Medieval Ius Commune

Abstract

This chapter discusses that the renaissance of the twelfth century brought about an intellectual revival in Western Europe. From the beginning of the twelfth century Bologna, in the north of Italy, was the centre of legal scholarship. In this city, the authoritative texts of Roman and canon law were studied and taught. Two periods can be distinguished in the medieval study of Roman law: the period of the Glossators, starting with Irnerius at the beginning of the twelfth century in Bologna until the end of the thirteenth century, and the period of the Commentators, which roughly covers the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The chapter concludes by making some comparative remarks on other medieval works which, strictly speaking, lie outside the Romano-canonical tradition, and shows that of other systems more or less contemporary to that of medieval ius commune some took the same approach, while others chose a different approach.Keywords: canon law; ius commune; Roman law; Western Europe