Gelasian Decree

The Gelasian Decree (Latin: Decretum Gelasianum) is a Latin text traditionally thought to be a decretal of the prolific Pope Gelasius I (492–496). The work reached its final form in a five-chapter text written by an anonymous scholar between 519 and 553. The second chapter is a list of books of Scripture defined as part of the biblical canon by a Council of Rome, traditionally dated to Pope Damasus I (366–383) and thus known as the Damasine List. The fifth chapter of the work includes a list of rejected works not encouraged for church use.

In The Carolingians and the Written Word, Mckitterick Rosamond wrote:

It appears to have had nothing to do with Gelasius, but instead may be a product of Frankish Gaul. Certainly its earliest manuscript witness, Brussels 9850-2, was produced c. 700 in the Corbie region, possibly in Soissons itself, and given to the abbey of St Medard at Soissons by Abbot Nomedius. The earliest surviving manuscript copy of the full text is Fulda, Bonifatianus 2, written either at Luxeuil itself or by a Luxeuil-trained scribe elsewhere. It should be remembered that both Abbot Nomedius and Corbie itslef were connected with the monastic zeal of Queen Balthild, and that Corbie’s first community included monks from Luxeuil.