This section of the Sourcebook collects the various online texts related to the
history of law.
Main Page will take you back to
Sourcebook main page.
Full Texts will take you to the
index of full text medieval sources.
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on hagiography.
New Accessions Page will take you back
to a file of Sourcebook contents organized by date of addition (so you can see what is
new).
Search the Sourcebook will enable
searches of the full texts of all the source texts at Fordham, at ORB, or selected
ancient, late antique, and medieval text databases.
Medieval Legal History
Ancient
Legal Sources
A link to the page of the Ancient History Sourcebook which provides texts of
ancient Near Eastern, Greek, and Early Roman legal sources.
The Theodosian Code
compiled all the imperial edicts from the time of Constantine I. It was promulgated in
East and West to reinforce the stability of Imperial Law by making clear what the law was.
The Corpus Iuris Civilis [Code of Civil Law], 529-533 CE
Under the
direction of Tribonian, the Corpus Iurus Civilis was issued in three parts, in
Latin, at the order of the Emperor Justinian. The Codex Justinianus (529) compiled
all of the extant (in Justinian's time) imperial constitutiones from the time of
Hadrian. It used both the Codex Theodosianus and private collections such as the Codex
Gregorianus and Codex Hermogenianus. The Digest, or Pandects, was
issued in 533: it compiled the writings of the great Roman jurists such as Ulpian along
with current edicts. It constituted both the current law of the time, and a turning point
in Roman Law: from then on the sometimes contradictory case law of the past was subsumed
into an ordered legal system. The Institutes was intended as sort of legal textbook
for law schools and included extracts from the two major works. Later, Justinian issued a
number of other laws, mostly in Greek, which were called Novels.
Oldradus de Ponte: No. 35 (Questio), early 14th
century
The issue here is the validity of a marriage contract made under duress. A woman was
kidnapped, held captive and raped over a period of twelve days. During that time, the
villain compelled the woman to pronounce the words of a marriage ceremony, after which he
endeavored to consummate the marriage.
Oldradus de Ponte: No. 92 (Questio), early 14th
century
The issue here was the responsibility of a knight who had been entrusted with a castle
while a war was going on. That knight gave custody of the castle to someone else who then
lost it to the enemy. Was the original knight liable for the castle's loss? What is the
responsibility of someone who undertakes to keep something safe for someone else?
Ecumenical and General Church CouncilsNOTE: The texts here are public domain English translations from the
Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers series, for the first seven ecumenical councils, and from
H.J. Schroeder, Disciplinary Decrees of the General Councils, (St. Louis: B.
Herder, 1937) [US Copyright expired - confirmed by TAN books, current owner of B. Herder's
list]. These are not necessarily the best available sources for the various council texts,
although they are quite serviceable, and the notes in the NPNF series are very useful.
More recent editions and translations should be consulted for serious academic publication
purposes. I have prepared a Guide to Documentary Sources
for Catholic Teaching which lists, in some detail, what I take to be the current
standard editions. See also
Ecumenical Councils - a useful, if denominationally partisan, article from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Volume XIV -- The Seven Ecumenical Councils of the Undivided Church; Canons and
Decrees; Canons of Local Synods with Ecumenical Acceptance
[At CCEL]
There are also online etexts of council decrees from Norman Tanner, ed., Decrees
of the Ecumenical Councils, (London: Sheed and Ward; Washington. D.C: Georgetown
University Press. 1990). I have made these off-site links (at http://www.ewtn.com)
available, but note that there is no indication that copy permission has been
obtained. EWTN is a very conservative Catholic web site, but it does have a lot of files
[over 9000].
Jacques Fournier, Bishop of Pamiers 1318-1325: The Inquisition Record.
[At SJSU]
English translation by Nancy P. Stork of selected confessions by Cathar heretics and Jews
to Bishop Jacques Fournier and the Inquisition at Pamiers.
Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents [At DO]
A Complete Translation of the Surviving Founder's Typika and Testaments. The online
collection includes texts from 61 monastic foundations.
Rule of the Lady
Hospitallers of the Royal Monastery of Sigena, 1188, in Latin, [At Internet Archive, from Kansas]
The Royal Monastery of Sigena was an institution of Lady Hospitallers and enjoyed a great
deal of independence and influence. It would appear that its Rule was the work of Sancha,
Queen of Aragon.
Nicholas III: Exiit qui
seminat, Soriano, Italy: August 14, 1279, (With attached Latin Text). [At EWTN]
See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Nicholas
III
On the confirmation of the rule of the Friars Minor.
