Born c.1115–20 probably in England. Gérard studied and taught theology and possibly law in France. John of Salisbury said Gérard taught ‘leges et decreta’. His students included Lucas of Hungary, Walter Map, Ralph Niger, master Richard, and a certain Gervase who retired to Durham. Gérard was connected to the familia of Thomas Becket. He undertook a mission to the Empire in 1165/66 even though Frederick Barbarossa had been excommunicated. In 1168 Gérard returned to England and took the loyalty-oath to King Henry II which had been rejected by Becket. After that, Gérard got the permission of the pope and King Louis VII of France to reside in Cologne. Cologne was one of the most important centers of canon law learning in the 1160s and 1170s, producing works such as the Summa ‘Elegantius in iure diuino’. From c.1174–1183, Gérard served as a principal clerk to Becket’s successor, Archbishop Richard. In 1183, he was made Bishop of Coventry, but died only a few months later.

His glosses are marked with the siglum ‘Magister G. Coventris Episcopus’ in the Summa ‘Omnis qui iuste iudicat’. They occasionally appear in the Summa ‘Magister Gratianus in hoc opere, the Summa antiquitate et tempore, Ecce uicit leo, and the Summa ‘Quid sit symonia’. See those entries for manuscript listings.

Entry by: KP rev AL 2015