The Common Legal Past of Europe: 1000-1800 (STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN CANON LAW)

Lydia G. Cochrane (trans) Written with a vigor and passion rarely found in a scholarly text, this broad history of the western European legal tradition is now available in an elegant and lucid translation from the original Italian. Here Manlio Bellomo looks back to a time when Europe had a common law that transcended national and legal boundaries. This common law, which the author calls the ius commune, developed in the twelfth century from the fusion of Roman, canon, and feudal law, and held sway for centuries until several factors ultimately conspired to undermine its influence. Linking his extensive history to modern-day concerns, Bellomo argues that the codification that occurred in European countries during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has introduced ambiguity, rigidity, and uncertainty into legal systems. A new common law for Europe, he asserts, would provide a much better vehicle for legal change and development in a time when the economic barriers between European nations are crumbling. Having set the stage for a historical treatment of the topic, Bellomo then describes the beginnings of the ius commune in the schools of the twelfth century. He explains how the iura propria, or local laws, emerged from the unifying norms and principles of the ius commune. Bellomo uses carefully chosen examples to illustrate how for centuries the ius commune permeated every aspect of the iura propria, marking European law indelibly with its stamp. He discusses the great jurists who gave common law its intellectual vigor - Gratian, Accursius, Odofredus, Cinus, and Bartolus - and concludes with an account of the humanist jurists of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and early seventeenth centuries. Originally published as L'Europa del diritto comune by Il Cigno Galileo Galilei, Rome, copyright © 1988, 1989. This is a broad history of the western European legal tradition. From the modern age the author looks back to a time when Europe had a common law that transcended national and legal boundaries. This common law, which Bellomo calls the "ius commune", had developed in the 12th century from the fusion of Roman, canon and feudal law. Existing within the framework of the "ius commune" were the local laws or "iura propria" - the myriad laws of everyday life, the laws particular to the various kingdoms, principalities, cities, guilds and secular and ecclesiastical corporations. Bellomo illustrates how for centuries the "ius commune" permeated every aspect of the "iura propria", marking European law indelibly with its stamp. Because the "iura propria" emerged from the unifying norms and principles of the "ius commune", one can not properly understand local European systems of law without first understanding the "ius commune" and its influence on the legal concepts, institutions, procedures, documents, and doctrines of the "iura propria". Linking his history to modern day concerns, Bellomo argues that the codification that occurred in European countries during the 18th and 19th centuries has introduced ambiguity, rigidity and uncertainty into legal systems. A new common law for the whole of Europe, he asserts, would provide a much better vehicle for legal change and development in a time when the economic barriers between European nations are crumbling. Bellomo then describes the beginnings of the "ius commune" in the schools of the 12th century, discusses the development of Italian, French and German "iura propria", and incorporates into the text sketches of the great jurists who gave common law its intellectual vigour. He concludes with an account of the humanist jurists of the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries. "Written with a vigor and passion rarely found in a scholarly text, this broad history of the western European legal tradition is now available in an elegant and lucid translation from the original Italian." "Here Manlio Bellomo looks back to a time when Europe had a common law that transcended national and legal boundaries. This common law, which the author calls the ius commune, developed in the twelfth century from the fusion of Roman, canon, and feudal law, and held sway for centuries until several factors ultimately conspired to undermine its influence. Linking his extensive history to modern-day concerns, Bellomo argues that the codification that occurred in European countries during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has introduced ambiguity, rigidity, and uncertainty into legal systems. A new common law for Europe, he asserts, would provide a much better vehicle for legal change and development in a time when the economic barriers between European nations are crumbling." "Having set the stage for a historical treatment of the topic, Bellomo then describes the beginnings of the ius commune in the schools of the twelfth century. He explains how the iura propria, or local laws, emerged from the unifying norms and principles of the ius commune. Bellomo uses carefully chosen examples to illustrate how for centuries the ius commune permeated every aspect of the iura propria, marking European law indelibly with its stamp. He discusses the great jurists who gave common law its intellectual vigor - Gratian, Accursius, Odofredus, Cinus, and Bartolus - and concludes with an account of the humanist jurists of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and early seventeenth centuries."--Jacket Foreword by Kenneth Pennington ix Preface to the American Edition xi Preface to the 1991 Edition xv Preface to the First Edition xvii I. National Codifications: Triumph and Crisis 1 2. Per pugnam sine iustitia: An Age without Jurists 34 3. Ius commune in Europe 55 4. Ius proprium in Europe 78 5. The University in Europe and the Ius commune 112 6. Legal Science: Forms of Exposition and Techniques of Diffusion 126 7. The System of the Ius commune 149 8. In Time and Space 203 Bibliographical Note 237 Index 241 This is a broad history of the western European legal tradition. The author examines the common law of Europe, the ""ius commune"", and its influence on the ""ius propria"", the laws of everyday life. He argues that as Europe's economic borders crumble, it is time for a new common law. With a vigor and passion rarely found in a scholarly text, Manlio Bellomo has written a broad history of the western European legal tradition. It is now made available to an English-speaking audience in an elegant and lucid translation from the original Italian.