Leges et in carmina redigendae sunt. Die Erfindung der Kodifikation als Konzept durch Melanchthon und deren Rezeption in katholischen Staaten bis 1811

Abstract

Why was it the Englishman Jeremy Bentham - from a State without comprehensive legislation -, who shaped the decisive definition of codification?He derived this idea from Protestant Reformation, as it can be traced back to Melanchthon, whose teaching was spread in all Protestant churches. The history of codification has therefore to be written in a different way: it starts in Saxony with its electoral Constitutions of 1572, the first summit was achieved with the Danske Lov of 1681. This code served as the role model in Norway, Swedwn and Prussia. In this instance Protestant authors such as Pufendorf and Leibniz propagated only old convictions. With their reception in Catholic countries such as France, Austria and Northern Italy at least during the 18th century, this idea became one of the foundations of European legal culture.