HIST 215 Roman Law and its Legacy
Roman law made both the republic and the empire possible: as jurists developed a sophisticated jurisprudence of justice and equity, they enabled the creation of a web of social and economic relations across peoples and places. Roman jurisprudence introduced concepts of intention, analogy, justice, and equity to the legal traditions of Europe, and for centuries, the study of Roman law was part of the primary curriculum for those students who did not wish to be doctors or priests. It was considered essential to the development of skills of reasoning and to citizenship. This course, which grapples with the enduring question of what justice is, begins with a detailed study of Roman law itself and then considers its lasting legacies in medieval and modern law. As we will see, Roman law sets down enduring concepts in family law, the law of slavery, property law, and constitutional understandings of the power of the prince.