Glossa ordinaria (Accursius)
Excerpt from a 13th-century manuscript of the Institutiones Iustiniani with the Glossa ordinaria by Accursius on the margins (held in the Vatican Apostolic Library) | |
| Author | Accursius |
|---|---|
| Language | Latin |
| Subject | Corpus Iuris Civilis |
| Published | c. 1250 (as a manuscript), 1476 (as a book [an incunable]) |
| Media type | Gloss |
The Glossa ordinaria (also known as Glossa magna, Glossa magistralis and Glossa accursiana) is a collection of 96,940 marginal annotations (glossa marginalis) in Latin by the Italian jurist Accursius (c. 1181/1185–1259/1263) on the Corpus Iuris Civilis, a collection of Roman law by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). The name Glossa ordinaria refers to fact that the gloss by Accursius was the "ordinary" or "standard" gloss on the Corpus Iuris Civilis.
Modern scholarship contends that the Glossa ordinaria maintained its authoritative status as leading commentary on the Corpus Iuris Civilis in Europe up to the 17th century, which is signified by the adage "Quidquid non agnoscit Glossa, non agnoscit curia" (lit. 'Whatever the Gloss does not recognize, the court does not recognize').