The publication and application of the Theodosian Code

Abstract

This article presents some new proposals concerning the circumstances and mechanisms of the introduction of the Codex Theodosianus in the western half of the empire in AD 438. The compilation is not a strictly neutral document in every respect. In establishing a common work of reference for the whole empire, the enforcement of the Code in the western empire involved some aspects that were potentially disadvantageous to western interests. These facts shed extra light on the motivations of the prefect Faustus in involving the Roman senate in the process of the Code’s publication. The other new proposal concerns the status of the enigmatic constitutionarii, who should be considered not as state functionaries but as independent copyists with a licensed monopoly.