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manumission: act of freeing a slave at the will of the owner or through a deed; slave would become a freedman but were still did not gain all the rights of a Roman citizen; ROMAN: ancient rome
distraint: the seizure and holding of property as security for payment of a debt or satisfaction of a claim
oligarchy: form of government where political power rests with a small distinguished group (royalty, wealthy, spiritual powers)
novellae: consisted of new laws that were passed after 534
due process: principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law of the land, instead of respecting merely some or most of those legal rights; law/legal proceeding must be fair
Jurisconsulti: a professional who studies, develops, applies or otherwise deals with the law
inquest jury: group of people that would investigate crimes to determine what happened and declare the charge
jury: A jury is a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court
assize: can mean either an edict; a court (criminal); panel of 12 lawful men
compurgnation: early common-law method of trial in which the defendant is acquitted on the sworn endorsement of a specified number of friends or neighbor
aristotle: his ideas where revived in 12th C: natural law, philosophy and scholasticism
demandant (claimant): one who asserts a right or title
assize of mort d'ancestor: a plaintiff claimed the defendant had entered upon a freehold belonging to the plaintiff following the death of one of his relatives.
lex: public and authoritative declaration of ius (written down law): ancient rome
advocates: a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person
charter: An instrument in writing, from the sovereign power of a state or country, executed in due form, bestowing rights, franchises, or privileges
corpus juris civilis: a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I;The provisions of the Corpus Juris Civilis also influenced the Canon Law of the church
catholic latin church: clearly synonymous with "Western Church", a term that some continue to use exclusively of the Church in communion with the see of Rome
communal courts: results to claims were resolved by the community of the defendant/accuser
summons: a call or citation by authority to appear before a court or a judicial officer; enforced by writ
norman conquest: in 1066 AD with the invasion of the Kingdom of England by the troops of William, Duke of Normandy ("William the Conqueror"), and his victory at the Battle of Hastings. This resulted in Norman control of England
manorial court: in feudal law, court through which a lord exercised jurisdiction over his tenants
degree of kinship: two peoples blood relation to each other through a common ancestor needed to be determined before they could be legally married or rightfully inherit; prevents incestual relationships
Nicomedia: Diocletian made it the eastern capital city of the Roman Empire in 286 when he introduced the Tetrarchy system: ROMAN
grants: A transfer of property by deed or writing;
tetrarchy: power is divided between four individuals; Diocletian took care of matters in the Eastern regions of the Empire while Maximian similarly took charge of the Western regions. In 293, feeling more focus was needed on both civic and military problems, Diocletian, with Maximian's consent, expanded the imperial college by appointing two Caesars. ROMAN
Ius Commune: in the 14th C. both canon and civil law became very intertwined and became known as the ius commune 'single system for the whole of Europe'
orthodox greek church: Orthodox Christianity identifies itself as the original Christian church founded by Christ and the Apostles, EAST
seisin: The act of taking legal possession of land.
domus: house that would be controlled by paterfamilia (family house)
talion: phrase 'an eye for an eye';A punishment identical to the offense, as the death penalty for murder
criminous clerks: clergy who had committed acts that were against the law, but escaped being punished through the use of the church courts
Ulpian: Roman jurist; made commentaries about roman law; His writings altogether have supplied to Justinian's Digest about a third of its contents
codex justinianus: e Codex Justinianus (Code of Justinian, Justinian's Code) was the first part to be completed, on April 7, 529 A.D. It collects the constitutiones of the Roman Emperors; reflects the social order of the later Empire (emperor as supreme)
wite: a fine imposed by a king or lord on a subject who committed a serious crime; GERMANIC
laity: A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained clergy is considered as a member of the laity
canons: a list or set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a particular religious community,
oath helper: would swear an oath on behalf of an accused man, to clear him from the suspicion of the crime
law of Theodoric: collections of Roman law for the subjects of barbarian rulers; this edict applied to both romans and goths; 500; Germanic and Roman
presentment jury: the written statement of an offense by a grand jury, of their own knowledge or observation, when no indictment has been laid before them
act books: Acts tells the story of the Apostolic Age of the Early Christian church, with particular emphasis on the ministry of the Twelve Apostles and of Paul of Tarsus.