Nicholas III: Exiit qui
seminat, Soriano, Italy: August 14, 1279, (alternate translation by John Kilcullen
and John Scott ). [At MacQuarrie U]
Clement V:
Exivi de
paradiso, May 6, 1312 with the Ecumenical Council of Vienne in session
Latin Text available. [At
Franciscan Archive]:or see copy [At EWTN]
Declaration of the supreme Pontiff on the Rule of the Friars Minor.
Innocent IV: Bull Quae
honorem conditoris omnium ["Whatever Is for the Honor of the Creator of
All"], October 1, 1247. [At EWTN]. See also the version at CarmelNet.
On the prior and hermits of Mt. Carmel. The Bull includes the Carmelites' mitigated
rule.
Marsiglio of Padua (d.1343): Defensor Pacis:
Conclusions, 1324. Same Text with Introduction also available.[complete, and in a different version from Tierney. Geary has copyrighted
selections from body of the text, chaps. 3 and 13]
Charles the Bald: Edict of Pistes, 864
One of the most complete Carolingian documents on the regulation of coinage and mints.
"Feudal" Law
Burchard of Worms: Lex Familie Wormatiensis. c.1025,
trans Steve Lane [slane@tezcat.com] An internal law for the dependents of the bishop of
Worms, written mostly to settle disputes and feuds.
Duel between Engelardus and the monks of Saint-Serge of Angers, c.1100
Abbots Daibert and Otbrannus prevent a battle between their monks, 27 and 28
April, 1064
Trouble between St Martin of Tours and Holy Cross of Talmont leads to a judicial
battle, 1098
Abbot Robert of Mont-Saint-Michel seeks the right to determine where duels are
held.
René of Anjou: Tournament Book,
1406. [At Princeton],
Old French and English text of instructions on how to hold a tournement by King Rene of
Anjou.
French National Assembly:
Decree Abolishing Feudalism, 11 August 1789. [At Hanover]
Although not a medieval text, this decree of the French Revolutionary assembly is
significant in determining what the modern term feodalisme meant.
Unlike England, which developed its insular common law tradition rather early, the
legislative activity of the high medieval states of continental western Europe was heavily
influenced by the revival in the study of Roman law. Nevertheless, customary legal
traditions continued to play an important role.
WEB Robert Palmer: English Legal History
Materials Page [At Univ. Houston]
Basically an online textbook on Medieval English law. The Discussion chapters contain the
full texts or extended excerpst of the main documents.
Select English Writs
Texts in Latin and English of the most important early writs.
Robert Palmer: Rules of Law [At Houston]
Page down this page for text of rules of law such as Utrum and Darein presentment.
Robert Palmer: Application
of Writs [At Univ. Houston]
Cases derived from the plea rolls, the records of the king's court, showing application of
writs
Roger of Wendover: Runneymede, 1215, from Flowers
of Hisory
Innocent III: Declaration that Magna Carta is Null and Void, Aug 24, 1216
Magna Carta, 1216, (a revised version)
Bracton: De Legibus Et
Consuetudinibus Angliæ (On the Laws and Customs of England), in English and Latin,
attributed to Henry of Bratton, c. 1210-1268), Full Text [At Harvard]
The Register of Roger Martival, Bishop of Salisbury,
1315-1330, trans. Richard Barton
Texts from the Register of Roger Martivall, Bishop of Salisbury. The last one, in
particular, is of interest, as it is concerned with criminous clerks and clerical status.
The Questioning of John Rykener, A Male Cross-Dressing
Prostitute, 1395,
This is the one a a minute number of texts from legal processes on same-sex activities in
late medieval England. The document contains a facsimile of the Roll membrane, a Latin
transcription, and a translation.
Ordinance of the Jews of the Crown of
Aragon, 1354 CE
This ordinance or takkanah was the product of an increased sense of Jewish
vulnerability in the years after the Black Death (1348).
Synod of Castilian Jews, 1432
Ordinances from assembly of the Jews of the kingdom of Castile at Valladolid in
1432.
WEB The Hypertext Halacha. [At Project
Genesis/torah.org]
A translation of the Shulchan Aruch and Mishna Berurah. An excellent source
for the details of Jewish religious law.
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu: The Spirit of the Laws, Translated by
Thomas Nugent, revised by J. V. Prichard, 1914 ed., full text [At Constitution.org]
The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located
at the History Department of Fordham University, New
York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other
medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for
Medieval Studies.The Internet History Sourcebooks Project [IHSP] is
a world wide web project designed to provide easy access to primary sources and other
teaching materials in a non-commercial environment. It was developed and is edited
by Paul Halsall with the aid of numerous other contributors. The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham
University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval
Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham
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University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal
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