History of Medieval and Modern Law
A.Y. 2026/2027
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide the students with the basic critical tools enabling them to know the historical development of European law system, both contextualizing legal instruments and institutions within their evolutionary process and finding continuities and discontinuities between past and present. The learning objective of the course, therefore, is to illustrate the dynamics leading to the existing legal instruments and proceedings, as well as their possible declination in the fields of politics, economy, and culture, and also their legacy to contemporary law and institutions. To this end, focus will be on legislators and jurists approaches, especially through the technical examination of legal argumentation and reasoning, as well as the analysis of case studies.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will have to demonstrate - Knowledge and understanding: to know and to understand the basic notions underlying the development of European law, and to be able to reflect upon the distinctive features of Western legal culture. - Applying knowledge and understanding: the ability to understand the various techniques of legal reasoning, as well as the ability to collect, analyze and select data based on context. - Making Judgements: critical awareness, management skills, flexibility, and a capacity for research into the many elements that make up the historical side of law as it relates to the foundations of Western legal knowledge, through optional written exercises. - Communication skills: to write and to speak about the concepts learned during the course, utilizing coherent argumentation, methodical precision and correct language. - Learning skills: to understand the relationship between institutions, society and individuals, and also to demonstrate a strong capacity for analysis and reflection in terms of legal issues, both past and present.
Lesson period: Activity scheduled over several sessions (see Course syllabus and organization section for more detailed information).
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Surname A-C
Responsible
Lesson period
year
Course syllabus
The course aims to provide a broad overview of the history of legal sources in the centuries-long history of continental Europe, from the Middle Ages to the present day. It outlines the training and role of lawyers and the importance of legal method and the teaching of law. Emphasis is placed on the links between legal thought, legislation and practice; between the evolution of institutions and law-making processes; between legal history and political and economic history, social history and the history of ideas. Special attention is given to the European dimension of the transition from legal particularism to modern codification in the 18th and 19th centuries, and to the development of legislation and legal knowledge in the 19th and 20th centuries. The student of law is thus provided with cultural tools that are indispensable for perceiving and understanding today's legal complexity, characteristic of a digital and globalised world.
General Part:
- The early Middle Ages. The law of the Germanic kingdoms
- The Glossators and the new legal science
- University: students and teachers
- Canon Law (11th-14th centuries)
- The Commentators. Ius commune and ius proprium
- Early modern Period. Legal Humanism
- Legal doctrine and the Legal Profession
- The modern state. Local Laws and Royal Legislation
- Court decisions
- The plurality of legal orders and legal sources
- Natural Law
- Jurists of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century
- The Enlightenment and the Law
- The Reforms
- The French Revolution and the Law
- The Napoleonic Era. The French Civil Code of 1804
- The Codifications
- Law during the Restoration
- The Historical School and German Legal Science
Special Part:
- The History of Commercial Law
- Mediaeval merchants. Law and Custom. The Church and the merchants
- Early modern legal doctrine and Case Law
- The French Commercial Code (1807)
- Commercial Law Codification in 19th century Italy
- German Commercial Laws
- Legislative Unification in Italy
- Legal Science between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
- The Great War and the Law
- Law and legislation between the two World Wars
- The Italian Civil Code of 1942
General Part:
- The early Middle Ages. The law of the Germanic kingdoms
- The Glossators and the new legal science
- University: students and teachers
- Canon Law (11th-14th centuries)
- The Commentators. Ius commune and ius proprium
- Early modern Period. Legal Humanism
- Legal doctrine and the Legal Profession
- The modern state. Local Laws and Royal Legislation
- Court decisions
- The plurality of legal orders and legal sources
- Natural Law
- Jurists of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century
- The Enlightenment and the Law
- The Reforms
- The French Revolution and the Law
- The Napoleonic Era. The French Civil Code of 1804
- The Codifications
- Law during the Restoration
- The Historical School and German Legal Science
Special Part:
- The History of Commercial Law
- Mediaeval merchants. Law and Custom. The Church and the merchants
- Early modern legal doctrine and Case Law
- The French Commercial Code (1807)
- Commercial Law Codification in 19th century Italy
- German Commercial Laws
- Legislative Unification in Italy
- Legal Science between the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
- The Great War and the Law
- Law and legislation between the two World Wars
- The Italian Civil Code of 1942
Prerequisites for admission
As set out in the degree programme regulations, Institutions of Private Law and Constitutional Law are prerequisite courses.