writ of right: a potential litigant wishes to assert their rights over a plot of land
chattel slavery: people who are treated as the property of another person, household, company, corporation or government; (all places/times)
Glossa Ordinaria: assembly of glosses which came to be widely accepted in universities, esp. in the 13th century. Such books were official commentaries which professors read after the ordinary (lecture on fundamental text): Medieval
codex theodosius: the Theodosian Code was designed to eliminate superfluous material and to organize the complex body of imperial constitutions that had been in effect since the time of the emperor Constantine I; christian influence; Roman: 438
emancipation: to terminate paternal control over a child
Consuls: chairmen of the Senate, which served as a board of advisers. They also commanded the Roman army (both had two legions) and exercised the highest juridical power in the Roman empire; only served for one year (2 men)
homage: the personal submission of a vassal to a lord, by which the vassal pledged to serve the lord
ius: concepts of justice (verbal): ancient roman
tenant (defendant): a person, company, etc., against whom a claim or charge is brought in a court
Tribunes: person elected to protect the interests and rights of the plebeians from the patricians; had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the exclusive right to propose legislation before it; the tribune could summon the Senate and lay proposals before it; ROMAN REPUBLIC
Episcopal jurisdiction: sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, which governs the Vatican and represents the Catholic Church in temporal affairs aka HOLY SEE (location)
Comitia Centuriata: democratic assembly of the Roman soldiers; The Centuries gathered into the Century Assembly for legislative, electoral, and judicial purposes; ROMAN: Roman republic
Twelve Tables: ancient legislation that was the foundation of Roman law; allowed every Roman to know the laws; mainly focused on private rights and procedures; written down in 451 BC: ROMAN
villeins; serfs: was the most common type of serf in the Middle Ages. Villeins had more rights and status than those held as slaves, but were under a number of legal restrictions that differentiated them from the freeman; serf: a person in a condition of servitude, required to render services to a lord
digest: collection of legal writings mostly dating back to the second and third centuries. Fragments were taken out of various legal treatises and opinions
essoins: an excuse for nonappearance in court; could be based on several reasons (sick/overseas etc)
salic franks: From the 3rd century on the Salian Franks appear in the historical records as warlike Germanic people and pirates, and as "Laeti" (allies of the Romans). They were the first Germanic tribe from beyond the limes that settled permanently on Roman land.
visigoths: The Visigoths first emerge as a distinct people during the fourth century, initially in the Balkans, where they participated in several wars with Rome. A Visigothic army under Alaric I eventually moved into Italy and famously sacked Rome in 410.
proprietary writs: writs regarding the holding of property
assize of novel disseisin: an action to recover lands of which the plaintiff had been disseised, or dispossessed.
trespass: an unlawful act causing injury to the person, property, or rights of another, committed with force or violence,
comitia plebis: a comittee of plebians that was formed to oppose the patricians in order to gain rights involving elected positions
foederati (pl): tribes bound by treaty (foedus), who were neither Roman colonies nor had they been granted Roman citizenship (civitas) but were expected to provide a contingent of fighting men when trouble arose, thus were allies.
patriapotestas: patrical power; thhe power held by the paterfamilias was called patria potestas
Gregorian reform: series of reforms made by gregory Vii; that as the Roman church was founded by God alone, the papal power (the auctoritas of Pope Gelasius) was the sole universal power, and that the pope alone could appoint or depose churchmen or move them from see to see (got rid of lay investiture)
fealty: a pledge of allegiance of one person to another--lord and vassal
iudex: in Roman republic deciding an issue in civil law was to refer it to a private citizen (or a group); this single juryman then investigates facts/listens to witnesses and delivers judgment to defendant
sentences of paul: roman jurist; opinion of a jurist on a given question, expressed in written or in oral responsa.
