Stephen I of Hungary, Saint 675statutes Beside collections of ecclesiastical laws, in
the Middle Ages this term referred to collections of laws
made by urban and rural COMMUNESof north central
ITA LY. They approved them through the deliberation of
their own assemblies, especially after the Peace of Con-
stance in 1183, which gave them more independence
from the HOLYROMANEMPIRE. Italian communes joined
together in these collections of customary and local LAW
that originated in an earlier period; the compacts and
oaths of the consuls or government officials on first
entering their offices; and most of the laws recently
approved by communal legislative organs or the con-
suls. The term statutumfrom the verb statuere,“to estab-
lish, fix, decide,” was chosen for its implication that
these were the norms of the law for the commune.
These were expanded into books of statutes. Over time
they became more organized by type or intent of law.
They had to be updated regularly as changes or addi-
tions were constantly made to the law by the govern-
ment of the commune.
With the growth of knowledge and expertise in
Roman law from the 12th century, jurists and university
teachers became more involved in their drafting and
compilation. The statutes also became more available to
the citizenry, now written on paper instead of parchment.
In the 14th century, some were translated from LATINinto
the VERNACULARto widen the circle of those able to read,
understand, and discuss them. Outside Italy towns began
to follow the Italian example, as did regional govern-
ments and states. Statutes remained primarily urban phe-
nomena, however.ECCLESIASTICAL
In the 12th century, ecclesiastical meetings such as local
synods or councils began to keep more careful track of
their prescriptions on clerical conduct, the rules for the
administration of the SEVEN SACRAMENTS, pastoral care,
and parish or diocesan government. Older local decisions
and legislation were updated and new material, often
from the PAPACYor councils such as those of the Lateran,
was gathered and made more accessible to regional clergy.
Not very organized or systematic, these could even
include admonitory tracts and treatises on particular
problems of procedure, marriage regulations, testamen-
tary or liturgical rules, and confessors’ manuals. These
collections were usually kept up to date throughout the
rest of Middle Ages and well beyond 1500.
Further reading:C. R. Cheney, English Synodalia of
the Thirteenth Century(Oxford: Oxford University Press,
1941); C. R. Cheney, Councils and Synods with Other Doc-
uments Relating to the English Church,2 vols. (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1964–1981); Daniel Waley, The Italian
City-Republics,3d ed. (1969; London: Longman, 1988);
Walter Ullman, Law and Politics in the Middle Ages: An
Introduction to the Sources of Medieval Political Ideas
(Ithaca; N.Y. Cornell University Press, 1975).Staufen dynasty SeeHOHENSTAUFEN.Stephen I of Hungary, Saint (Vajk)(ca. 975–1038)
king of Hungary
Stephen was born in 975 at Esztergom in HUNGARY, the
son of the ruler of the Magyars, Géza I (r. 970?-97). He
adopted the Christian Faith and made it the official reli-
gion of the kingdom in 1000. He suppressed pagan upris-
ings and converted by force any refusing to give up
PAGANISM. In the following year Pope SYLVESTERII, in
acknowledgment of his conversion, sent him a royal
crown, which was later named the “Crown of Saint
Stephen.” It grew to symbolize Hungary’s independenceMadonna and Child in stained glass (1300–10), Germanisches
Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg Germany (Scala / Art Resource)