of the work are in the hand of Atto himself, and that the aforementioned friend or colleague of Atto may have forged his hand for the later edition of the text. The work itself discusses the troubling political atmosphere of the Kingdom of Italy, albeit in an obscure way. It satirizes the political struggles between princes and nobility in the time period, and shows Atto's distaste and pessimism about the age in which he lived. Canones: Ecclesiastic Law The name of Atto's compilation of canon law is debatable. Linda Fowler-Magerl calls it the long-winded Capitula canonum excerptarum de diversis conciliis decretalibus statutis atque epistolis congruentium ad forense iudicium tempore domini Attonis episcopi, which translates roughly to “Excerpt chapters of canons about the different decretal statute councils and the corresponding letters to the legal judgment in the time of the lord Bishop Atto.” W. C. Korfmacher uses the shortened Canones statutaque Vercellensis Ecclesiae, roughly meaning “Canons and Statutes of the Church of Vercelli.” Paul Collins prefers the abbreviated Capitulare, simply meaning “capitulary.” It is clear in their writing, however, that Collins, Korfmacher, and Fowler-Magerl reference the same work, namely Atto's compilation of and additions to ecclesiastic law. In this work, Atto assembled preexisting law from multiple resources: the decrees and letters of several popes, decrees from up to thirteen different councils, and the canon of Theodulf of Orléans. Portions of the decretals used are from a collection known as the False Decretals or Collectio Isidori Mercatoris. Some say that Atto's compilation deals exclusively with legislation in his diocese in Northern Italy. The collection as a whole generally discusses legislation surrounding clerical discipline and lifestyle. For example, this set of canon law demands clerics to be very well versed in scripture and ecclesiastic law, including knowing the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed verbatim. It requires clerics to be able to preach and celebrate Mass in Latin. It prohibits economic actions such as leasing property, acquiring interest on loans, and general business transactions. It also castigates those who renounce their faith for the worship of false idols, which Atto found to be a hazard to orthodoxy in his flock. As always, Atto devoted some of his efforts in canon law towards the greater good of his congregation: his collection included the requirement of clerics to bury their parishioners, and to be able to teach them both reading and writing. References Sources Boenig,