The Postclassic Transformation of Roman Law

The Postclassic Period of Roman Law

The Postclassic Period was notably characterized by the popularization of law. This broad phenomenon involved a generalized impoverishment of legal culture, extending into various fields like linguistics, but particularly evident in the legal sphere, leading to what is known as vulgar Roman law.

While this decline was widespread in the Western Roman Empire, marked by Germanic invasions, the same cannot be said for the Eastern Roman Empire. In the East, major schools in cities like Constantinople and Alexandria saw jurists actively seeking to counter this decline by revisiting classical legal principles. This era in the East is often referred to as the Neo-East.

Factors Contributing to the Vulgarization of Roman Law

Several key reasons explain this vulgarization of Roman Law:

• 1. Decline of Classical Jurists

  The first cause was the decline of classical jurists, which can be linked to two factors:

  • Internal Factors

    A gradual loss of scientific knowledge meant jurists focused on compiling earlier works, which were no longer fully understood or updated. No new significant works were created, and many lawyers fell into anonymity.

  • External Factors

    A progressive loss of independence from the emperor further diminished the jurists' authority and innovation.

• 2. Penetration of Provincial Law

  A second cause was the increasing penetration of legal practices from the provinces, particularly peripheral provinces that had not been fully Romanized due to their strong Hellenistic traditions. This led to the adaptation of Roman law to local customs, a process known as legal loan.

  Consequently, classical Roman law was no longer applied in its pure form, but rather a legal system distorted by such loans.

• 3. Influence of Christianity

  Another significant reason was the growing influence of Christianity. Once the Church became more established and internally organized, it began creating its own legal framework, influenced by councils and decrees, which formed canon law.

  Initially, the Church modeled its law after Roman law. However, canon law later influenced Roman law in areas such as marriage, gender equality, humanitas (humanity/benevolence), and equity. This period also saw the rise of episcopal hearings, ecclesiastical trials conducted in the presence of a bishop.

• 4. Disruption of Classical Texts

  A fourth factor was the disruption suffered by classical legal texts. This disruption was primarily formal until the mid-3rd century. In subsequent centuries, there were also changes in the content and format of legal books, moving from scrolls to codices (book format).