returnable writ: a right given to certain liberties or franchises to execute royal writs within the land in question
Quaestors: Quaestors were elected officials of the Roman Republic who supervised the treasury and financial affairs of the state, its armies and its officers. Roman Republic
Law of Citations: a Roman law created in AD 426 by the emperor Theodosius II. It was designed to help judges deal with vast amounts of jurist writings on a subject and thus to reach a decision; Authority was given to Ulpianus, Gaius, Paulus, Papinianus and Modestinus: ROMAN
feudal court: court on the lords land--would settle disputes here--first stage of settling a disput
Coronation charter of Henry 1: document addressed certain abuses of royal power by his predecessor; The Charter was not really legislation, but rather a promise to return to the law of Edward the Confessor 1100
freedmen: a former slave who has been either emancipated or manumitted: ROMAN: ancient rome
Burchard: Bishop of Worms: the Roman Catholic bishop of Worms in the Holy Roman Empire, and author of a Canon law collection in twenty books the Decretum (1008)
imperial edict: a decree issued by a sovereign in this case the emperor: ancient rome
digest: consist of a collection of legal writings mostly dating back to the second and third centuries. Fragments were taken out of various legal treatises and opinions
hundred courts: courts that served areas that were a division of a shire for administrative, military and judicial purposes under the common law; if the hundred was under the jurisdiction of the crown the chief magistrate was a sheriff
gemot (witengemot?): he Witenagemot functioned as a national assembly whose primary function was advisory to the king and whose membership was composed of the most important noblemen in England, both ecclesiastic and secular
Nijals Saga: This Icelandic epic from the 13th century describes the progress of a series of blood feuds;methods used by the Icelandic Commonwealth to try to resolve them
manus: husbands legal power over his wife after his 'bride purchase'; once she was under her husbands manus it meant all legal ties with her original family was severed; ROMAN: ancient rome
Gaius' Institutes: students manual made by Gaius that categorized Roman law into three parts: persons, things, actions; used by Justinian later for his own book; Roman: around 150 AD
burgundians: Like many of the Germanic tribes, the Burgundians' legal traditions allowed The Burgundians left three legal codes, among the earliest from any of the Germanic tribes.;the application of separate laws for separate ethnicities
glanvill: 1188; wrote/oversaw a practical treatise on the forms of procedure in the king's court
possessory writs: writs regarding who possessed (had control over;owned) property
precipe writ: refer to the actual writ that would be presented to a court clerk to be officially issued on behalf of the court
Edict of Milan: letter signed by emperors Constantine and Licinius, that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire. The letter was issued in 313, shortly after the conclusion of the Diocletian Persecution (of christians); ROMAN
constitutions of clarendon: created by henry II to try and remove power from the church over ecclesiastic courts and curb their growing power that was a threat
Papinian: In the Law of Citations (426) he is classed with Gaius, Paulus, Modestinus and Ulpian as one of the five jurists whose recorded views were considered decisive; Roman empire
patron: the protector of a dependent; paterfamilia related
senate: A body of elders appointed or elected from among the nobles of the nation, and having supreme legislative authority
county court: the assembly of local residents who met periodically in each county under the presidency of the sheriff to transact the judicial and administrative business of the county
anglo-saxons: term usually used to describe the invading tribes in the south and east of Great Britain from the early 5th century AD, and their creation of the English nation
tithing: pay a tenth of ones income as tax (or to the church)
female gaurdienship: female could only be appointed holder of property etc. if the father died without appointing a tutor, she promised not to remarry and a magistrate agreed to appoint her
vassal: one who enters into mutual obligations with a lord, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fief.
Struggle of the Orders: political struggle between the Plebeians (commoners) and Patricians (aristocrats), in which the Plebeians sought political equality with the Patricians;At first only Patricians were allowed to stand for election to political office, but over time these laws were revoked, and eventually all offices were opened to the Plebeians--they could then be given membership to senate helping to mix up the senate (pleb/pats); Roman Republic
ius genitum: the body of common laws that applied to foreigners, and their dealings with Roman citizens
Cognitio: replaced formulary procedure; instead of an iudex there was a state appointed judge who heard the whole case; plaintiff presented case in writing instead of orally and there was a possibility for an appeal
ex officio: By virtue of office or position; 'by right of office'. Often used when someone holds one position by virtue of holding another
breivary of alaric: collection of Roman law made in the year 506 that affected roman populations living under Visigoth rule
holy orders: the Sacrament that confers ordination as bishops, priests, and deacons of the church
decretum: a collection of Canon law compiled and written in the twelfth century as a legal textbook by a jurist (perhaps) named Gratian
tenant: a person who holds/possesses or lives on the land of a lord; they pay hommage and he provides them protection in return: MEDIEVAL
exceptio: defendant wished to raise a specific defense (such as self-defence), he would do so in an exceptio. However, if the plaintiff was desirous of refuting the defence, he could file a replicatio, explaining why the defence was not valid. The defendant could then file another exceptio, and so on.
Censors: officials in ancient Rome responsible for taking the public census and supervising public behavior and morals
relief: a fine or composition which the heir of a feudal tenant paid to the lord for the privilege of succeeding to the estate
lex romana burgundonium: law code; influenced by Roman law and deals with Burgundian laws concerning marriage and inheritance as well as regulating weregild and other penalties. Interaction between Burgundians is treated separately from interaction between Burgundians and Gallo-Romans; Germanic
curiales: the merchants, businessmen, and medium-sized landowners who served in their local Curia as local magistrates: ancient rome
germanic codes: Germanic law was codified in writing under the influence of Roman law; previously it was held in the memory of designated individuals who acted as judges in confrontations and meted out justice according to customary rote, based on careful memorization
assize of northampton: solidified the rights of the tenants and made all possession of land subject to and guaranteed by royal law 1176
King's court: last step to settle a dispute; needed a writ to get there; use of grand assize while the justices of eyre knew about law
customary law: expressions of law that developed in particular communities and slowly collected and later written down by local jurists.
wergeld: weregeld was a person's value in monetary terms, which was paid by a wrongdoer to the family of the person who had been injured or killed.
