C. Kavin Rowe
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195377873
- eISBN:
- 9780199869459
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377873.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
In light of the findings of Chapter 2, this chapter argues that the culturally destabilizing character of the Christian mission entails the potential for outsiders to construe Christianity as ...
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In light of the findings of Chapter 2, this chapter argues that the culturally destabilizing character of the Christian mission entails the potential for outsiders to construe Christianity as sedition or treason. In order to counter such a perception, Luke explicitly raises these charges and repeatedly narrates the course of events so that the Christians—here in the mold of Jesus himself—are found “innocent” by the Romans of seditious criminal activity. In the terms of Roman jurisprudence, they are dikaios (iustus). Thus does Luke bring Paul, the representative of the Christians, before the Roman state in the officials that are its living agents: Gallio, Claudius Lysias, Felix, and Festus. With deft narrative development and considerable jurisprudential skill, Luke moves Paul through to Rome while concurrently negating the charges of his opponents on the basis of a revisionary reading of Roman law: the Christian mission is not a bid for political liberation or a movement that stands in direct opposition to the Roman government.Less
In light of the findings of Chapter 2, this chapter argues that the culturally destabilizing character of the Christian mission entails the potential for outsiders to construe Christianity as sedition or treason. In order to counter such a perception, Luke explicitly raises these charges and repeatedly narrates the course of events so that the Christians—here in the mold of Jesus himself—are found “innocent” by the Romans of seditious criminal activity. In the terms of Roman jurisprudence, they are dikaios (iustus). Thus does Luke bring Paul, the representative of the Christians, before the Roman state in the officials that are its living agents: Gallio, Claudius Lysias, Felix, and Festus. With deft narrative development and considerable jurisprudential skill, Luke moves Paul through to Rome while concurrently negating the charges of his opponents on the basis of a revisionary reading of Roman law: the Christian mission is not a bid for political liberation or a movement that stands in direct opposition to the Roman government.
Caroline Humfress
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198208419
- eISBN:
- 9780191716966
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208419.003.011
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. In late antiquity, practitioners of forensic rhetoric were trained in how to handle general legal principles and ...
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This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. In late antiquity, practitioners of forensic rhetoric were trained in how to handle general legal principles and imperial constitutions. In other words, late Roman rhetorical schools, in both the East and the West, taught their pupils how to handle imperial legislation pragmatically, as a resource for influencing the outcome of disputes, rather than a canon for deciding them. The duty of the late Roman advocate, and indeed the iurisperitus employed in private cases, lay in exploiting the dialectic between any relevant ‘normative’ rule and its concrete application, in favour of their client's case. Thus, within the technical branch of ancient rhetoric, ‘laws’ were already held to exist within a domain of rhetorical argumentation. What emerges from this perspective is not the ‘intellectual inferiority’ of late Roman law, but the creativity and ingenuity of late Roman forensic practitioners.Less
This concluding chapter presents a synthesis of discussions in the preceding chapters. In late antiquity, practitioners of forensic rhetoric were trained in how to handle general legal principles and imperial constitutions. In other words, late Roman rhetorical schools, in both the East and the West, taught their pupils how to handle imperial legislation pragmatically, as a resource for influencing the outcome of disputes, rather than a canon for deciding them. The duty of the late Roman advocate, and indeed the iurisperitus employed in private cases, lay in exploiting the dialectic between any relevant ‘normative’ rule and its concrete application, in favour of their client's case. Thus, within the technical branch of ancient rhetoric, ‘laws’ were already held to exist within a domain of rhetorical argumentation. What emerges from this perspective is not the ‘intellectual inferiority’ of late Roman law, but the creativity and ingenuity of late Roman forensic practitioners.
Jack Beatson and Reinhard Zimmermann (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199270583
- eISBN:
- 9780191710230
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199270583.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
Recent years have seen a growing body of literature on the contribution of scientists, historians, and literary and artistic figures who were forced to leave Germany and Austria after Adolf Hitler ...
