84146 - Medieval and Modern Legal History

Learning outcomes

This course has two aims. The first one is giving students a general knowledge of the most significant events related to the history of sources of law, of legal science and of some institutions in a time span that goes from the 5th to the early 17th century, both on continental Europe and in Britain. The second aim is introducing students to the necessity of reading legal systems in a wider perspective, since understanding that each legal system is also a product of a society and of its Weltanschauung is a vital skill for every jurist.

Course contents

Nowadays too often sadly dismissed just as a sum of technician’s skills, legal science has long been a pillar of civilisation, and was studied not just as a means to provide an answer to man’s social needs, but also as a path to a firmer grasp of the meaning of life.

The foundation of western legal tradition was laid, on the one hand, by the rescue of Roman jurisprudence by the emperor Justinian at the beginning of the 6^th century AD and, on the other hand, by the rediscovery, from the end of the 11^th century, of that treasure by scholars in Bologna. Bolognese jurists had both the courage to address a knowledge which had been all but lost after the wreck of the Empire, and the inventiveness to adapt it to the very different circumstances of their era. The system they slowly built and constantly adapted was to last until the paradigm shift at the beginning of the Modern Era. Its rise, apogee and decline will be the subject of a substantial part of the course. But the Middle Ages were also marked first by the disappearance of the Roman model of sovereignty, which gave way to new conceptions of rule and power, and then by the rise of the forerunners of the modern state, which was to develop during the 16^th and 17^th century: attention will therefore be also paid to these topics. The course will also focus on the beginnings of constitutionalism and parliaments, which represent the essential contribution of the English world to Western legal tradition. Conventionally – although not so correctly, historically – Magna Carta (1215) represents the beginning of modern constitutionalism, and thus will come under closer scrutiny during the course. The origins and the medieval evolution of the English parliament will be studied as well.

Part One
- The decline of the Roman Empire

- The legacy of Roman law

- The birth of European culture: a new civilisation

- New conceptions of sovereignty in the high Middle Ages

- A watershed in legal history: the Lombard invasion of Italy

- The twilight of Roman Law

- Charlemagne and a new empire

- The feudal system

- Around AD 1000: law, society, authority and power

- A new Church: the Gregorian reform and the investiture controversy

- The rebirth of legal science

- Irnerius and the Glossators

- Canon law as statute law and legal science

- The Commentators

- Genres of medieval legal literature

Part Two

- Origins and medieval developments of Common Law

- Historical background of Magna Carta

- Analysis of the most important clauses of Magna Carta

- Magna Carta: myth and reality

- Anglo-Saxon precedents of medieval parliaments

- Political assemblies after the Norman Conquest

- 13^th century evolution of the English Parliament

- the ‘Model Parliament’ and its subsequent development

 

Part Three

- The system of Ius Commune

- The decline of medieval dualism

- The paradigm shift of the 16^th century

- The rise of the Modern Sovereign State

- The crisis of Ius Commune

- The modern school of natural law

Readings/Bibliography

Students who regularly attend classes will be assessed just on the contents of the lectures, and of the primary sources discussed during the course, Magna Carta included (the full text of Magna Carta, both in the original Latin and in an English translation, will be made available on Virtuale before lectures begin).

For students who do not regularly attend classes, the following books are required reading:

1. as to the general part of the course: Randall Lesaffer, European Legal History: A Cultural and Political Perspective, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2009, paragraphs §§ 42-50; 89-137; 144-175; 177-198; 213-288; 293-322; 332-338; 396-397;
2. as to Magna Carta, students shall be able to discuss the provisions of the Carta, as well as the historical context and the subsequent reinterpretation of Magna Carta; any commentary will do, but Nicholas Vincent, Magna Carta: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012 (only pp. 21-102, 111-124) is possibly the most convenient choice

Teaching methods

Alongside lectures on more general subjects, seminars centred on primary sources, as well on more specific topics will take place: students are encouraged and recommended to take an active part in them. However, this will happen only on a voluntary basis: Dr Bruschi will suggest relevant sources and bibliography to students deciding to take part in these interactive classes.

Assessment methods

Exams will normally consist of an oral test. Students will be assessed either on all the topics dealt with in the required reading (for students who do not regularly attend classes) or during classes (for those who attend them). Classes will be held approximately from February to May: students enrolled in the first year cannot take their exam before the end of May.

The outcome of the exam will be judged according to the following criteria. Students mastering with skill and perspicacity the evolution of law and jurisprudence from the Middle Ages to Modern Age and who will also know relevant data, such as historical figures, events and chronology, will be excellently graded (final mark between 27 and 30; an exceptional ability to navigate the subject and to personally rework the contents of the course will lead to a final mark of 30 hons.). Students who will prove sufficient knowledge of the topics dealt with and of just more important facts will get decent marks (final mark between 22 and 26). Rote learning will lead to pass the exam only if learners show minimum knowledge of key subjects (final mark between 18 and 21). Students showing serious gaps in their information, or unable to capture the historical and juridical sense of the topics dealt with, will fail the exam.

Students need to register for their exam on the Almaesami website.

Teaching tools

Teaching material will be available on Virtuale.

Students are strongly advised to subscribe to the mailing list
 ugo.bruschi.Medieval_and_Modern_Legal_History_2023
through www.dsa.unibo.it. The mailing list will be used in order to circulate useful information, such as urgent notices about classes. Students are asked to refrain from replying to the messages sent through the mailing list, as replies sometimes get lost. Instead, they should write directly to Dr Bruschi (ugo.bruschi@unibo.it).

Students with learning disabilities (DSA) are more than welcome to contact Dr Bruschi in order to work out the best way of studying and/or taking the exam.

Office hours

See the website of Ugo Bruschi