Edictum Perpetuum: annual declaration made by the praetor in which he laid out the principles by which he would exercise his jurisdiction for his year in office
lordship: lord has aristocratic rank, has control over a portion of land and the produce and labour of the serfs living thereon; medieval
visigoths: The Visigoths first emerge as a distinct people during the fourth century, initially in the Balkans, where they participated in several wars with Rome. A Visigothic army under Alaric I eventually moved into Italy and famously sacked Rome in 410.
grand assize: trial by jury by a grand assize of sixteen men in land disputes
Thomas Becket: archbishop that was aggressive champion of the church; would not sign the 'constitutions of clarendon' that would restrict ecclesiastical privileges and curb the power of the Church courts
ius honorarium: laws that were derived from the grants of the new remedies contained in the edicts of the praetors (exceptions that made their way into civil law)
fief: land subject to feudal obligations (inheritable/workable lands to vassal for hommage in return to lord)
Bologna: founded in 1088, oldest existing university in Europe, and was an important centre of European intellectual life during the Middle Ages
depositions: witness testimony given under oath and recorded for use in court at a later date.; pretrial
proculians and sabinians: pro: one of the schools among jurists (1st/2nd Century) that favoured strict interpretation of texts and insisted words/phrases mean the same thing in every case; sab:referred to traditional practice and to the authority of earlier jurists to justify their opinions; often abandoned logic and reasoning
classical period of roman law: first two centuries of era marked high point of legal development (most sophisticated/refined form) in Roman law;The literary and practical achievements of the jurists of this period gave Roman law its unique shape
vindicatio: plaintiff demands that the defendant return a thing that belongs to the plaintiff. It may only be used when plaintiff owns the thing, and the defendant is somehow impeding the plaintiff's possession of the thing; only roman citizens could use this: ROMAN
felony: any crime punishable by death or mutilation and forfeiture of lands and goods
assize of clarendon: began the transformation of English law from such systems for deciding the prevailing party in a case as trial by ordeal or trial by battle to an evidentiary model, in which evidence and inspection was made by laymen (an assize--jury of 12)These proceedings did much to transfer power out of the hands of local barons and into the hands of the royal court and its judges.
vandals: The Vandals are perhaps best known for their sack of Rome in 455; germanic tribe
Pontifex maximus: the high priest of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs
universitas scholarum: guild of scholars that becomes what we know as university; gathering of scholars from all over
in fee: to the heir; feif could be inheritable
fourth lateran council: precided by innocent III; it was to discuss matters dealing with the capture of constantinople--he wanted to free the holy land; frederick II was declared holy roman emperor
clergy: he body of men set apart, by due ordination, to the service of God, in the Christian church, in distinction from the laity
henry II: reign saw the establishment of Royal Magistrate courts; royal writs, juries, regular circuits of justices of eyre
advowsen: the right in english law to nominate a person to hold a church office in a parish.
Natural Law: theory that posits the existence of a law whose content is set by nature and that therefore has validity everywhere
treaty of winchester: agreement that effectively ended The Anarchy, a dispute between Matilda and her cousin Stephen of England over the English crown; 1153; forced Stephen to recognise Matilda's son Henry of Anjou, who became Henry II, as his heir
Penitentials: book or set of church rules concerning the Christian sacrament of penance
interpolations: changes/additions/subtractions to law text; seen in Justinians reworking of the law to fit 6th C. Byzanitum views
Paterfamilias: the head male (eldest) representative of a Roman family (anyone under his hand--this includes extended family and slaves), only one with legal capacity; all family property in his hands; ROMAN: ancient rome
roman citizenship: a privileged status afforded to certain individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance
incest: sexual relationship between blood relatives, usually within the immediate family; was against the law; (all times/places)
jurists: people who were skilled and educated in the law
Gratian: Roman emperor: 4th C: Gratian prohibited Pagan worship at Rome;published an edict that all their subjects should profess the faith of the bishops of Rome
view of frankpledge: a system of dividing a community into tithings or groups of ten men, each member of which was responsible for the conduct of the other members of his group and for the assurance that a member charged with a breach of the law would be produced at court
college of pontiffs: body of the ancient Roman state whose members were the highest-ranking priests
Praetors: special magistrate that was established in 367 BC; elected anually; responsible for all governmental activities: ancient rome
canon law: The body of officially established rules governing the faith and practice of the members of a Christian church; seperate from roman 'civil' law
scholasticism: dominant form of theology and philosophy; method and a system which aimed to reconcile the Christian theology of the Church Fathers with the Greek philosophy of Aristotle and his commentators

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