Teaching methods
Attendance is strongly recommended.
The teaching is delivered through frontal lectures. In class, relevant sources are analyzed and discussed.
Relevant juridical sources and teaching materials are uploaded to the MyAriel platform.
To foster interactive learning through case studies, classes may be delivered remotely, on an alternating and periodic basis, within the limits set by the University regulations, namely up to 10%.
The teaching is delivered through frontal lectures. In class, relevant sources are analyzed and discussed.
Relevant juridical sources and teaching materials are uploaded to the MyAriel platform.
To foster interactive learning through case studies, classes may be delivered remotely, on an alternating and periodic basis, within the limits set by the University regulations, namely up to 10%.
Teaching Resources
Textbooks for attending and non-attending students:
1) A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016, second edition. NB: the specific parts of the textbook to be studied will be referenced on the MyAriel platform.
2) A. Monti, Per una storia del diritto commerciale contemporaneo, Pisa, Pacini, 2025, second edition.
For attending students, sources and teaching materials illustrated in class will be uploaded to the MyAriel platform.
Students who move from the three-year degree course to the five-year course have to complete the program as follows:
- integration of 5 credits, students have to study A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino 2016, second edition, pp. 411-672;
- integration of 8 credits, students have to study A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino 2016, second edition, pp. 15-450.
1) A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016, second edition. NB: the specific parts of the textbook to be studied will be referenced on the MyAriel platform.
2) A. Monti, Per una storia del diritto commerciale contemporaneo, Pisa, Pacini, 2025, second edition.
For attending students, sources and teaching materials illustrated in class will be uploaded to the MyAriel platform.
Students who move from the three-year degree course to the five-year course have to complete the program as follows:
- integration of 5 credits, students have to study A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino 2016, second edition, pp. 411-672;
- integration of 8 credits, students have to study A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino 2016, second edition, pp. 15-450.
Assessment methods and Criteria
- Method: oral exam
- Type of examination: oral exam
- Evaluation criteria: appropriate and accurate use of both general and legal language; capacity to demonstrate and elaborate knowledge; quality of exposition, efficacy, clarity; capacity for critical reflection
- Type of evaluation method: mark in 30s
Since the course is taught over two semesters, students will be assessed through two oral examinations: one at the end of the first semester and one at the end of the second semester.
The format of the exam for students with disabilities should be arranged in advance with the professor, as well as the relevant office.
- Type of examination: oral exam
- Evaluation criteria: appropriate and accurate use of both general and legal language; capacity to demonstrate and elaborate knowledge; quality of exposition, efficacy, clarity; capacity for critical reflection
- Type of evaluation method: mark in 30s
Since the course is taught over two semesters, students will be assessed through two oral examinations: one at the end of the first semester and one at the end of the second semester.
The format of the exam for students with disabilities should be arranged in advance with the professor, as well as the relevant office.
IUS/19 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LAW - University credits: 14
Lessons: 98 hours
Professors:
Monti Annamaria, Salvi Stefania Tatiana
Shifts:
Surname D-L
Responsible
Lesson period
year
Course syllabus
The History of Medieval and Modern Law course is aimed at outlining the evolution of European law between the Middle Ages and the contemporary age, with particular regard to the invention and elaboration of the instruments of governance, justice, legality, the protection of rights individual and social.