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Recent years have seen a growing body of literature on the contribution of scientists, historians, and literary and artistic figures who were forced to leave Germany and Austria after Adolf Hitler came to power. This book is the first study of the important contribution of refugee and émigré legal scholars to the development of English law. Those considered in the book are: Ernst Joseph Cohn, David Daube, Rudolf Graupner, Max Grünhut, Hermann Kantorowicz, Otto Kahn-Freund, Hersch Lauterpacht, Gerhard Leibholz, Kurt Lipstein, Francis A. Mann, Hermann Mannheim, Lassa Oppenheim, Otto Prausnitz, Fritz Robert Pringsheim, Gustav Radbruch, Clive Schmitthoff, Fritz Heinrich Schulz, Georg Schwarzenberger, Walter Ullmann, Martin Wolff, and Wolfgang Friedmann. The scene is set by two introductory chapters which explore the general background to the exodus of the émigré scholars from Germany, and their arrival in the United Kingdom. The volume then moves on to analyse the scholars' backgrounds, histories, and intellectual bent as individuals, evaluating their work and its impact on legal scholarship in both England and Germany. In those subjects where the influence of these lawyers was particularly strong — public and private international law, Roman law, and comparative law — it considers how far, collectively, these German- and Austrian-educated refugees and émigrés shaped the development of the law. There are also a number of personal memoirs, including one by the surviving member of the group, Kurt Lipstein.Less
Recent years have seen a growing body of literature on the contribution of scientists, historians, and literary and artistic figures who were forced to leave Germany and Austria after Adolf Hitler came to power. This book is the first study of the important contribution of refugee and émigré legal scholars to the development of English law. Those considered in the book are: Ernst Joseph Cohn, David Daube, Rudolf Graupner, Max Grünhut, Hermann Kantorowicz, Otto Kahn-Freund, Hersch Lauterpacht, Gerhard Leibholz, Kurt Lipstein, Francis A. Mann, Hermann Mannheim, Lassa Oppenheim, Otto Prausnitz, Fritz Robert Pringsheim, Gustav Radbruch, Clive Schmitthoff, Fritz Heinrich Schulz, Georg Schwarzenberger, Walter Ullmann, Martin Wolff, and Wolfgang Friedmann. The scene is set by two introductory chapters which explore the general background to the exodus of the émigré scholars from Germany, and their arrival in the United Kingdom. The volume then moves on to analyse the scholars' backgrounds, histories, and intellectual bent as individuals, evaluating their work and its impact on legal scholarship in both England and Germany. In those subjects where the influence of these lawyers was particularly strong — public and private international law, Roman law, and comparative law — it considers how far, collectively, these German- and Austrian-educated refugees and émigrés shaped the development of the law. There are also a number of personal memoirs, including one by the surviving member of the group, Kurt Lipstein.
Paul Friedland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199592692
- eISBN:
- 9780191741852
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199592692.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History, European Early Modern History
This chapter traces the various strands of thought and practice that formed the fabric of punishment in western Europe. In the early Middle Ages, punishment was largely retroactive, imposing fines ...
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This chapter traces the various strands of thought and practice that formed the fabric of punishment in western Europe. In the early Middle Ages, punishment was largely retroactive, imposing fines and various forms of penance for crimes and sins that had already been committed. From the eleventh century onward, however, a renaissance in the study of Roman law ushered in an era of penal deterrence which was largely concerned with preventing crimes in the future, both by making individual offenders less likely to reoffend and by dissuading others though the example of their punishment. Beneath a preoccupation with penal deterrence, which survives to this day, vestiges of earlier conceptions of compensation and atonement have nevertheless endured.Less
This chapter traces the various strands of thought and practice that formed the fabric of punishment in western Europe. In the early Middle Ages, punishment was largely retroactive, imposing fines and various forms of penance for crimes and sins that had already been committed. From the eleventh century onward, however, a renaissance in the study of Roman law ushered in an era of penal deterrence which was largely concerned with preventing crimes in the future, both by making individual offenders less likely to reoffend and by dissuading others though the example of their punishment. Beneath a preoccupation with penal deterrence, which survives to this day, vestiges of earlier conceptions of compensation and atonement have nevertheless endured.
Michael A. Livingston, Pier Giuseppe Monateri, and Francesco Parisi
Mauro Capelletti, John Henry Meryman, and Joseph M. Perillo (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780804774956
- eISBN:
- 9780804796552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804774956.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
This chapter traces the history of Italian law from the Roman period through the beginning of the Italian Republic (1946). It explains the history of Italian law in relation to the cultural, ...
