“Roman law” could mean very different things in the Carolingian period, and refers to a great variety of legal texts. This becomes particularly visible from the abbreviated versions of Roman law that were produced and circulated since the 6th century. The paper contrasts the so-called Epitome Aegidii, a Gallic compilation based on the Breviary of the Visigothic King Alaric II, with the so-called Epitome Iuliani, a short version of the novels of the Emperor Justinian, as both abbreviated compilations were used in the regnum Italiae under the Frankish Emperor Lothar I for legislation and legal practice. Both compilations attest to different aspects of the Roman legal tradition, and to the divergent purposes of the Frankish rulers when trying to make use of Roman law. Surprisingly, we also find elements of Ostrogothic law incorporated into what was perceived of in Carolingian Italy as the manifold resources of the Roman legal tradition.
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany - ORCID: 0000-0001-8436-7480
Chapter Title
Roman Law in the regnum Italiae under the Emperor Lothar I (817‒855): Epitomes, Manuscripts, and Carolingian Legislation
Authors
Stefan Esders
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-664-3.05
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Between Ostrogothic and Carolingian Italy
Book Subtitle
Survivals, revivals, ruptures
Editors
Fabrizio Oppedisano
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
262
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-664-3
ISBN Print
978-88-5518-663-6
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-664-3
eISBN (xml)
978-88-5518-666-7
Series Title
Reti Medievali E-Book
Series ISSN
2704-6362
Series E-ISSN
2704-6079