ABSTRACT
In seeking correspondences that are indicative of an insular tradition of ecclesiastical law, one faces an asymmetry in the survival of evidence regarding the processes through which texts of ecclesiastical law were formed in different places. The manuscript tradition of texts of ecclesiastical law shows that they often circulated together. The chapter considers these under five categories: the synod as a mechanism for church legislation, direct connections between authors of penitentials and compilers of canonical texts, direct borrowings between texts, the intersection of texts in their manuscript transmission, and some unique insular themes and concerns which may constitute a common ‘insular tradition’. Nevertheless, the themes that insular authors and compilers of normative texts were addressing were more universal than local, although some unique local concerns can be observed and, likewise, there is evidence for an awareness of the value of contrasting local customs with customs observed elsewhere in Christendom.
