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.
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.
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/9780198208419.003.002
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This chapter discusses forensic practitioners and the development of Roman Law from the late Republic to the late Empire. It describes the interaction of forensic practitioners in court under the ...
More
This chapter discusses forensic practitioners and the development of Roman Law from the late Republic to the late Empire. It describes the interaction of forensic practitioners in court under the classical formulary procedure, and highlights their contribution to the development of new substantive law.Less
This chapter discusses forensic practitioners and the development of Roman Law from the late Republic to the late Empire. It describes the interaction of forensic practitioners in court under the classical formulary procedure, and highlights their contribution to the development of new substantive law.
Caroline Humfress
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198208419
- eISBN:
- 9780191716966
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208419.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Medieval History
This book approaches the subject of late Roman law from the perspective of legal practice revealed in courtroom processes, as well as more ‘informal’ types of dispute settlement. From at least the ...
More
This book approaches the subject of late Roman law from the perspective of legal practice revealed in courtroom processes, as well as more ‘informal’ types of dispute settlement. From at least the early 4th century, leading bishops, ecclesiastics, and Christian polemicists participated in a vibrant culture of forensic argument with far-reaching effects on theological debate, the development of ecclesiastical authority, and the elaboration of early ‘Canon law’. One of the most innovative aspects of late Roman law was the creation and application of new legal categories used in the prosecution of ‘heretics’. Leading Christian polemicists not only used techniques of argument learnt in the late Roman rhetorical schools to help position the Church within the structure of Empire, they also used those techniques in cases involving accusations against ‘heretics’ — thus defining and developing the concept of Christian orthodoxy itself.Less
This book approaches the subject of late Roman law from the perspective of legal practice revealed in courtroom processes, as well as more ‘informal’ types of dispute settlement. From at least the early 4th century, leading bishops, ecclesiastics, and Christian polemicists participated in a vibrant culture of forensic argument with far-reaching effects on theological debate, the development of ecclesiastical authority, and the elaboration of early ‘Canon law’. One of the most innovative aspects of late Roman law was the creation and application of new legal categories used in the prosecution of ‘heretics’. Leading Christian polemicists not only used techniques of argument learnt in the late Roman rhetorical schools to help position the Church within the structure of Empire, they also used those techniques in cases involving accusations against ‘heretics’ — thus defining and developing the concept of Christian orthodoxy itself.
