GRATIA, ARETINUS. – Canonist of the 13th century. He taught Roman law at Bologna with the title of Magister decretalium.
Innocent III and Honorius III sent him many decretals. In 1218 he was in Rome in the capacity of capellanus Pontificis; the following year he returned to Bologna as archdeacon, with the privilege of conferring academic degrees. It is not known whether he should be identified with the G. who became bishop of Parma in 1324 and remained in that office until 1236, or whether he was a distinct person. According to Diplovataccio, he wrote commentaries on the decretals; what is certain is an Ordo iudiciarius, published by F. Ch. Bergmann under the title: Pillii, Tancredi, Gratiae libri de iudiciorum ordine (Gottinga 1842).
BIBL.: F. C. von Savigny, Storia del diritto romano nel medioevo, Italian translation by E. Bollati, II, Turin 1857, p. 316; J. F. Schulze, Die Geschichte der Quellen und Literatur des canonischen Rechts, I, Stuttgart 1875, pp. 197–98. Cosimo Petino