Margaritae

Margaritae are collections of canon law and decretals.

Canon lawyers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries taught canon law by commenting on the Decretum of Gratian and on the various collections of the Decretals in a variety of forms and names. The margaritae were developed as collections to help the memory. They arranged the more important propositions, résumés, and axioms in alphabetical order or by subject matter, including mnemonic verse.

A number of these margaritae have been preserved, but not all authors are known with certainty. Some of the treatises have been printed with the Decretum or the Decretals.