Learning objectives
Aim of this course is to allow students to have a first-hand experience of the different kind of sources that coexisted in the medieval and early modern ius commune system, in order to acquire a fundamental awareness of the way pre-modern legal systems concretely worked.
The understanding of the interaction between different kind of sources will help reconstructing the historical origins of given branches of law or of specific legal institutions, enlightening at the same time the contribution of the various categories of legal operators.
Prerequisites
there is no formal prerequisite
Course unit content
Aim of this course is to allow students to have a first-hand experience of the different kind of sources that coexisted in the medieval legal system.
The course will start with the description of the viae iuris constituendi in Roman Law, analzying the relation between the contribution of the various sources of law in the lawmaking process and the structures of public powers.
At the same time, we will read the earliest canon law texts, with references both to late antique conciliar legislation and to the first examples of pontifical laws.
We will later analyze some legislative text of the Germanic tradition, with special reference to the romano-barbaric kingdoms, to the Lombard Kingdom in Italy and later to the chapters issued by the Carolingians both as kings of the Franks and as Holy Roman Emperors.
We will conclude our discussion of the evolution of lawmaking in the Early Middle Ages describing the feudal world: we’ll both highlight the prevalently customary nature of law in this context and analyze the specific normative contents of feudal law, by reading the libri feudorum.
As part of our reflection on the juridical experience of the feudal world, we will read and discuss the documents of some important 11th century processes, pointing out how they represented the context in which the justinianean law re-appered in the legal history of the Italian paeninsula.
We will then focus on the different literary genres that were in use in medieval universities, in order to enlighten the main features of legal education in the context of the first medieval universities.
At the same time, after describing origins and development of the activity of medieval notaries, we’ll analyze different kind of acts, enlightening their juridical content.
We’ll later deal with late medioeval canon law sources, describing their different tipologies; special attention will be given to pontifical sources.
We will later focus on the legal sources produced at a local level, both by communes and by guilds of arts and craft.
Full programme
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Bibliography
References texts:
- E. Cortese, Le grandi linee della storia giuridica medioevale, Roma 2008, pp. 10-170; 205-223
- A. Errera: Forme letterarie e metodologie didattiche nella scuola bolognese dei glossatori civilisti: tra evoluzione ed innovazione, in Studi di storia del diritto medioevale e moderno, vol. I, Monduzzi Editore, Bologna 1999, pp. 33-106;
- A. Errera: Alle origini della scuola del commento: le additiones all’apparato accursiano, in Studi di storia del diritto medioevale e moderno, vol. II, Monduzzi Editore, Bologna 2007, pp. 41-137
tot: 347 pp.
Teaching methods
The course is organized with frontal classes, supported by power point presentations.
Assessment methods and criteria
oral exam with a pre-determined list of questions. The exam will consist in three questions on specific topics discussed during our lessons. Each answer will be evaluated on a scale from 0 to 10, assessing the possess of the fundamental notions of this subject, the reasoning and contextualizing abilities and the property of language of each student. The final mark will be given in thirtieths.
Other information
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