Connaissance du droit et communication de masse. Repères historiques

Abstract

Using ancient but also recent examples, the question of the necessity of a legal knowledge is the first that needs an answer : many civilizations prefered to keep the law secret, and to-day we find remaining aspects of this position. In a second time are presented different technics of transmission of the information on law s : oral technics are dominant during the Middle Ages and the Modem era, but, more and more, the written way is used giving an advantage to alphabetized people in the contemporaneous world. Finally a rapid attempt is made to know the real impact of this vulgarization of the legal norm : it seems that individual knew in the past and know to-day more that is generally admitted, but this knowledge is selective, the only rules remembered are the useful ones, so that they can be used or eventually more easily put aside.