Università Roma Tre

The course covers a very wide chronological period: from the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor (4th century AD), to the German Historical School (19th century). This chronology is justified by the fact that a real understanding of the legal-historical phenomena is possible only considering a long-term perspective. For this reason, it is essential to refer to the textbooks adopted and to the topics of the lessons. The end of the persecutions against the Christians (Edict of Tolerance, 313) not only changed forever the destiny of the Christian religion but constitutes a necessary premise to understand the development of both civil and canon law in the following centuries. The program ends with the German Historical School and therefore with the analysis of the work and legacy of Friedrich Carl von Savigny. This movement has in fact stated the importance of history as a fundamental stage in the education of lawyers.

The lessons will be divided into two modules: 1) Middle Ages (3rd-15th cent.) and 2) Modern Era (16th-19th cent.). This chronological subdivision is justified by the elements of novelty that marked the transition from one era to another. Sometimes these are purely juridical elements, more often events of a social, economic or religious nature produced decisive repercussions on the world of law.

Topics of the lessons:
Society and law between Diocletian and Justinian.
Early Christianity and the sources of canon law.
Germanic kingdoms and laws.
The Carolingian era.
The Gregorian reform, the origin of the Italian city-states and the "re-descovery" of the Digest.
Irnerius and Gratian.
The School of Bologna and the other law schools.
Corpus Iuris Canonici and canon law.
The commentators (or postglossators).
Italian kingdoms.
Legal humanism.
Lutheran Reformation.
New trading routes and the chartered companies.
Mos italicus: consilia and decisiones.
Jusnaturalism: School of Salamanca, Grotius, Hobbes and Locke.
Legal Enlightenment (focus on France and Italy).
French Revolution and Constitution.
Code civil.
Codification in Europe.
The German Historical School.

Part 1: Middle Ages
Ennio Cortese, "Le grandi linee della storia giuridica medievale", Roma: Il Cigno, 2000 (chap. 8 excluded: Il diritto bizantino e il Mezzogiorno).

Part 2: Modern and Contemporary Era
Mario Ascheri, "Introduzione storica al diritto moderno e contemporaneo", Torino: Giappichelli, 2008. ONLY the following chapters:
Part II, Chapp. I (pp. 71-102) and III (pp. 129-160).
Part III, Chapp. II pp. 199-220) and III (pp. 221-271).
Part IV, Chapp. I (pp. 273-296), IV and V (pp. 321-362).