Continental
Legal History
Period |
Description
|
Politics |
Roman |
Canon |
Customary/National |
450-1100 |
Early Middle Ages: primitive collections
|
Barbarian Invasions, |
Romano-barbarian Codes |
Collections |
Barbarian Codes |
1100-1250 |
High Middle Ages: academic study |
Feudalism, Feudal monarchy |
CJC–glossators |
Gratian–>decretists Papal decretals |
Coutumiers |
1250-1500 |
Later Middle Ages: academic application: |
National monarchy |
CJC–commentators, Consilia |
Decretalists–>encylopedic jurists
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Coutumiers and statutes |
1450–1550 |
Renaissance and Refor-mation: academic bifurcation |
Absolutism |
Humanists |
Councils, Consilia |
Codification of custom, Reception |
1550–1750 |
Early Modern: bureaucracy and philosophers |
Absolute monarchy |
Natural law, usus modernus pandectarum |
Papal bureaucracy, Handbooks |
“Institutes” and statutes |
1700–1900 |
Modern: codification |
Revolution |
Pandectists, Historical School |
Pandectists–>Codification |
Codification |
Roman
Legal History
Period |
Description |
Politics |
Sources
of Law |
500-250 BC |
Archaic |
City-State |
XII Tables |
250-1 BC |
Pre-Classical |
Urban Empire |
Statutes/Cases |
1-250 AD |
Classical |
Principate |
Cases |
250-500 AD |
Post-Classical |
Dominate |
Imperial Constitutions |
550 AD |
Justinian |
Byzantine |
Code |
English Legal History
Period |
Description |
Politics |
Sources
of Law |
Roman
Influence |
Continental
Contrast |
600-1150 |
Age of Tort |
Tribal–>Feudal Monarchy |
Barbarian Codes, Custom |
Non-existent |
Weak |
1150-1300 |
Age of Property |
Feudal monarchy |
Custom, Case Law, Statute |
Strong on Method |
Same |
1300-1500 |
Age of Trespass |
National monarchy |
Case Law |
Weak |
Quite Strong |
1500-1700 |
Age of Equity |
Absolute Monarchy–> Const. Monarchy |
Case Law, Statute |
Strong in spots |
Strong |
1700-1900 |
Age of Reform |
Const. monarchy |
Case law, Some Codification |
Submerged but there |
Very strong |
450–1100 age of the primitive collections
Applying these tests there is no Western code as opposed to collection before the Prussian Civil Code of 1794; this is followed by the Napoleonic code of 1804, and by the Austrian Civil Code of 1811.
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Some Key Dates in the ‘Codification’ of Roman
Law 220
A.D. — End of classical period; no official collection except the praetor’s edictum perpetuum (perpetual edict), a collection of formulae and rules of procedure published by the chief judge of Rome, known as the praetor..
439
A.D. — Theodosian Code (begun 429). 527 A.D.
— Justinian becomes emperor 529
A.D. — Publication of the first Code 530-533
A.D. — Compilation of the Digest 533
A.D. — Publication of the Digest and the Institutes 534
A.D. — Publication of the second Code 534–565
A.D. — Justinian’s Novels
About 1/3 to 1/2 of the Theodosian Code survives. Justinian’s first Code does not survive, but the rest of his work does survive:
Together, these became known as the Corpus Iuris Civilis. The entire Institutes may be found in Part I of the coursepack, accompanied by extracts from the Digest and Code to show how they are arranged. Sources: Codex Theodosianus, P. Meyer & T. Mommsen eds.,
2 vols. (1905) (includes the Sirmondian Consitutions and the Theodosian
Novels) The Theodosian Code and Novels
and the Sirmondian Constitutions, C. Pharr trans. (1952) Corpus Iuris Civilis, T. Mommsen, P. Krüger, R.
Schöll, W. Kroll eds. (var. ed. 1911, 1915, 1904) (Many times reprinted,
known as 'the
The Civil Law, S.P. Scott trans., 17 vols. in
7 (1922) (only complete English trans. of the Corpus Iuris Civilis, must be used with caution) The Digest of Justinian, A. Watson ed. trans., 4 vols.
(1985) (far better than Scott for what it covers)
The Institutes of Justinian, J.B. Moyle trans., 5th ed.
(1913, repr. 1967) |
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[Home Page] [Syllabus Undergraduate] [Syllabus Law and Graduate] [Lectures Undergraduate] [Lectures Law and Graduate] [Information and Announcements] URL: http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/cdonahue/courses/CLH/lectures/outl01.html Copyright © 2011 Charles Donahue, Jr.
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