Bringing together a team of international experts from different subject areas including law, history, archaeology and anthropology this book re-evaluates the traditional narratives surrounding the origins of Roman law before the enactment of the Twelve Tables. Much is now known about the archaic period, relevant evidence from later periods continues to emerge and new methodologies bring the promise of interpretive inroads. This book explores whether, in light of recent developments in these fields, the earliest history of Roman law should be reconsidered. Drawing upon the critical axioms of contemporary sociological and anthropological theory, the contributors yield new insights and offer new perspectives on Rome's early legal history. In doing so, they seek to revise our understanding of Roman legal history as well as to enrich our appreciation of its culture as a whole.

This volume brings together an international team of scholars to debate Cicero's role in the narrative of Roman law in the late Republic - a role that has been minimised or overlooked in previous scholarship. This reflects current research that opens a larger and more complex debate about the nature of law and of the legal profession in the last century of the Roman Republic. Contributors: Benedikt Forschner * Catherine Steel * Christine Lehne-Gstreinthaler * Jan Willem Tellegen * Jennifer Hilder * Jill Harries * Matthijs Wibier * Michael C. Alexander * Olga Tellegen-Couperus * Philip Thomas * Saskia T. Roselaar * Yasmina Benferhat.

This is an interdisciplinary, edited collection on social science methodologies for approaching Roman legal sources. Roman law as a field of study is rapidly evolving to reflect new perspectives and approaches in research. Scholars who work on the subject are increasingly being asked to conduct research in an interdisciplinary manner whereby Roman law is not merely seen as a set of abstract concepts devoid of any background, but as a body of law which operated in a specific social, economic and cultural context. This "context-based" approach to the study of Roman law is an exciting new field which legal historians must address. Since the mid-1960s, a new academic movement has advocated a "law and society" approach to the study of Roman law instead of the prevailing dogmatic methodology employed in many Faculties of law. This book aims to further the current debate on the interface between legal history and ancient history. It brings together a distinguished group of scholars who will provide different perspectives on this debate. It addresses particular themes within this debate such as law and legal practice, law and gender as well as law and economics.

A fundamental re-assessment of Cicero's place in Roman law This volume brings together an international team of scholars to debate Cicero's role in the narrative of Roman law in the late Republic a role that has been minimised or overlooked in previous scholarship. This reflects current research that opens a larger and more complex debate about the nature of law and of the legal profession in the last century of the Roman Republic. ContributorsBenedikt Forschner Catherine Steel Christine Lehne-Gstreinthaler Jan Willem Tellegen Jennifer Hilder Jill Harries Matthijs Wibier Michael C. Alexander Olga Tellegen-Couperus Philip Thomas Saskia T. Roselaar Yasmina Benferhat

Borkowski's Textbook on Roman Law is the leading contemporary textbook in the field of Roman law, and has been written with undergraduate students firmly in mind. The book provides a clear and highly engaging account of Roman private law and civil procedure, with coverage of all key topics, including the Roman legal system, and the law of persons, property, and obligations. The book gives a comprehensive overview of both the historical context and modern relevance of Roman law today. Included are references to a wide range of scholarly texts, to ground the judicious account of Roman law firmly in contemporary scholarship. There are also examples from legal practice, as well as truncated timelines at the start of each chapter to illustrate how the law developed over time. The book contains a wealth of learning features, including chapter summaries, diagrams and maps. A major feature of the book is the inclusion of translated extracts from the most important sources of Roman law: the Digest and the Institutes of Justinian. Annotated further reading sections at the end of each chapter act as a guide to further enquiry. Digital formats and resources This edition is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats, and is supported by online resources. - The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features, and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks - The online resources include: * Self-test questions on the key topics of Roman law give students the opportunity to test learning. These questions test factual knowledge to help consolidate understanding of key topics and they are interactive providing the correct answer to each question and a reference to the relevant part of the textbook. * Revision sheets and sample essay questions aid exam preparation. * An interactive timeline supplements the list of dates featured in the introduction to the textbook. It may also be used as a schematic guide to chapter 1 (Introduction: Rome-a historical sketch). The timeline provides a chronological overview of the development of Roman private law in its political and historical context. * Short biographies of key figures to be used in conjunction with the timeline to supplement the discussion of the jurists in chapter 2 (The sources of Roman law). * There is also a glossary of Latin terms; annotated web links; guidance on finding Roman law texts and associated literature; and tips regarding textual analysis to guide the reader in interpreting the texts.

Few topics have had a more profound impact on the study of Roman law in Britain than the lex Aquilia, a Roman statute enacted c.287/286 BCE to reform the Roman law on wrongful damage to property. This volume investigates this peculiarly British fixation against the backdrop larger themes such as the development of delict/tort in Britain and the rise of comparative law. Taken collectively, the volume establishes whether it is possible to identify a 'British' method of researching and writing about Roman law.

Few topics have had a more profound impact on the study of Roman law in Britain than the lex Aquilia, a Roman statute enacted c.287/286 BCE to reform the Roman law on wrongful damage to property. This volume investigates this peculiarly British fixation against the backdrop larger themes such as the development of delict/tort in Britain and the rise of comparative law. Taken collectively, the volume establishes whether it is possible to identify a 'British' method of researching and writing about Roman law.

The Oxford Handbook of Roman Law and Society surveys the landscape of contemporary research and charts principal directions of future inquiry. More than a history of doctrine or an account of jurisprudence, the Handbook brings to bear upon Roman legal study the full range of intellectual resources of contemporary legal history, from comparison to popular constitutionalism, from international private law to law and society, thereby setting itself apart from other volumes as a unique contribution to scholarship on its subject. The Handbook brings the study of Roman law into closer alignment and dialogue with historical, sociological, and anthropological research into law in other periods. It will therefore be of value not only to ancient historians and legal historians already focused on the ancient world, but to historians of all periods interested in law and its complex and multifaceted relationship to society.