Conciliaristic sources of the modern legal concepts based on the thought of Matthew from Cracow

Abstract

The article aims to present the background of changes in the transition from medieval fief property to more individualized modern model. Conciliarism is considered to be an important factor supporting these changes. The conciliarist idea was presented on the basis of De squaloribus Curiae Romanae by Matthew from Cracow. Fiefdom ownership has been characterized as a legal construct where private legal rights are combined with the prerogatives of public authority. In turn, modern property resembles more structures known from Roman law, which are characterized by far-reaching sovereignty in disposing of property rights. In the course of the argument, it was shown that the issues determining the changes in the area of private law were the conciliarist ideas, such as the superiority of the Ecumenical council’s authority over the pope, the binding of public authority by law, and the separation of private law from the prerogatives of public authority.