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This chapter traces the history of Italian law from the Roman period through the beginning of the Italian Republic (1946). It explains the history of Italian law in relation to the cultural, political, social, and economic histories of Italy.Less
This chapter traces the history of Italian law from the Roman period through the beginning of the Italian Republic (1946). It explains the history of Italian law in relation to the cultural, political, social, and economic histories of Italy.
Reinhard Zimmermann
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198299134
- eISBN:
- 9780191708046
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198299134.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
Legal history helps us to understand modern or contemporary law. It explains why the law has become what it is. It lays open the premises on which the modern law is based. It constitutes a rich ...
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Legal history helps us to understand modern or contemporary law. It explains why the law has become what it is. It lays open the premises on which the modern law is based. It constitutes a rich source of experience which is as valuable for the development of modern legal doctrines as for law reform. It may also reveal where a wrong turn has been taken and thus prevent us from repeating an error. Today, however, historical legal scholarship has acquired an added significance in view of the Europeanisation of private law and private law scholarship. It enables us to see the common ground between our modern national legal systems and to understand existing differences. It makes us aware of the fact that the law has not developed in national isolation and can, therefore, not properly be understood under purely national auspices. It constitutes the foundation for scholarship in comparative law and paves the way towards re-establishing a European legal culture. The focus of these Clarendon lectures is on the ‘vital connection that ties the present to the past’ (Savigny) and on the link between legal history, modern legal doctrine, and comparative law. They aim to recreate an awareness of a fundamental intellectual unity based on a common tradition. Such awareness is of central importance to sustain the process of a Europeanisation of private law which we experience today. The three lectures consist of: ‘The End of an Era: Transformation of Scholarship in Roman Law’, ‘The Transition from Civil Law to Civil Code: Dawn of a New Era?’, and ‘A Change in Perspective: European Private Law and its Historical Foundations’.Less
Legal history helps us to understand modern or contemporary law. It explains why the law has become what it is. It lays open the premises on which the modern law is based. It constitutes a rich source of experience which is as valuable for the development of modern legal doctrines as for law reform. It may also reveal where a wrong turn has been taken and thus prevent us from repeating an error. Today, however, historical legal scholarship has acquired an added significance in view of the Europeanisation of private law and private law scholarship. It enables us to see the common ground between our modern national legal systems and to understand existing differences. It makes us aware of the fact that the law has not developed in national isolation and can, therefore, not properly be understood under purely national auspices. It constitutes the foundation for scholarship in comparative law and paves the way towards re-establishing a European legal culture. The focus of these Clarendon lectures is on the ‘vital connection that ties the present to the past’ (Savigny) and on the link between legal history, modern legal doctrine, and comparative law. They aim to recreate an awareness of a fundamental intellectual unity based on a common tradition. Such awareness is of central importance to sustain the process of a Europeanisation of private law which we experience today. The three lectures consist of: ‘The End of an Era: Transformation of Scholarship in Roman Law’, ‘The Transition from Civil Law to Civil Code: Dawn of a New Era?’, and ‘A Change in Perspective: European Private Law and its Historical Foundations’.
Gloria Vivenza
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198296669
- eISBN:
- 9780191597008
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296665.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, History of Economic Thought
Deals with the classical influences that may be found in the Lectures on Jurisprudence, two sets of notes taken by Adam Smith's students. Smith's lectures are studied in the mainstream of modern ...
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Deals with the classical influences that may be found in the Lectures on Jurisprudence, two sets of notes taken by Adam Smith's students. Smith's lectures are studied in the mainstream of modern jurisprudential thought, with references to natural law theories, and to the evolutionary approach led by Montesquieu and followed by important Scottish thinkers. This chapter stresses the relevance of Roman law and jurisprudence for Adam Smith's lectures, and the influence that the Roman legal system had on his general ideas about jurisprudence.Less
Deals with the classical influences that may be found in the Lectures on Jurisprudence, two sets of notes taken by Adam Smith's students. Smith's lectures are studied in the mainstream of modern jurisprudential thought, with references to natural law theories, and to the evolutionary approach led by Montesquieu and followed by important Scottish thinkers. This chapter stresses the relevance of Roman law and jurisprudence for Adam Smith's lectures, and the influence that the Roman legal system had on his general ideas about jurisprudence.
