History of Medieval Law LM – 2023-2024

Teacher: Prof. Alessandro Dani
E-mail: alessandro.dani@uniroma2.it
CFU: 6
Course code: 804001973
Degree: Master’s Degree “Scienze della Storia e del documento”
Course delivery modalities: In-presence		 Language: Italian
Pre-requisites: No pre-requisites
Attendance: Optional
Assessment method: Oral exam
Period: 1st term
Program:
I) The first part will be dedicated to the institutional context of the late Roman Empire, to the Roman-barbarian Kingdoms, to the Justinian’s compilation. The salient features of the traditional law of the Germanic peoples and its peculiarities will be compared to the Roman law.
II) The second part will examine the law and the public institutions of the Lombard Kingdom, the legislation of the Franks and the formation of the Holy Roman Empire. So the feuds and territorial seigniories will be studied, the rebirth of juridical studies and the school of the Glossators, the legal system of the Church and the development of canon law.
III) The last part will be dedicated to the law and institutions of Italian municipal civilization, even with direct study of sources. The municipal organizational model, the statutes of the Municipalities and the corporations, the relationship between ius proprium and ius commune, the various legal aspects of the documentation produced by the Municipalities will be analyzed. The characteristics of the land domain and of the main agricultural contracts will be illustrated, to conclude with the long and significant story of the commons in the Italian territories.
Text books:
A) ATTENDING STUDENTS
Attending students: general and introductory writings will be indicated and papers, video documentaries or conferences will be provided or indicated, week by week, related to some main topics addressed in classroom.
B) NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
For non-attending students we recommend one of the following manuals:

  • M. Ascheri, Introduzione storica al diritto medievale, Torino, Giappichelli Editore, 2007, per intero (pp. 270).
  • G. Diurni, Aspirazioni di giuridicità del Medioevo d’Italia, Torino, Giappichelli Editore, 2011, per intero (pp. 240).
Bibliography:
  • E. Cortese, Le grandi linee della storia giuridica medievale, Roma, Il Cigno Galileo Galilei, 2000;
  • M. Caravale, Ordinamenti giuridici dell’Europa medievale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1994;
  • A. J. Gurevic, Le categorie della cultura medievale, Torino, Einaudi, 1983;
  • P. Grossi, Le situazioni reali nell’esperienza giuridica medievale, Padova, Cedam, 1968;
  • A. Dani, Le risorse naturali come beni comuni, Arcidosso, Edizioni Effigi, 2013.
Educational goals and expected learning outcomes:
A) Learning outcomes: The course aims to illustrate the main aspects of the juridical and institutional culture of the Middle Ages, as much as possible also in reference to the great themes of social, political, economic and religious history and to the documentary archive sources..
B) Knowledge and understanding: The course aims to provide the appropriate knowledge to the full understanding of salient aspects, such as the conception of sovereignty and public authorities (both superior and local), iura in re and land contracts, family law and succession.
C) Applying knowledge and understanding: A direct approach to texts and documentary sources will be proposed in order to verify concretely the theoretical features illustrated and to fully understand the legal significance of the documents.
D) Making judgements: An interpretative approach will be stimulated as free as possible from ideological or historiographical preconceptions, to encourage the formation of critical opinions that enhance overall cultural background of the student.
E) Communication skills: Opportunities for dialogue during the course will be stimulated to improve language skills and lexical mastery.
F) Learning skills: These opportunities for dialogue will also constitute an important moment for monitoring the effective reception of the contents of the discipline.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: . APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING: . MAKING JUDGEMENTS: . COMMUNICATION SKILLS: . LEARNING SKILLS: .
Methods and criteria for verifying the learning:
Methods and criteria for verification of learning outcomes We will try to stimulate a dialogue between teacher and students during the course, also aimed at verifying learning outcomes. The formal moment of verification is however represented by an oral examination which will focus on three topics related to the three parts of the course described above. Attending students can freely choose one of the three topics. The oral exam is designed to verify that the student has acquired the knowledge and skills that constitute the educational objectives of the teaching. In particular, the candidate must demonstrate that he has acquired the terminological and conceptual skills necessary for understanding the main points of the program listed above.
Teaching methods:
Teaching methods All lessons will be held in direct and frontal way by the professor, with use of slides. Attending students during the lectures will be made available handouts in PDF, based on the teaching material presented in classroom in Powerpoint slides, with images, reproductions of documents, mnemonics and maps. Furthermore, general and introductory writings will be indicated and video documentaries or conferences will be provided or indicated, week by week, related to some main topics addressed in classroom.
Attendance modalities:
Three two-hour lessons a week, for five weeks.
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