The 'historical' nature of the law requires, in fact, to refine critical and logical tools that make it possible to identify, in individual eras and in the various institutional, political, economic and social contexts, the conflicting interests and the criteria used to balance them by legislators , professors, lawyers, judges and 'intellectuals' who, from time to time, have had a different weight and role in the functioning of domestic and international institutions.
The in-depth study of the various levels of legal practice and culture between the past and the present is essential to equip the student with interpretative skills both of the legal phenomenon in its unity and complexity, and of the individual situations that must also be analyzed with regard to the facts and legal cases, as well as to acquire full awareness of the theoretical and practical implications of each institute, in relation to the various branches of law, which only an in-depth study, even in a diachronic sense, can ensure.
Analytical program
- From late antiquity to the early Middle Ages, 5th-11th Century: late antiquity law, Christianity, the law of the Germanic kingdoms, the Carolingian and feudal age, the reform of the Church.
- The Middle Ages, XII-XV Centuries: public institutions and sources of law in the formation of municipal and monarchical governments; civil law and canon law schools; jurisprudentiality of the common law; juridical practice and school; the formation of the common law.
- The modern age, XVI-XVIII Centuries: the characteristics of the modern state between contractualism and absolutism; the 'humanistic' revolution of legal culture; legal class; large courts; the second between domestic and international public law; the theories of the social contract and natural law.
- The age of reforms, XVIII-XIX Centuries: the legal Enlightenment; the reforms of enlightened absolutism; revolutions and law.
- Legal culture, codification and profiles of justice in the 19th Century.
The final section of the course, devoted to a specialized monographic topic, will examine the historical and legal development of family law and succession law from the medieval period to the Early Modern age."
The 'historical' nature of the law requires, in fact, to refine critical and logical tools that make it possible to identify, in individual eras and in the various institutional, political, economic and social contexts, the conflicting interests and the criteria used to balance them by legislators , professors, lawyers, judges and 'intellectuals' who, from time to time, have had a different weight and role in the functioning of domestic and international institutions.
The in-depth study of the various levels of legal practice and culture between the past and the present is essential to equip the student with interpretative skills both of the legal phenomenon in its unity and complexity, and of the individual situations that must also be analyzed with regard to the facts and legal cases, as well as to acquire full awareness of the theoretical and practical implications of each institute, in relation to the various branches of law, which only an in-depth study, even in a diachronic sense, can ensure.
Analytical program
- From late antiquity to the early Middle Ages, 5th-11th Century: late antiquity law, Christianity, the law of the Germanic kingdoms, the Carolingian and feudal age, the reform of the Church.
- The Middle Ages, XII-XV Centuries: public institutions and sources of law in the formation of municipal and monarchical governments; civil law and canon law schools; jurisprudentiality of the common law; juridical practice and school; the formation of the common law.
- The modern age, XVI-XVIII Centuries: the characteristics of the modern state between contractualism and absolutism; the 'humanistic' revolution of legal culture; legal class; large courts; the second between domestic and international public law; the theories of the social contract and natural law.
- The age of reforms, XVIII-XIX Centuries: the legal Enlightenment; the reforms of enlightened absolutism; revolutions and law.
- Legal culture, codification and profiles of justice in the 19th Century.
The final section of the course, devoted to a specialized monographic topic, will examine the historical and legal development of family law and succession law from the medieval period to the Early Modern age."
Prerequisites for admission
As a second-year examination, successful completion of the courses in Constitutional Law and Institutions of Private Law is required, as these constitute formal prerequisites for enrolment.
Teaching methods
The course is delivered in person through face-to-face lectures conducted by the instructor. Class attendance is not mandatory.
Teaching materials will be made available on the Ariel e-learning platform.
For attending students, the sections of the required readings that will be examined in greater depth will be specified during the lectures. In addition, presentation slides, available on the Ariel platform, will be used to support and complement the study of the assigned texts.
Teaching materials will be made available on the Ariel e-learning platform.
For attending students, the sections of the required readings that will be examined in greater depth will be specified during the lectures. In addition, presentation slides, available on the Ariel platform, will be used to support and complement the study of the assigned texts.
