A Cultural History of Law in the Middle Ages (The Cultural Histories Series)

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. "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."--Bloomsbury Publishing Volume 1. A cultural history of law in antiquity / edited by Julen Etxabe, University of Helsinki, Finland -- Volume 2. A cultural history of law in the middle ages / edited by Emanuele Conte, Roma Tre University, Italy and EHESS, Paris, France and Laurent Mayali, University of California at Berkeley, USA -- Volume 3. A cultural history of law in the early modern age / edited by Peter Goodrich, Cardozo School of Law, New York, USA -- Volume 4. A cultural history of law in the age of enlightenment / edited by Rebecca Probert, University of Warwick, UK and John Snape, University of Warwick, UK -- Volume 5. A cultural history of law in the age of reform / edited by Ian Ward, Newcastle University, UK -- Volume 6. A cultural history of law in the modern age / edited by Richard K Sherwin, New York University Law School, USA and Danielle Celermajer, University of Sydney, Australia Cover 1 Contents 6 List of Figures 7 Notes on Contributors 9 Series Preface 11 Introduction 14 1 Justice 24 2 Constitution 36 3 Codes 58 4 Agreements: The Discovery of the Market and the Control of the Guilds 74 5 Arguments 90 6 Property and Possession 108 7 Wrongs: Towards a Cultural History of a Medieval Legal Concept 126 8 Legal Profession 138 Notes 153 Bibliography 158 Index 178