090037 VO Law and Society in Late Antiquity, Byzantium and the Western Middle Ages (2021W)

Law (how it is issued, how it is administered, and how it operates in practice) plays an important role in the historical research about past societies. This lecture series (Ring-Vorlesung) deals with these developments in late antiquity and in the Latin and Byzantine Middle Ages. Particular attention will be paid to the role of the law-giver and the significance of legal codifications and their subsequent transmission, beginning with the Theodosian Code. The Corpus Iuris Civilis of Emperor Justinian (6th cent.) is, after all, the foundation of 'Roman Law' until the present day. Additional emphasis will be placed on the relation between secular law and ecclesiastical law in the christian Middle Ages. We will scrutinise to what degree legal texts can offer insights into societies of the past and their structures. Since this course is offered as a 'Ring-Vorlesung', the fact that different lecturers will offer different segments also means that you learn about cutting-edge research.
Implicitly, you will gain an overview over the history of late antique and medieval societies in East and West, and an introduction to the sociology of law.