Law And Justice From Antiquity To Enlightenment »

This concise intellectual history of the law offers an accessible introduction to the development of law from ancient Babylon to eighteenth-century Europe. Robert Shaffern examines a rich array of sources to illuminate ideas about law and justice in Western civilization. Designed specifically for undergraduates to the subject, this book will be invaluable for introductory courses on the history of law and jurisprudence.

Abbreviations vii

Preface ix

Part I Law in the Fertile Crescent and Ancient Greece 1

The Code of Hammurabi 1

Ancient Israel 5

The Spirit of the Biblical Law 8

The Decalogue 9

The Lex talionis 12

Idolatry 13

Incest 15

Life and Death 18

The Origins of Democratic Justice 20

Culture and Justice in Classical Athens 25

The Athenian Practice of Justice 34

Part II The Law of the Romans 45

Early Rome 46

The Twelve Tables 47

The Constitution of the Mature Roman Republic 49

The Imperial Republic 52

Cicero's Jurisprudence 57

The Establishment of the Principate 64

The Jurisprudence of the Classical Era 68

Late Roman Law and the Christian Church 84

Part III The Laws of the Middle Ages 101

Germanic and Customary Law 101

The Carolingians 106

The Twelfth-Century "Legal Revolution" 113

The Law of the Fief 115

The Law of the Medieval Catholic Church 118

Recurrent Issues in Canon Law 121

Marriage and Monastic Vows 124

Pope Innocent III and the Principle of Subsidiarity 127

The "Wretched Poor" 130

Medieval Poor Law 133

The Theory of the Corporation 138

The Courts and Procedure of the Medieval Church 141

International Law 145

The Jurisprudence of St. Thomas Aquinas 148

English Common Law 154

Part IV The Early Modern Era 173

The Dissolution of Legal Ties of Dependence 173

The Dissolution of Latin Christendom 181

The Spanish Inquisition 184

The Protestant Reformation 187

The Jurisprudence of Hugo Grotius 191

Reform of Criminal Law 195

The Enlightenment 201

The Reforms of Cesare Beccaria 205

The Results of Enlightenment 208

Bibliography 215

Index 221

About the Author 233