GIOVANNI da FAENZA (Ioannes Faventinus). — One of the greatest glossators of Gratian’s *Decretum*, died after 1220. His date of birth and death are unknown. He was a professor at Bologna, where he probably studied until 1174, then became a canon at Faenza—not, as previously thought, bishop of that see; so argues Argnani, deducing this from the register of decisions of the cathedral chapter of Faenza, in which G. da F. subscribes as a priest. He supported the imperial party of Frederick Barbarossa, alongside his bishop Giovanni II, who died in the Emperor’s retinue in Palestine (1191).
After 1171, he wrote one of the most notable *Summae* on Gratian’s *Decretum*, composed in the style of those by his masters Rufinus and Stefano di Tournai; this *Summa* remains unpublished.
More important are his glosses on the *Decretum* itself, written after the *Summa*.
Certain *Quaestiones* and glosses on the *Appendix Concilii Lateranensis* have also been attributed to him, though the attribution is uncertain. His influence on later authors was considerable.
His death was previously thought to have occurred around 1190, but Argnani, based on certain subscriptions of a certain Giovanni, expert in canon law, found in the archives of the Bologna chapter, places his death after 1220.