Teaching Resources
The examination will be based on the following required texts:
- A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea [A History of Law in Europe: From the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era], Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016, second edition, pp. 17-494 or, alternatively,
- G.S. PENE VIDARI, Storia del diritto in età medievale e moderna, Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (pp. 312) + Elementi di storia del diritto europeo. L'età contemporanea Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (pp. 1-87), ISBN 9791221154917.
The reading for the monographic section of the course will be announced shortly.
For students attending the course, the sections of the textbook to be studied in greater depth will be specified during the lectures. In addition, lecture slides (available on the Ariel platform) will be used to support and complement the study of the required readings.
Supplementary Requirements for Students Transferring from the Three-Year Degree Programme to the Integrated Five-Year Degree Programme
The following supplementary reading requirements apply:
For students who have previously completed the 9-ECTS course in Medieval and Early Modern Legal History (Storia del diritto medievale e moderno):
A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2016, revised and expanded second edition, pp. 411-672 (supplementary requirement equivalent to 5 ECTS credits).
For students who have previously completed the 6-ECTS course in Contemporary Legal History (Storia del diritto contemporaneo):
A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2016, revised and expanded second edition, pp. 15-427 (supplementary requirement equivalent to 8 ECTS credits).
For students transferring from other Faculties or degree programmes, the supplementary requirements will be determined in consultation with the instructor on the basis of the syllabus previously completed at their institution of origin.
- A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea [A History of Law in Europe: From the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era], Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016, second edition, pp. 17-494 or, alternatively,
- G.S. PENE VIDARI, Storia del diritto in età medievale e moderna, Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (pp. 312) + Elementi di storia del diritto europeo. L'età contemporanea Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (pp. 1-87), ISBN 9791221154917.
The reading for the monographic section of the course will be announced shortly.
For students attending the course, the sections of the textbook to be studied in greater depth will be specified during the lectures. In addition, lecture slides (available on the Ariel platform) will be used to support and complement the study of the required readings.
Supplementary Requirements for Students Transferring from the Three-Year Degree Programme to the Integrated Five-Year Degree Programme
The following supplementary reading requirements apply:
For students who have previously completed the 9-ECTS course in Medieval and Early Modern Legal History (Storia del diritto medievale e moderno):
A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2016, revised and expanded second edition, pp. 411-672 (supplementary requirement equivalent to 5 ECTS credits).
For students who have previously completed the 6-ECTS course in Contemporary Legal History (Storia del diritto contemporaneo):
A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2016, revised and expanded second edition, pp. 15-427 (supplementary requirement equivalent to 8 ECTS credits).
For students transferring from other Faculties or degree programmes, the supplementary requirements will be determined in consultation with the instructor on the basis of the syllabus previously completed at their institution of origin.
Assessment methods and Criteria
As the course extends over two semesters, student learning will be assessed through two oral examinations: the first will take place at the end of the first semester, and the second at the end of the second semester.
Each examination will be graded on a 30-point scale. Upon successful completion of the second examination, the final course grade, also expressed on a 30-point scale, will be determined by calculating the average of the marks obtained in the two oral examinations.
Student performance will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Knowledge and understanding of the course content, including the accuracy and completeness of the information presented;
Clarity and coherence of oral presentation, with particular attention to the appropriate use of disciplinary terminology;
Argumentative skills, demonstrated through the ability to formulate and support well-structured interpretations and positions;
Critical thinking and analytical abilities, including the capacity to examine issues from multiple perspectives and engage critically with the course materials;
Ability to synthesize and independently elaborate acquired knowledge, showing an informed and reflective understanding of the topics covered.
Alternative examination arrangements for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders (SLDs) will be established in consultation with the instructor and the relevant University Office, in accordance with institutional policies and regulations.
Each examination will be graded on a 30-point scale. Upon successful completion of the second examination, the final course grade, also expressed on a 30-point scale, will be determined by calculating the average of the marks obtained in the two oral examinations.