Wolfgang Ernst
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199270583
- eISBN:
- 9780191710230
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199270583.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
Fritz Schulz (1879–1957) was one of the most successful Roman law scholars in Germany when the Nazi rule ended his career in 1933. Forced into early retirement, he and his wife held out in Germany ...
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Fritz Schulz (1879–1957) was one of the most successful Roman law scholars in Germany when the Nazi rule ended his career in 1933. Forced into early retirement, he and his wife held out in Germany until 1939, when they escaped first to Leiden (The Netherlands) and then, by a narrow margin, to Oxford. There the family was kept afloat by a patchwork of support, coming mainly from Oxford University Press, whose Kenneth Sisam unlocked funds of the American Rockefeller Foundation for a full range of outstanding émigré scholars, from Balliol College and friends like F. A. Mann. Free from professorial duties, Schulz wrote two remarkable books, widely translated and reprinted ever since. He was the first to understand the Roman lawyers' writings as expressions of a professional, ‘scientific’ activity, opening up Roman law as a field for the study of history of science.Less
Fritz Schulz (1879–1957) was one of the most successful Roman law scholars in Germany when the Nazi rule ended his career in 1933. Forced into early retirement, he and his wife held out in Germany until 1939, when they escaped first to Leiden (The Netherlands) and then, by a narrow margin, to Oxford. There the family was kept afloat by a patchwork of support, coming mainly from Oxford University Press, whose Kenneth Sisam unlocked funds of the American Rockefeller Foundation for a full range of outstanding émigré scholars, from Balliol College and friends like F. A. Mann. Free from professorial duties, Schulz wrote two remarkable books, widely translated and reprinted ever since. He was the first to understand the Roman lawyers' writings as expressions of a professional, ‘scientific’ activity, opening up Roman law as a field for the study of history of science.
Adele Reinhartz
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195146967
- eISBN:
- 9780199785469
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195146967.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter looks at the representation of the Roman governor Pilate in the Jesus biopics in comparison with his role in the Gospel accounts. The Gospels portray him as a fair-minded and weak-willed ...
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This chapter looks at the representation of the Roman governor Pilate in the Jesus biopics in comparison with his role in the Gospel accounts. The Gospels portray him as a fair-minded and weak-willed leader, who was easily manipulated by Caiaphas and the Jewish crowds into executing Jesus despite his own belief in Jesus' innocence. This image contrasts rather starkly with the portrait of a ruthless, even vicious man that is to be found in noncanonical sources. In crafting a coherent and dramatic depiction of the events that lead inexorably to Jesus' crucifixion, filmmakers must address this discrepancy and, more specifically, assign responsibility for Jesus' death, either to Pilate, who formally pronounces the death sentence, or to one or more Jewish participants in this tragic affair. In doing so, they must also decide whether to introduce Pilate only in the trial scene, as the Gospels uniformly do, or to bring him into the story at an early point, in order to build a context and momentum for his role in the trial story.Less
This chapter looks at the representation of the Roman governor Pilate in the Jesus biopics in comparison with his role in the Gospel accounts. The Gospels portray him as a fair-minded and weak-willed leader, who was easily manipulated by Caiaphas and the Jewish crowds into executing Jesus despite his own belief in Jesus' innocence. This image contrasts rather starkly with the portrait of a ruthless, even vicious man that is to be found in noncanonical sources. In crafting a coherent and dramatic depiction of the events that lead inexorably to Jesus' crucifixion, filmmakers must address this discrepancy and, more specifically, assign responsibility for Jesus' death, either to Pilate, who formally pronounces the death sentence, or to one or more Jewish participants in this tragic affair. In doing so, they must also decide whether to introduce Pilate only in the trial scene, as the Gospels uniformly do, or to bring him into the story at an early point, in order to build a context and momentum for his role in the trial story.
Martin Loughlin
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199256853
- eISBN:
- 9780191594267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256853.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter examines the way the modern concept of public law evolved from a series of debates within medieval jurisprudence. In these debates theological and political questions were invariably ...
