legal sources

Edicts of Caracalla (Constitutio Antoniniana)

212

Emperor Caracalla issued the Constitutio Antoniniana, which extended Roman citizenship to nearly all free inhabitants of the Roman Empire. This meant that the entire empire was now subject to the ius civile, making Roman law more relevant.

Codex Gregorianus

291

A private collection of imperial constitutions, covering decisions from Emperor Hadrian to Diocletian. One of the earliest legal sources to systematize imperial legislation.

Codex Hermogenianus

295

An additional private collection, mainly focusing on the laws issued by Diocletian. Both the Gregorian and Hermogenian Codes were used extensively in post-classical Roman law.

Codex Theodosianus

438

A formal codification of imperial laws from the time of Constantine until Theodosius II. The Theodosian Code was binding in both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires and influenced medieval law codes in Western Europe.

Code of Euric

475

Commissioned by King Euric, ruler of the Visigoths, this legal code combined Roman legal elements with Visigothic customs. It governed the Visigothic population but was influenced by Roman law.

Breviary of Alaric (Lex Romana Visigothorum)

506

King Alaric II of the Visigoths issued this code as a simplified version of Roman law for his Roman subjects. It included texts from the Codex Theodosianus, Gaius' Institutes, and the writings of Roman jurists like Paulus.

Codex Revisus

506

The Code of Leovigild or Codex Revisus was a Visigothic legal code, a revision of the Codex Euricianus made in the late sixth century under Leovigild (568–586). The code does not survive all we know of it is derived from the writings of Isidore of Seville, a near contemporary ecclesiastic and encyclopaedist.

Codex Justinianus

529

The first major legal text compiled by Justinian. It gathered all the valid imperial laws up to that point.

Institutiones

533

A textbook for law students, summarizing the principles of Roman law, heavily based on Gaius’ earlier Institutes.

Digesta or Pandectae

533

A compilation of juristic writings from the most important Roman jurists. It organized thousands of legal opinions and interpretations into a structured legal reference.

Novellae

Period: 534 to 565

New laws enacted by Justinian after the publication of the Codex. These continued to update Roman law throughout his reign.

Liber Iudiciorum

654

Also known as the Visigothic Code, this law code was promulgated by King Recceswinth of the Visigoths. The code abolished the old tradition of having different laws for Romans and Visigoths, and under it all the subjects of the Visigothic kingdom would become hispani. In this way, all subjects of the kingdom were gathered under the same jurisdiction, eliminating social and legal differences, and allowing greater assimilation of the populations

Dictatus Papae

1075

A collection formulated by Pope Gregory VII. The Dictatus Papae articulated the Pope's supremacy over secular rulers, asserting the Pope’s authority to depose emperors and kings and confirming the primacy of papal power in legal and spiritual matters.

Influence of Irnerius

Period: 1085 to 1125

An influential legal scholar and teacher at the University of Bologna, often credited with the revival of Roman law in Western Europe. Irnerius was a key figure in the development of the school of legal thought, and his work on Roman law laid the groundwork for later European legal systems.