Carcassonne, Toulouse, Rouergue, and Quercy. Although these courts of the viguiers
existed from the early 13th century, the title judex ordinarius was not applied until the
establishment in the 1250s of a superior position, that of the judex major (juge-mage). By
1350, the larger subordinate courts were recognized as the seats of judices ordinarii. The
juges-ordinaires exercised full competence within their districts but were subject in
extraordinary cases to the appellate jurisdiction of the juge-mage and in general cases to
that of the judge of criminal appeals.
Alan Friedlander
[See also: JUGE-MAGE; LAW AND JUSTICE]
Dognon, Paul. Les institutions politiques et administratives du pays de Languedoc du XIII siècle
aux guerres de religion. Toulouse: Privat, 1895.
Gouron, André. “Enseignement du droit, légistes et canonistes dans le Midi de la France à la fin du
XIII siècle et au début du XIV siècle.” Recueil de mémoires et travaux publiés par la Société
d’Histoire du Droit et des Institutions des Anciens Pays de Droit Écrit fasc. 5(1966):1–33.
Rogozinski, Jan. “Ordinary and Major Judges.” Studia Gratiana 15(1972):591–611.
Strayer, Joseph R. Les gens de justice de Languedoc sous Philippe le Bel. Toulouse: Association
Marc Bloch, 1970.
JULIANA OF MONT-CORNILLON
(1193–1258). Founder of the feast of Corpus Christi, Juliana was born at Retinne near
Liège to wealthy parents. Orphaned at the age of five, she was educated at a hospice for
lepers in Mont-Cornillon, where she became prioress in 1222. As her anonymous
biographer recounts, Juliana’s life was marked by numerous crises that forced her to
leave the hospice in 1242 and again in 1247–48. Together with a few trusted women
friends, she spent the remaining years as a wandering béguine, a Cistercian nun, and
finally a recluse. In 1246, Juliana and Prior John composed the Office for Corpus Christi;
on June 6, 1247, the feast was celebrated for the first time in Liège; it was officially
endorsed in 1264 by Pope Urban IV, with a new Office composed by Thomas Aquinas. A
local cult in Juliana’s honor was authorized by the Vatican in 1869.
Juliana’s vita displays few individualistic traits besides her difficult life circumstances
and accounts of her caritas. Although descriptions of extraordinary mystical feats are
lacking, Juliana’s spirituality follows generally the paradigmatic pattern of holy women
of her era, especially in the form of prolonged and extreme fasting, intense devotion to
the eucharist, visualizations of Christ’s Passion, and reverence for the priesthood. It is
therefore hard to establish how accurately Juliana’s biographer captured this remarkable
woman.
Ulrike Wiethaus
[See also: MYSTICISM; WOMEN, RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE OF]
Newman, Barbara, trans. The Life of Juliana of Mont Cornillon. Toronto: Peregrina, 1990.
Roisin, Simone. L’hagiographie cistercienne dans le diocèse de Liège au XIIIe siècle. Louvain:
Bibliothèque de l’Université, 1947.
Voosen, E. “Sainte Julienne de Cornillon.” Collectiana namurcenses 26(1922):248–71.
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