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This chapter examines the way the modern concept of public law evolved from a series of debates within medieval jurisprudence. In these debates theological and political questions were invariably intertwined and the main points of contention often arose from disputes concerning the governing arrangements of the Roman church. The struggles for authority between popes, emperors, and princes were variously expressed in the languages of law, whether divine law, Roman law, canon law, natural law, and common law. Public law acquires its basic grammar and vocabulary from this rich ideological battlefield.Less
This chapter examines the way the modern concept of public law evolved from a series of debates within medieval jurisprudence. In these debates theological and political questions were invariably intertwined and the main points of contention often arose from disputes concerning the governing arrangements of the Roman church. The struggles for authority between popes, emperors, and princes were variously expressed in the languages of law, whether divine law, Roman law, canon law, natural law, and common law. Public law acquires its basic grammar and vocabulary from this rich ideological battlefield.
Caroline Humfress
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198208419
- eISBN:
- 9780191716966
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208419.003.005
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter explores the question of whether post-classical advocates influenced the development of late Roman law through their forensic pleading. Under the various late Roman civil cognitio ...
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This chapter explores the question of whether post-classical advocates influenced the development of late Roman law through their forensic pleading. Under the various late Roman civil cognitio procedures, advocates could be involved in every phase of the lawsuit, from the principium litis (including the registering of the case, the summons, the response of the defendant and the prescribing of the necessary cautiones), through the medium litis (formally encompassing the narratio of the plaintiff and the contradictio of the defendant before the judge) to the definitum negotium (the administration of proofs up to the definitive sentence). If appointed, defence advocates would also be at hand throughout a public/‘criminal’ trial.Less
This chapter explores the question of whether post-classical advocates influenced the development of late Roman law through their forensic pleading. Under the various late Roman civil cognitio procedures, advocates could be involved in every phase of the lawsuit, from the principium litis (including the registering of the case, the summons, the response of the defendant and the prescribing of the necessary cautiones), through the medium litis (formally encompassing the narratio of the plaintiff and the contradictio of the defendant before the judge) to the definitum negotium (the administration of proofs up to the definitive sentence). If appointed, defence advocates would also be at hand throughout a public/‘criminal’ trial.
Paul Friedland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199592692
- eISBN:
- 9780191741852
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199592692.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History, European Early Modern History
Although customary and Roman law are often thought of as two entirely different bodies of law, this chapter charts the intrusion of Roman legal concepts—especially malice aforethought and exemplary ...
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Although customary and Roman law are often thought of as two entirely different bodies of law, this chapter charts the intrusion of Roman legal concepts—especially malice aforethought and exemplary deterrence—into customary law. From the twelfth century onward, punishment became increasingly spectacular and violent. New methods of execution, such as drawing and quartering, burning, boiling, beheading, live burial, and the wheel, were invented or borrowed from ancient Rome in order to transform the practice of punishment into a graphic exercise in exemplary deterrence. As the staging of punishment became more complex, fewer jurisdictions were entrusted with the authority to execute capital sentences, with the result that the practice of punishment gradually became less local in character. An increasingly powerful monarchy encouraged judicial discretion as a means of circumventing local irregularities and instituting a more homogenous, national system of punishment.Less
Although customary and Roman law are often thought of as two entirely different bodies of law, this chapter charts the intrusion of Roman legal concepts—especially malice aforethought and exemplary deterrence—into customary law. From the twelfth century onward, punishment became increasingly spectacular and violent. New methods of execution, such as drawing and quartering, burning, boiling, beheading, live burial, and the wheel, were invented or borrowed from ancient Rome in order to transform the practice of punishment into a graphic exercise in exemplary deterrence. As the staging of punishment became more complex, fewer jurisdictions were entrusted with the authority to execute capital sentences, with the result that the practice of punishment gradually became less local in character. An increasingly powerful monarchy encouraged judicial discretion as a means of circumventing local irregularities and instituting a more homogenous, national system of punishment.
H. Patrick Glenn
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199227655
- eISBN:
- 9780191713606
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199227655.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law, Legal History
This chapter begins by discussing the need for a new European ius commune and the possibility of some global implications of its use. It then talks about the history of the European common laws ...
