we find Spanish canon law embodied in a
collection which, though perhaps not official, was circulated and
received everywhere; this was the Spanish collection, the _Hispana_.[8]
The collection is well put together and includes almost all the
important canonical documents. In the first part are contained the
councils, arranged according to the regions in which they were held:
Greek councils, following a translation of Italian origin, but known by
the name of _Hispana_; African councils, Gallican councils and Spanish
councils. The latter, which form the local section, are further divided
into several classes: firstly, the synods held under the Roman empire,
the chief being that of Elvira[9] (c. 300); next the texts belonging to
the kingdom of the Suevi, after the conversion of these barbarians by St
Martin of Braga: these are, the two councils of Braga (563 and 572), and
a sort of free translation or adaptation of the canons of the Greek
councils, made by Martin of Braga; this is the document frequently
quoted in later days under the name of _Capitula Martini papae_;
thirdly, the decisions of the councils of the Visigothic Church, after
its conversion to Catholicism. Nearly all these councils were held at
Toledo, beginning with the great council of 589. The series continued up
to 694 and was only interrupted by the Mussulman invasion. Finally, the
second part of the _Hispana_ contains the papal decretals, as in the
collection of Dionysius.

From the middle of the 9th century this collection was to become even
more celebrated; for, as we know, it served as the basis for the famous
collection of the False Decretals.

Great Britain and Ireland.

The Churches of Great Britain and Ireland remained still longer outside
the centralizing movement. Their contribution towards the later system
of canon law consisted in two things: the Penitentials and the influence
of the Irish collection, the other sources of local law not having been
known to the predecessors of Gratian nor to Gratian himself.

Penitentials.

The Penitentials[10] are collections intended for the guidance of
confessors in estimating the penances to be imposed for various sins,
according to the discipline in force in the Anglo-Saxon countries. They
are all of Anglo-Saxon or Irish origin, and although certain of them
were compiled on the continent, under the influence of the island
missionaries, it seems quite certain that a Roman Penitential has never