<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The article discusses the significance of Latin legal rules (<italic>regulae iuris, maximae iuris, dicta</italic>) for European legal culture. One of the areas explored by the authors is the relationship between the content of these rules and the language in which they were written down, i.e. Latin. Section one provides an overview of the origin, sources, and techniques of formulating legal rules by the jurisprudence of the ancient Roman state, with particular focus on the history of development of <italic>ius Romanum</italic>. After the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire (476 AD), the Church became the custodian of the values embedded in Roman law in Western Europe. Not only did she treasure precious scrolls containing ancient legal wisdom for the future generations but also implemented many Roman regulations in her internal legal system, as expressed in the paroemia <italic>Ecclesia vivit lege romana</italic>. This issue is addressed in section two. An important vehicle of disseminating the Roman legal thought, including its paroemias, was the Latin language. The ancient Romans contributed to its increasing circulation through rapid political expansion. Over time, Latin also elevated to the rank of the language of the Western Church. Because of that, it continued to prevail, also as a durable carrier of legal knowledge. This phenomenon is discussed in section three. The last section covers some facets of the use, application, and impact of Latin legal rules on modern legal science.</p>
</abstract>

The article discusses the significance of Latin legal rules (regulae iuris, maximae iuris, dicta) for European legal culture. One of the areas explored by the authors is the relationship between the content of these rules and the language in which they were written down, i.e. Latin. Section one provides an overview of the origin, sources, and techniques of formulating legal rules by the jurisprudence of the ancient Roman state, with particular focus on the history of development of ius Romanum. After the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire (476 AD), the Church became the custodian of the values embedded in Roman law in Western Europe. Not only did she treasure precious scrolls containing ancient legal wisdom for the future generations but also implemented many Roman regulations in her internal legal system, as expressed in the paroemia Ecclesia vivit lege romana. This issue is addressed in section two. An important vehicle of disseminating the Roman legal thought, including its paroemias, was the Latin language. The ancient Romans contributed to its increasing circulation through rapid political expansion. Over time, Latin also elevated to the rank of the language of the Western Church. Because of that, it continued to prevail, also as a durable carrier of legal knowledge. This phenomenon is discussed in section three. The last section covers some facets of the use, application, and impact of Latin legal rules on modern legal science.

Regulae Iuris: A Lasting and Universal Vehicle of Legal Knowledge

The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Białostockie Studia Prawnicze

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Regulae Iuris: A Lasting and Universal Vehicle of Legal Knowledge"}

The article discusses the significance of Latin legal rules (regulae iuris, maximae iuris, dicta) for European legal culture. One of the areas explored by the...

Regulae Iuris: A Lasting and Universal Vehicle of Legal Knowledge

Publié en ligne: 29 déc. 2022

Pages: 49 - 67

Reçu: 09 mai 2022

Accepté: 16 oct. 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2022.27.04.04

Mots clés
canon law, history of law, jurisprudence, Latin, legal rules, Roman law

© 2022 Antoni Dębiński et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Regulae Iuris: A Lasting and Universal Vehicle of Legal Knowledge

Publié en ligne: 29 déc. 2022

Pages: 49 - 67

Reçu: 09 mai 2022

Accepté: 16 oct. 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2022.27.04.04

Mots cléscanon law, history of law, jurisprudence, Latin, legal rules, Roman law

© 2022 Antoni Dębiński et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Mots clés
canon law, history of law, jurisprudence, Latin, legal rules, Roman law