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This chapter begins by discussing the need for a new European ius commune and the possibility of some global implications of its use. It then talks about the history of the European common laws starting with Roman law and its universality. Moreover, it explains the mobility of people as well as the mobility of laws. The chapter also discusses topics such as the nature of the new common laws; the early expansion of the ius unum and common law; the essential tradition of the ius commune; the ius commune as prototype; common law as common law; common law originating from England, France, Germany, and Spain; and other common laws of Europe.Less
This chapter begins by discussing the need for a new European ius commune and the possibility of some global implications of its use. It then talks about the history of the European common laws starting with Roman law and its universality. Moreover, it explains the mobility of people as well as the mobility of laws. The chapter also discusses topics such as the nature of the new common laws; the early expansion of the ius unum and common law; the essential tradition of the ius commune; the ius commune as prototype; common law as common law; common law originating from England, France, Germany, and Spain; and other common laws of Europe.
G. E. M. De Ste. Croix
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199278121
- eISBN:
- 9780191707872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199278121.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter reprints Ste. Croix's 1963 Past and Present investigation of why Christians were persecuted in the first three centuries, together with a brief response in 1964 to criticisms by A.N. ...
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This chapter reprints Ste. Croix's 1963 Past and Present investigation of why Christians were persecuted in the first three centuries, together with a brief response in 1964 to criticisms by A.N. Sherwin-White. Ste. Croix's main objective was to counter Sherwin-White's theory that Christians fell foul of Roman provincial administration because of the obstinacy they displayed in adherence to their beliefs. Ste. Croix insisted that the main charge against Christians under Roman law was simply the name of Christian, which was sufficient to generate persecution unless the accused could clear themselves by a variety of relatively simple procedures. Careful scrutiny of the evidence for persecution, especially during the 2nd century, clarifies the mechanics of Roman administration and the application of imperial law.Less
This chapter reprints Ste. Croix's 1963 Past and Present investigation of why Christians were persecuted in the first three centuries, together with a brief response in 1964 to criticisms by A.N. Sherwin-White. Ste. Croix's main objective was to counter Sherwin-White's theory that Christians fell foul of Roman provincial administration because of the obstinacy they displayed in adherence to their beliefs. Ste. Croix insisted that the main charge against Christians under Roman law was simply the name of Christian, which was sufficient to generate persecution unless the accused could clear themselves by a variety of relatively simple procedures. Careful scrutiny of the evidence for persecution, especially during the 2nd century, clarifies the mechanics of Roman administration and the application of imperial law.
REINHARD ZIMMERMANN
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198299134
- eISBN:
- 9780191708046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198299134.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
This lecture shows how legal history lost touch with modern legal doctrine in 19th-century Germany. This process of emancipation was enormously beneficial in enhancing our knowledge of classical ...
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This lecture shows how legal history lost touch with modern legal doctrine in 19th-century Germany. This process of emancipation was enormously beneficial in enhancing our knowledge of classical antiquity. Arguably, however, the pendulum swung too far. There has always been, in the development of the civilian tradition, competition between an ‘elegant’ and a ‘utilitarian’ approach. The lecture discusses the natural law codifications and Roman law; the effects of codification in general, focusing on the experiences of France, the Netherlands, Prussia, and Austria; the civil code of Germany; historical legal scholarship in the 19th century; the neglect of the more recent history of private law; and the transition from ‘contemporary’ Roman law to Roman law.Less
This lecture shows how legal history lost touch with modern legal doctrine in 19th-century Germany. This process of emancipation was enormously beneficial in enhancing our knowledge of classical antiquity. Arguably, however, the pendulum swung too far. There has always been, in the development of the civilian tradition, competition between an ‘elegant’ and a ‘utilitarian’ approach. The lecture discusses the natural law codifications and Roman law; the effects of codification in general, focusing on the experiences of France, the Netherlands, Prussia, and Austria; the civil code of Germany; historical legal scholarship in the 19th century; the neglect of the more recent history of private law; and the transition from ‘contemporary’ Roman law to Roman law.
Amram Tropper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199267125
- eISBN:
- 9780191699184
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199267125.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Religion in the Ancient World
This chapter investigates some comparable themes in the contemporary sphere of the Roman law. It considers some salient features of the Roman setting and their relevance to Avot. The presence of ...
