A Cistercian monk, J. wrote a treatise called Iuris defensorium that in large part derives from the Libellus fugitivus of Nepos de Monte Albano. The use of the Liber sextus suggests a date of composition not much after 1298, at any rate before the appearance of the Clementines in 1317. J. should not be confused, as he frequently is, with his contemporary Jean Lemoine (in Latin also Johannes Monachus), q.v., who was not a Cistercian (or even a monk). J. is correctly identified in TUI 1584 as ‘Johannes Monachus Cistersiensis ordinis’.

Cataloguers of incunabula have convinced themselves the J. is not the author of the Iuris defesorium, but that it was written by one Gerardus (or Gebhardus) de Rheinau, whom they sometimes call a monk (Short Title Catalogue, referring to the BSB catalogue). That the author of the Defensorium was named Gebhard or Gerhard is an idea that goes back to Schulte, whose argument can be found in ADB and more elaborately in QL. The manuscripts, not all of which Schulte had seen and none of which we have seen, might tell us more. As it is, we may be dealing with a man who had one given name (Gerhard or something like that) in the secular world and another in religion (Johannes). The incunabula and early pritings, some of which we have seen, all give his name as Johannes.

Entry by: KP rev BP 2015