Student performance will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Knowledge and understanding of the course content, including the accuracy and completeness of the information presented;
Clarity and coherence of oral presentation, with particular attention to the appropriate use of disciplinary terminology;
Argumentative skills, demonstrated through the ability to formulate and support well-structured interpretations and positions;
Critical thinking and analytical abilities, including the capacity to examine issues from multiple perspectives and engage critically with the course materials;
Ability to synthesize and independently elaborate acquired knowledge, showing an informed and reflective understanding of the topics covered.
Alternative examination arrangements for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders (SLDs) will be established in consultation with the instructor and the relevant University Office, in accordance with institutional policies and regulations.
IUS/19 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LAW - University credits: 14
Lessons: 98 hours
Professor:
Salvi Stefania Tatiana
Shifts:
Turno
Professor:
Salvi Stefania TatianaSurname M-Q
Responsible
Lesson period
year
The didactic activity will take place in the modalities that will be indicated in the weeks before the beginning of the lessons.
Course syllabus
The course aims to describe the evolution of European law from the Middle Ages to the present day, with a special focus on the invention and development of the means used in that time span to govern, administer justice, determine legality, and defend individual and social rights. The 'historical' nature of law requires those who study it to sharpen their critical and logical thinking skills. In this way, they can first identify the conflicting interests in play at any given time in history, while taking into account the different institutional, economic and social contexts, and then identify the criteria chosen to balance those conflicting interests. Over the course of history, such criteria has been determined by legislators, professors, lawyers and judges, who have all held varying weights and roles in the functioning of domestic and international institutions. Furthermore, a historical perspective on legal studies is of fundamental importance to understanding how contemporary systems have come to be; indeed, teaching such a perspective can highlight both the rifts and the continuity in the mutualistic relationship between sources of laws and institutions.
-From late antiquity to the early Middle Ages, 5th-11th centuries: the age of the Germanic kingdoms, feudalism
-The age of classical jus commune, 12th-15th centuries: public institutions; the glossators; classical canon law; the commentators; legal praxis and school; local law and particular law; the system of sources; the formation of common law.
-The age of absolutism, 16th-18th centuries: constitutional monarchy and types of legal norms; the legal profession and institutions; equity and common law; the 'scuola culta'; practicing jurists; Second Scholasticism; natural law; crisis in the jus commune.
-The age of reforms, 18th-19th centuries: law during the Enlightenment; eighteenth-century reforms; law and the French Revolution.
Among the legal institutions of substantive law, particular attention will be paid to the history of family law.
-From late antiquity to the early Middle Ages, 5th-11th centuries: the age of the Germanic kingdoms, feudalism
-The age of classical jus commune, 12th-15th centuries: public institutions; the glossators; classical canon law; the commentators; legal praxis and school; local law and particular law; the system of sources; the formation of common law.
-The age of absolutism, 16th-18th centuries: constitutional monarchy and types of legal norms; the legal profession and institutions; equity and common law; the 'scuola culta'; practicing jurists; Second Scholasticism; natural law; crisis in the jus commune.
-The age of reforms, 18th-19th centuries: law during the Enlightenment; eighteenth-century reforms; law and the French Revolution.
Among the legal institutions of substantive law, particular attention will be paid to the history of family law.
Prerequisites for admission
As a second-year examination, successfull completion of the courses in Costitutional Law and Institution of Private Law is required, as these constitute formal prerequisites for enrolment.
Teaching methods
Attendance to classes is strongly recommended although not compulsory.
The teaching is delivered through frontal lectures.
The teaching is also based on didactic material provided on Ariel.
The teaching is delivered through frontal lectures.
The teaching is also based on didactic material provided on Ariel.
Teaching Resources
The exam will take place on one of the following textbooks of your choice :
- A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016, seconda edizione pp. 17-494.
- G.S. Pene Vidari, Storia del diritto in età medievale e moderna, Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (pp. 1-312) + Elementi di storia del diritto europeo. L'età contemporanea Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (pp. 150), or the single economic kit with the code ISBN 9791221154917.