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This chapter investigates some comparable themes in the contemporary sphere of the Roman law. It considers some salient features of the Roman setting and their relevance to Avot. The presence of Roman legal jurisdiction and Greek-speaking lawyers in the Near East indicates that the fundamentals of Roman law were probably well known throughout the Graeco-Roman environment in Palestine. The Roman legal context of the second and third centuries illuminates numerous facets of the broad historical setting of Avot. The similar interests and emerging prominence of rabbis and eastern juries apparently reflected overarching trends of the time. Meanwhile, the educational function of the Institutes, the Enchiridion, and the Regulae Iuris highlights the textbook nature of the Mishnah and Avot's role as a text to be internalized at all levels of study.Less
This chapter investigates some comparable themes in the contemporary sphere of the Roman law. It considers some salient features of the Roman setting and their relevance to Avot. The presence of Roman legal jurisdiction and Greek-speaking lawyers in the Near East indicates that the fundamentals of Roman law were probably well known throughout the Graeco-Roman environment in Palestine. The Roman legal context of the second and third centuries illuminates numerous facets of the broad historical setting of Avot. The similar interests and emerging prominence of rabbis and eastern juries apparently reflected overarching trends of the time. Meanwhile, the educational function of the Institutes, the Enchiridion, and the Regulae Iuris highlights the textbook nature of the Mishnah and Avot's role as a text to be internalized at all levels of study.
Garth Fowden
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158532
- eISBN:
- 9781400848164
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158532.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Ancient History / Archaeology
This chapter examines several other major learned or religious traditions that flourished during the First Millennium, with particular emphasis on their maturation through exegesis of and commentary ...
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This chapter examines several other major learned or religious traditions that flourished during the First Millennium, with particular emphasis on their maturation through exegesis of and commentary on authoritative texts. It first considers Roman law, a tradition rooted in pre-First Millennium, non-monotheistic Antiquity, before discussing rabbinic Judaism, patristic Christianity, and Islam. The goal is to consolidate the argument that the First Millennium was the source not only of the three great texts that have most deeply molded Eurasian civilization (the Christian Bible, the Justinianic code, and the Qur'āan), but also of the exegetical traditions through which these often recalcitrant books were transformed into usable public doctrine.Less
This chapter examines several other major learned or religious traditions that flourished during the First Millennium, with particular emphasis on their maturation through exegesis of and commentary on authoritative texts. It first considers Roman law, a tradition rooted in pre-First Millennium, non-monotheistic Antiquity, before discussing rabbinic Judaism, patristic Christianity, and Islam. The goal is to consolidate the argument that the First Millennium was the source not only of the three great texts that have most deeply molded Eurasian civilization (the Christian Bible, the Justinianic code, and the Qur'āan), but also of the exegetical traditions through which these often recalcitrant books were transformed into usable public doctrine.
Benedict Kingsbury and Benjamin Straumann (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199599875
- eISBN:
- 9780191595813
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199599875.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Legal History
This book makes the under-explored argument that modern international law was built on the foundations of Roman law and Roman imperial practice. A pivotal figure in this enterprise was the Italian ...
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This book makes the under-explored argument that modern international law was built on the foundations of Roman law and Roman imperial practice. A pivotal figure in this enterprise was the Italian Protestant Alberico Gentili (1552–1608), the great Oxford Roman law scholar and advocate, whose books and legal opinions on law, war, empire, embassies, and maritime issues framed the emerging structure of inter-state relations in terms of legal rights and remedies drawn from Roman law, and built on Roman and scholastic theories of just war and imperial justice. The chapters examine the theory and practice of justice and law in Roman imperial wars and administration; Gentili's use of Roman materials; the influence on Gentili of Vitoria and Bodin and his impact on Grotius and Hobbes; and the ideas and influence of Gentili and other major thinkers from the 16th to the 18th centuries on issues, such as preventive self-defence, punishment, piracy, Europe's political and mercantile relations with the Ottoman Empire, commerce and trade, European and colonial wars and peace settlements, reason of state, justice, and the relations between natural law and observed practice in providing a normative and operational basis for international relations and what became international law. This book explores ways in which both the theory and the practice of international politics was framed in ways that built on these Roman private law and public law foundations, including concepts of rights. This history of ideas has continuing importance as European ideas of international law and empire have become global, partly accepted and partly contested elsewhere in the world.Less
This book makes the under-explored argument that modern international law was built on the foundations of Roman law and Roman imperial practice. A pivotal figure in this enterprise was the Italian Protestant Alberico Gentili (1552–1608), the great Oxford Roman law scholar and advocate, whose books and legal opinions on law, war, empire, embassies, and maritime issues framed the emerging structure of inter-state relations in terms of legal rights and remedies drawn from Roman law, and built on Roman and scholastic theories of just war and imperial justice. The chapters examine the theory and practice of justice and law in Roman imperial wars and administration; Gentili's use of Roman materials; the influence on Gentili of Vitoria and Bodin and his impact on Grotius and Hobbes; and the ideas and influence of Gentili and other major thinkers from the 16th to the 18th centuries on issues, such as preventive self-defence, punishment, piracy, Europe's political and mercantile relations with the Ottoman Empire, commerce and trade, European and colonial wars and peace settlements, reason of state, justice, and the relations between natural law and observed practice in providing a normative and operational basis for international relations and what became international law. This book explores ways in which both the theory and the practice of international politics was framed in ways that built on these Roman private law and public law foundations, including concepts of rights. This history of ideas has continuing importance as European ideas of international law and empire have become global, partly accepted and partly contested elsewhere in the world.
