Book of Gomorrah: An Eleventh-Century Treatise against Clerical Homosexual Practices

XII. These Mockeries Are To Be Excluded from the Sacred Canons Since They Do Not Seem To Have Certain Authorship

XII THESE MOCKERIES ARE TO BE EXCLUDED FROM THE SACRED CANONS SINCE THEY DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE CERTAIN AUTHORSHIP60 Indeed, who fashioned these canons? Who presumed to plant such thorns in the noble grove of the Church—such prickly, thorny thistles ? It is clear beyond any doubt that all authentic canons either were arrived at in venerable synodal councils or were promulgated by the holy fathers, pontiffs of the Apostolic See. Nor is any single individual permitted to publish canons; this privilege belongs to him alone whois seen presiding in the chair of blessed Peter. However, these spurious offshoots of canons of which we are speaking are known to be excluded by the sacred councils,61 and are proved to be altogether foreign to the decrees of the fathers. Therefore, it follows that they should never find a place among the canons since they are seen to proceed neither from the decretal pronouncements of the fathers nor from the sacred councils . Whatever is not included among the species is undoubtedly foreign to the genus. If the name of the author is asked for, one cannot answer with certainty since it cannot be uniformly found in the 60 A translation of this chapter may be found in O. D. Watkins, A History of Penance: Being a Study of the Authorities, Vol. 2 (London, 1920), 740-41; it is partially translated in J. T. McNeill and H. M. Gamer, Medieval Handbooks of Penance, 411. 61 The penitentials in general were condemned by two early ninth-century councils, Chalon (A.D. 813), canon 38 and Paris (A. D. 829), canon 32. For translations of these canons see J. T. McNeill and H. Gamer, Handbooks, 401-403. 55 56 Book of Gomorrah codices. In one place it is written, "Theodore says," in another, "the Roman Penitential says," in another, "the Canons of the Apostles." Some are entitled in one way, some in another, and since they do not deserve to have a single author, without doubt they lose all authority.62 Canons which waver under so many unascertained authors confirm none with certain authority; and what generates the mist of doubt for readers must yield after the light of sacred writings has removed all doubts. Now, indeed, with this theatrical madness upon which carnal men presumed eliminated from the number of the canons and convicted by the clarity of rational argument, we shall present those canons whose trustworthiness and authenticity we in no way doubt. In fact they are found in the Council of Ancyra. 62 See Burchard, 17.39 (PL 140, 926B-D), Ryan, Damiam (30, text 20). In this passage Burchard also mentions Bede. Perhaps Peter Damian omitted the reference to Bede since he uses him later as an authority. ...