The Sources of Roman Law
Subtitle: Problems and Methods for Ancient Historians (Approaching the Ancient World)
Publisher: Routledge
Published: December 24, 1996
Language: eng
Number of pages: 168
ISBN-13: 9780415089951
First sentence: Once upon a time, and I use the traditional phrase deliberately, Rome was a small city state governed by kings and closely connected to the Etruscans, a relatively advanced people of central Italy, with wide trading links.
Description: This book is concerned with four central questions: Who made law? Where did a Roman go to discover what the law was? How has the law survived to be known to us today? And what procedures were there for putting the law into effect? In The Sources of Roman Law, the origins of law and their relative weight are described in the light of developing Roman history. This is a topic that appeals to a wide range of readers. The law student will find illumination for the study of the substantive law.

The student of history will be guided into an appreciation of what Roman law means, as well as its value for the understanding and interpretation of Roman history. Both will find invaluable the description of how the sources have survived to inform our legal system and pose their problems for us.