> or added elements which seem to be the more revealing.
> --
A related question is provincial legislation or legislation by an
observant congregation within an order. Were these local provisions more
important for certain issues than were the statutes of the chapters
general. I especially wonder about this in the case of an observant
congregation.
tom
> Paul Chandler || Yarra Theological Union
> [log in to unmask] || Melbourne College of Divinity
>
>
>
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