Abstract
Semantics of the Old, the New and the Modern in Learned Canon Law: Observations on the Interpretation of ‘antiqua’, ‘nova’, ‘hodie’ and ‘moderna’ in the Science of Canon Law, 12th–15th Century. In using the terms ‘antiqua’, ‘nova’, ‘hodie’ and ‘moderna’ as descriptors of change in law and legal knowledge, the science of medieval canon law adopted a longstanding semantic tradition of theology and rhetorics. The article addresses these usages and argues that they represented different understandings of the relationship between the past and the present, ranging from the idea of progress and continuous change to the concept of superior authority of the past towards the present.
Thier, Andreas