REINHARD ZIMMERMANN
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198299134
- eISBN:
- 9780191708046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198299134.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Comparative Law
This lecture presents a number of examples that highlight the intellectual link between legal history and comparative law. In addition, nearly all these examples emphasise connections existing ...
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This lecture presents a number of examples that highlight the intellectual link between legal history and comparative law. In addition, nearly all these examples emphasise connections existing between civil law and common law. They are intended to demonstrate that there is no wall of incomprehension, except in the minds of lawyers still imbued by ‘the nationalist historiography that originated in the 19th century’. The lecture also discusses historical scholarship and the new ius commune, legal history as a means of understanding the present state of modern private law, the development of legal ideas by way of generalisation, lessons from mixed legal systems, European legal systems as mixed legal systems, the trust (a common law peculiarity?), good faith (a civilian peculiarity?) and legal methodology (judicial precedents, statute interpretation).Less
This lecture presents a number of examples that highlight the intellectual link between legal history and comparative law. In addition, nearly all these examples emphasise connections existing between civil law and common law. They are intended to demonstrate that there is no wall of incomprehension, except in the minds of lawyers still imbued by ‘the nationalist historiography that originated in the 19th century’. The lecture also discusses historical scholarship and the new ius commune, legal history as a means of understanding the present state of modern private law, the development of legal ideas by way of generalisation, lessons from mixed legal systems, European legal systems as mixed legal systems, the trust (a common law peculiarity?), good faith (a civilian peculiarity?) and legal methodology (judicial precedents, statute interpretation).
Gary Macy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195189704
- eISBN:
- 9780199868575
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189704.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
The concluding chapter speculates on some of the reasons why the definition of ordination changed in the 11th and 12th centuries, and, more importantly, why women were no longer considered either ...
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The concluding chapter speculates on some of the reasons why the definition of ordination changed in the 11th and 12th centuries, and, more importantly, why women were no longer considered either ordained or able to be ordained. Four factors contributed to the change. The Gregorian Reform Movement with its insistence on celibacy introduced a new and more virulent form of misogyny into Western Christianity. Roman law was read selectively to enforce the idea that women were incapable of leadership roles in the church. The biology and politics of Aristotle, newly introduced in the West, asserted that women were biologically and intellectually inferior to men. Theologians read scripture as supporting the assumptions of Roman law and Aristotle concerning the inferiority women and Eve in particular become the scapegoat for the Fall. No one cause seemed determinative in relegating women to an inferior status, but rather a concatenation of several mutually reinforcing factors.Less
The concluding chapter speculates on some of the reasons why the definition of ordination changed in the 11th and 12th centuries, and, more importantly, why women were no longer considered either ordained or able to be ordained. Four factors contributed to the change. The Gregorian Reform Movement with its insistence on celibacy introduced a new and more virulent form of misogyny into Western Christianity. Roman law was read selectively to enforce the idea that women were incapable of leadership roles in the church. The biology and politics of Aristotle, newly introduced in the West, asserted that women were biologically and intellectually inferior to men. Theologians read scripture as supporting the assumptions of Roman law and Aristotle concerning the inferiority women and Eve in particular become the scapegoat for the Fall. No one cause seemed determinative in relegating women to an inferior status, but rather a concatenation of several mutually reinforcing factors.
