ABSTRACT
Medieval canon law has not received as much attention as medieval theology. Aquinas's name is more likely to be recognized than Gratian's. One reason for this relative lack of recognition is that medieval canon law collections may appear more forbidding than theological commentaries. This chapter provides a basic discussion of medieval canon law collections, so that all readers will understand what is meant by terms like 'rubric' or by 'topical organization.' It then briefly surveys the most important formal sources which Burchard and his assistants used to create the books studied here and provides an intellectual context for the Decretum. The Decretum's Preface makes clear that Burchard looked at the existing collections and found them wanting. The chapter sketches a picture of the range of canonical collections already in existence when Burchard made his collection, and asks why he might have found them unsatisfactory or in need of updating.