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.ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_footnotes_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-More_footnotes_needed" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/40px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/60px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg/80px-Text_document_with_red_question_mark.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" /></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article includes a list of <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#General_references" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">general references</a>, but <b>it lacks sufficient corresponding <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources#Inline_citations" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">inline citations</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help to <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Reliability" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Reliability">improve</a> this article by <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:When_to_cite" title="Wikipedia:When to cite">introducing</a> more precise citations.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">April 2024</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p> <b>John Acton</b> (died 1350) was an English <a href="/wiki/Canon_lawyer" class="mw-redirect" title="Canon lawyer">canon lawyer</a>, known for his commentary on the writer on the ecclesiastical <i>Constitutions</i> of two <a href="/wiki/Papal_legate" title="Papal legate">papal legates</a> of the thirteenth century. Sent to <a href="/wiki/Henry_III_of_England" title="Henry III of England">Henry III of England</a>, they were Cardinal Otto, i.e. <a href="/wiki/Otto_of_Tonengo" title="Otto of Tonengo">Otto of Tonengo</a>, and Cardinal Ottobone, i.e. Ottobuono de' Fieschi (the future <a href="/wiki/Pope_Adrian_V" title="Pope Adrian V">Pope Adrian V</a>). His name is variously spelt Achedune, De Athona, Athone, and Eaton. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Life">Life</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=John_Acton_(canon_lawyer)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Life"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Acton is stated by <a href="/wiki/John_Leland_(antiquary)" title="John Leland (antiquary)">John Leland</a> to have been educated at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_Oxford" title="University of Oxford">University of Oxford</a>, and to have taken there the degree of LL.D. He was a pupil of <a href="/wiki/John_de_Stratford" title="John de Stratford">John de Stratford</a>. In 1329 he was provided by the pope to a canonry and a prebend in Lincoln Cathedral, but some years appear to have elapsed before he obtained these preferments. In 1343 he is found holding the prebend of <a href="/w/index.php?title=Welton_Ryval&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Welton Ryval (page does not exist)">Welton Ryval</a>. In his books he is described as canon of Lincoln. He died in 1350. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Works">Works</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=John_Acton_(canon_lawyer)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Works"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Acton's chief work was a commentary on the ecclesiastical ‘constitutions’ of Otto and Ottobone, in succession papal legates in England in the thirteenth century. These constitutions formed for many years the English canon law, and Acton's notes were held by the lawyers of his own time in their interpretations. Many manuscript copies of Acton's commentary survived in the college libraries at Oxford. Acton's work was printed for the first time in 1496 by <a href="/wiki/Wynkyn_de_Worde" title="Wynkyn de Worde">Wynkyn de Worde</a> in <a href="/wiki/William_Lyndwood" title="William Lyndwood">William Lyndwood</a>'s <i>Provinciale</i>. Printed copies contain anachronistic references to books that were not written until after the death of Acton. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Sir_Henry_Spelman" class="mw-redirect" title="Sir Henry Spelman">Sir Henry Spelman</a> made use of Acton's commentary in his <i>Concilia.</i> It was then partly translated in <a href="/wiki/John_Johnson_(theologian)" title="John Johnson (theologian)">John Johnson</a>'s <i>Collection of Ecclesiastical Laws</i> (London, 1720; cf. the English translation of Otto's <i>Ecclesiastical Laws</i>, by J. W. White, 1844, where many of his notes are translated). Other manuscripts are extant, and <a href="/wiki/John_Pits" class="mw-redirect" title="John Pits">John Pits</a> gave titles of other legal books ascribed to Acton. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Frederic_William_Maitland" title="Frederic William Maitland">Frederic William Maitland</a> wrote of Acton that he was "a little too human to be strictly scientific. His gloss often becomes a growl against the bad world in which he lives, the greedy prelates, the hypocritical friars, the rapacious officials."<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=John_Acton_(canon_lawyer)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Frederic_William_Maitland" title="Frederic William Maitland">Frederic William Maitland</a>, <i>Roman Canon Law in the Church of England</i> (London, 1898), pp. 7–8.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=John_Acton_(canon_lawyer)&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <dl><dt>Attribution</dt></dl> <p><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/18px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/24px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="430" /></span></span> This article incorporates text from a publication now in the <a href="/wiki/Public_domain" title="Public domain">public domain</a>: <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">"<a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885-1900/Acton,_John" class="extiw" title="s:Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Acton, John">Acton, John</a>". <i><a href="/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography" title="Dictionary of National Biography">Dictionary of National Biography</a></i>. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Acton%2C+John&rft.btitle=Dictionary+of+National+Biography&rft.place=London&rft.pub=Smith%2C+Elder+%26+Co&rft.date=1885%2F1900&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AJohn+Acton+%28canon+lawyer%29" class="Z3988"></span> <span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="13" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/18px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/24px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="430" /></span></span> This article incorporates text from a publication now in the <a href="/wiki/Public_domain" title="Public domain">public domain</a>: <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHerbermann1913" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "<a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/John_Acton" class="extiw" title="s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/John Acton">John Acton</a>". <i><a href="/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia" title="Catholic Encyclopedia">Catholic Encyclopedia</a></i>. 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