Astesanus of Asti

Astesanus de Ast

–1330

Astesanus of Asti (died c. 1330) was a Franciscan friar from Asti in Piedmont and a canon lawyer. His major work, the Summa de casibus conscientiae (c. 1317), became one of the most widely circulated confessors' manuals of the later Middle Ages, surviving in numerous manuscripts and early printed editions. Drawing on both civil and canon law, it was valued as a practical reference for cases of conscience, with its sections De significatione verborum singled out for their treatment of legal terminology. He dedicated the work to Cardinal Giovanni Caetani Orsini.

Summa of Cases of Conscience

Summa de casibus conscientiae

1478·1175 pages

On Simony

De simonia

The De simonia titulus (Book VI, Titulus 55) of Astesanus of Asti's Summa de casibus conscientiae — the last titulus of Book VI, which treats the sacramentum ordinis and ecclesiastical persons and things. After surveying the excesses of prelates against their subjects and vice versa in the preceding titulus, Astesanus turns to simony, which he treats specialiter in seven parts: what simony is and how it is named; whether it is a sin; through whom it is committed (manu, lingua, obsequio); penalties for simoniacs; restitution of things simoniacally received; dispensation in such cases; and species of simony, including the case where the mediator alone is admitted. Throughout, Astesanus weighs civil and canon law authorities — Hostiensis, Goffredus, the Decretum and Decretales, and the Glossa — making this titulus a compact handbook of the simony tradition as received in the early fourteenth century.

Liber VI, Titulus LV·fol. 6.98vb–6.112rb