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In 500, the legal order in Europe was structured around ancient customs, social practices and feudal values. By 1500, the effects of demographic change, new methods of farming and economic expansion had transformed the social and political landscape and had wrought radical change upon legal practices and systems throughout Western Europe.
A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages explores this change and the rich and varied encounters between Christianity and Roman legal thought which shaped the period. Evolving from a combination of religious norms, local customs, secular legislations, and Roman jurisprudence, medieval law came to define an order that promoted new forms of individual and social representation, fostered the political renewal that heralded the transition from feudalism to the Early Modern state and contributed to the diffusion of a common legal language.
Drawing upon a wealth of textual and visual sources,
A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages presents essays that examine key cultural case studies of the period on the themes of justice, constitution, codes, agreements, arguments, property and possession, wrongs, and the legal profession.
List of contents
List of Illustrations
Notes on Contributors
Series Preface, Gary Watt, University of Warwick, UK
Introduction, Emanuele Conte, Roma Tre University, Italy and Laurent Mayali, University of California, Berkeley, USA
1. Justice, Joshua C. Tate, Southern Methodist University, USA
2. Constitution, Emanuele Conte, Roma Tre Universit, Italy, Laurent Mayali, University of California, Berkeley, USA and Beatrice Pasciuta, University of Palermo, Italy
3. Codes, Elsa Marmursztejn, University of Reims, France
4. Agreements: The Discovery of the Market and the Control of the Guilds, Jonathan Garton, University of Warwick, UK
5. Arguments, Beatrice Pasciuta, University of Palermo, Italy
6. Property and Possession, Tyler Lange, University of Washington, USA
7. Wrongs: Towards a Cultural History of a Medieval Legal Concept, Karl Shoemaker, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
8. Legal Profession, Sara Menzinger, Roma Tre University, Italy
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Emanuele Conte is Professor of Medieval and Modern Legal History at Roma Tre University, Italy.Laurent Mayali is Lloyd M. Robbins Professor of Law at Berkeley Law, University of California, USA.
Summary
In 500, the legal order in Europe was structured around ancient customs, social practices and feudal values. By 1500, the effects of demographic change, new methods of farming and economic expansion had transformed the social and political landscape and had wrought radical change upon legal practices and systems throughout Western Europe. A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages explores this change and the rich and varied encounters between Christianity and Roman legal thought which shaped the period. Evolving from a combination of religious norms, local customs, secular legislations, and Roman jurisprudence, medieval law came to define an order that promoted new forms of individual and social representation, fostered the political renewal that heralded the transition from feudalism to the Early Modern state and contributed to the diffusion of a common legal language.
Drawing upon a wealth of textual and visual sources, A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages presents essays that examine key cultural case studies of the period on the themes of justice, constitution, codes, agreements, arguments, property and possession, wrongs, and the legal profession.
Foreword
A thematic overview of law and its role in Western society and culture across the Middle Ages.
