Unit HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LAW

Course
Law
Study-unit Code
A005782
Curriculum
In all curricula
Teacher
Ferdinando Treggiari
Teachers
  • Ferdinando Treggiari
  • Ferdinando Treggiari
Hours
  • 48 ore - Ferdinando Treggiari
  • 16 ore - Ferdinando Treggiari
CFU
8
Course Regulation
Coorte 2025
Offered
2026/27
Learning activities
Base
Area
Storico-giuridico
Sector
IUS/19
Type of study-unit
Obbligatorio (Required)
Type of learning activities
Attività formativa monodisciplinare
Language of instruction
Italian
Contents
The course deals with the history of the most relevant legal systems and institutions in Europe from the end of the Roman Empire to the contemporary age
Reference texts
- La danze di Clio e Astrea, a cura di A.A. Cassi, II ed., Giappichelli, Torino, 2026: the entire Parte Prima (= pp. 1-299) and Chapters II, IV and V of the Parte Seconda (= pp. 359-416; 465-505; 507-555)
- F. Treggiari, Povertà e proprietà: una disputa medievale, Il Formichiere, Foligno, 2026.
Educational objectives
By examining the transformations of law over time, the course aims to foster students awareness of the evolution of legal phenomena. A non-notional approach to legal history aims to train the students to independence of judgment and to offer the right critical eye under which observe the developing and relativity of law.
Prerequisites
In order to understand the topics covered in the course and achieve the learning objectives, the student must have a good general education and possess essential knowledge of medieval, modern and contemporary history. This prerequisite applies to both attending and non-attending students.
Teaching methods
The course is composed by lectures and classroom discussions.
Other information
For any further information, students can contact the lecturer: 1) in the Department during office hours or after every class; 2) by e-mail; 3) on the Unipg Teams platform.
Learning verification modality
The exam consists of an oral exam, during which students must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the main themes and issues in the Western Legal Tradition, expressing themselves using mature language and appropriate technical and legal vocabulary and demonstrating the ability to understand legal phenomena in their historical context. The final grade will be awarded based on the following evaluation criteria: knowledge and understanding of the evolution of legal sources, institutions and legal thought; mastery of legal vocabulary and ability to grasp relevant informations; ability to navigate the diachronic context and identify the historical perspective of legal phenomena. Students with learning gaps in one or more key topics of the program will receive a failing grade, even if they have a basic understanding of the subject matter.
Extended program
The transition from the Ancient world to the Middle Ages, Roman imperial codifications, Christianity and the Church. The invasion of the Germanic peoples in Italy. The Romano-Barbarian Kingdoms. Personality and territoriality of law. Italy, land of Justinian law. Lombard law. The Carolingian era and feudalism. The Gregorian Reform. The revival of Roman law. The city as a legal system. The sources of ius proprium: customs and statutes. The medieval kingdoms. Canon law and the Church after Worms. The formation of the Common law. The legal Renaissance. Universities. Schools and methods of legal science. Iura propria, ius commune, utrumque ius. An in-depth study: the legal aspects of Franciscan poverty. The age of the consiliatores. 'Bartholism'. Legal Humanism. Modern States and the ‘Nationalization’ of the ius commune. The Legal Conquest of the New World. Natural Law and the Birth of International Law. The Supreme Courts of Moderne States. The Crisis of the Ius Commune. Legislative Consolidations and New State Law. The Enlightened Eighteenth Century. The Declarations of Rights. The Law of the French Revolution. Equity and Common Law. The Code: Concept and Structure. The Code Napoleon (1804) and Codification in Europe. The Age of the Restoration. The Italian Civil Code of 1865. The Spanish Civil Code (1888). The German Civil Code (1900). The Swiss Civil Code (1907). Law in the Experience of Twentieth-Century Totalitarianism. Further Reading: Family Law; Constitutional History; History of Criminal Law.
Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
Quality education - Peace and Justice, Strong Institutions