Pseudoisidore, False Decretals

The False Decretals (IS) are the most famous part of the Pseudo-Isidorian forgeries. Despite its name, the collection is actually a combination of decretals and conciliar canons, mixing genuine, forged, and interpolated materials. The material is largely arranged chronologically.

Versions

Hinschius divided the manuscripts of the False Decretals in five groups:

• A1, on which see Pseudoisidore A1
• A2, on which see Pseudoisidore A2
• A/B, on which see Pseudoisidore AB
• B, on which see Pseudoisidore B
• C, on which see Pseudoisidore C

Versions A1, A/B, B and C contain all three major parts (decretals, councils, decretals), with A1 being the most complete version. The A2 version contains only decretals; it contains the complete first decretal part but only part of the second (ending with some, not all, of the letters of Damasus).

Later scholarship identified other versions, the most important one of which is the so-called Cluny version.

Manuscripts

According to Fuhrmann, there are "at least" 115 manuscripts of the False Decretals (all versions, not counting excerpts). 80 copies are listed in Schafer-Williams' guide. For details, see the articles on the individual versions of the False Decretals.

The False Decretals in the Database

The present analysis (IS) includes only the forged decretals from Clement to Damasus in A1 version. These decretals have the original rubrics of the forgers. The Clavis databse entries are based on the edition of Paul Hinschius, Decretales Pseudo-Isidorianae (Leipzig 1863); online.

Editions (Past and Future)

The False Decretals are commonly cited from Hinschius' edition, the shortcomings of which have often been commented upon.

• Paul Hinschius, Decretales Pseudo-Isidorianae et capitula Angilramni (1863). online: https://mdz-nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb10801053-5

A new (online) edition was started by the MGH in the early 2000s:

• Karl-Georg Schon from 2004 to 2006 published his findings on the MGH homepage: https://www.pseudoisidor.mgh.de
• Eric Knibbs reported on his findings on his blogs
  • from 2010 to 2016 https://pseudoisidore.blogspot.com/
  • from 2016 to 2020 (no longer online) https://web.archive.org/web/20220417022934/https://pseudo-isidore.com/

Literature

Fuhrmann, Einfluß und Verbreitung (1972–74). Online: [1], [2], [3]. Kéry, Collections p. 100; Fuhrmann in Fuhrmann/Jasper pp. 137-195.