Irnerius, c.1055-c.1130, Italian jurist and founder of the law school (c.1088) at Bologna, which became the center of legal scholarship in Europe. Though little is known of his early life, it is generally agreed that he became a professor of rhetoric and dialectic at an early age. Later he turned to law. His interlinear glosses to the Corpus Juris are recognized as major contributions to the interpretation of Roman law. Attribution to him of other commentaries on philosophy and the theory of law is still much disputed.