Medieval Sourcebook:
The Codex Theodosianus:
On Religion, 4th Century CE
C. Th. XV.xii.1: Bloody spectacles are not suitable for civil
ease and domestic quiet. Wherefore since we have proscribed gladiators,
those who have been accustomed to be sentenced to such work as
punishment for their crimes, you should cause to serve in the
mines, so that they may be punished without shedding their blood.
Constantine Augustus.
C. Th. XVI.v.1: It is necessary that the privileges which are
bestowed for the cultivation of religion should be given only
to followers of the Catholic faith. We desire that heretics and
schismatics be not only kept from these privileges, but be subjected
to various fines. Constantine Augustus.
C. Th. XVI.x.4: It is decreed that in all places and all cities
the temples should be closed at once, and after a general warning,
the opportunity of sinning be taken from the wicked. We decree
also that we shall cease from making sacrifices. And if anyone
has committed such a crime, let him be stricken with the avenging
sword. And we decree that the property of the one executed shall
be claimed by the city, and that rulers of the provinces be punished
in the same way, if they neglect to punish such crimes. Constantine
and Constans Augusti.
C. Th. XVI.vii.1: The ability and right of making wills shall
be taken from those who turn from Christians to pagans, and the
testament of such an one, if he made any, shall be abrogated after
his death. Gratian, Valentinian, and Valens Augusti.
C.Th. XI.vii.13: Let the course of all law suits and all business
cease on Sunday, which our fathers have rightly called the Lord's
day, and let no one try to collect either a public or a private
debt; and let there be no hearing of disputes by any judges either
those required to serve by law or those voluntarily chosen by
disputants. And he is to be held not only infamous but sacrilegious
who has turned away from the service and observance of holy religion
on that day. Gratian, Valentinian and Theodosius Augusti.
C.Th. XV.v.1: On the Lord's day, which is the first day of the
week, on Christmas, and on the days of Epiphany, Easter, and Pentecost,
inasmuch as then the [white] garments [of Christians] symbolizing
the light of heavenly cleansing bear witness to the new light
of holy baptism, at the time also of the suffering of the apostles,
the example for all Christians, the pleasures of the theaters
and games are to be kept from the people in all cities, and all
the thoughts of Christians and believers are to be occupied with
the worship of God. And if any are kept from that worship through
the madness of Jewish impiety or the error and insanity of foolish
paganism, let them know that there is one time for prayer and
another for pleasure. And lest anyone should think he is compelled
by the honor due to our person, as if by the greater necessity
of his imperial office, or that unless he attempted to hold the
games in contempt of the religious prohibition, he might offend
our serenity in showing less than the usual devotion toward us;
let no one doubt that our clemency is revered in the highest degree
by humankind when the worship of the whole world is paid to the
might and goodness of God. Theodosius Augustus and Caesar Valentinian.
C. Th.XVI.i.2: We desire that all the people under the rule of
our clemency should live by that religion which divine Peter the
apostle is said to have given to the Romans, and which it is evident
that Pope Damasus and Peter, bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic
sanctity, followed; that is that we should believe in the one
deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with equal majesty and in
the Holy Trinity according to the apostolic teaching and the authority
of the gospel. Gratian, Valentinian and Theodosius Augusti.
C. Th. XVI.v.iii: Whenever there is found a meeting of a mob of
Manichaeans, let the leaders be punished with a heavy fine and
let those who attended be known as infamous and dishonored, and
be shut out from association with men, and let the house and the
dwellings where the profane doctrine was taught be seized by the
officers of the city. Valentinian and Valens Augusti.
Source:
Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1907), Vol. IV:
The Early Medieval World, pp. 69-71.
Scanned by Jerome S. Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton
This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book.
The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted
texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the
document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying,
distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal
use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source.
No permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall May 998
halsall@murray.fordham.edu
The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at
the Fordham University Center
for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the
Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in
providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not
the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.
© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 15 November 2024 [CV]
|