In addition to one of the two texts of your choice, there is also
- G. di Renzo Villata, Persone e famiglia nel diritto medievale e moderno, in Digesto delle Discipline Privatistiche, Sezione Civile, vol. XIII, Torino, Utet, 1995, pp. 457-527, disponibile sul sito Ariel.
For attending students, texts will be made available on the Ariel website on the topics of particular attention during the course.
Students who move from the three-year degree course to the five-year course have to complete the program as follows:
- integration of 5 credits, students have to study A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino 2016, second edition, pp. 411-672.
- integration of 8 credits, students have to study A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino 2016, second edition, pp. 15-427.
Students who move from other Law Schools are invited to promptly get in touch with the professor in order to arrange an integration for exam preparation.
- A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016, seconda edizione pp. 17-494.
- G.S. Pene Vidari, Storia del diritto in età medievale e moderna, Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (pp. 1-312) + Elementi di storia del diritto europeo. L'età contemporanea Torino, Giappichelli, 2023 (pp. 150), or the single economic kit with the code ISBN 9791221154917.
In addition to one of the two texts of your choice, there is also
- G. di Renzo Villata, Persone e famiglia nel diritto medievale e moderno, in Digesto delle Discipline Privatistiche, Sezione Civile, vol. XIII, Torino, Utet, 1995, pp. 457-527, disponibile sul sito Ariel.
For attending students, texts will be made available on the Ariel website on the topics of particular attention during the course.
Students who move from the three-year degree course to the five-year course have to complete the program as follows:
- integration of 5 credits, students have to study A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino 2016, second edition, pp. 411-672.
- integration of 8 credits, students have to study A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal Medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino 2016, second edition, pp. 15-427.
Students who move from other Law Schools are invited to promptly get in touch with the professor in order to arrange an integration for exam preparation.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Since the course is spread over two semesters, learning assessment will take place through two oral exams: one at the end of the first semester and one at the end of the second semester. Each exam will be graded out of thirty. Once the second exam has been passed, the final grade, also out of thirty, will be determined by the average of the grades obtained in the two oral exams. The evaluation will take into account the following aspects:
- Knowledge and understanding of the course content, with particular attention to the accuracy and completeness of the information presented.
- Clarity and coherence of the oral presentation, as well as appropriate use of language and disciplinary terminology.
- Argumentative ability, understood as the skill to formulate and support interpretations, analyses, and positions in a rigorous and well-structured way.
- Critical analysis and independent reflection skills, demonstrated through in-depth examination of the topics covered and the ability to critically engage with the
- Knowledge and understanding of the course content, with particular attention to the accuracy and completeness of the information presented.
- Clarity and coherence of the oral presentation, as well as appropriate use of language and disciplinary terminology.
- Argumentative ability, understood as the skill to formulate and support interpretations, analyses, and positions in a rigorous and well-structured way.
- Critical analysis and independent reflection skills, demonstrated through in-depth examination of the topics covered and the ability to critically engage with the
IUS/19 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LAW - University credits: 14
Lessons: 98 hours
Professors:
Rossi Filippo Maria, Santangelo Angela Maria
Shifts:
Surname R-Z
Responsible
Lesson period
year
Course syllabus
Programma inglese
The History of Medieval and Modern Law course is aimed at outlining the evolution of European law between the Middle Ages and the contemporary age, with particular regard to the invention and elaboration of the instruments of governance, justice, legality, the protection of rights individual and social.
The 'historical' nature of the law requires, in fact, to refine critical and logical tools that make it possible to identify, in individual eras and in the various institutional, political, economic and social contexts, the conflicting interests and the criteria used to balance them by legislators , professors, lawyers, judges and 'intellectuals' who, from time to time, have had a different weight and role in the functioning of domestic and international institutions.
The in-depth study of the various levels of legal practice and culture between the past and the present is essential to equip the student with interpretative skills both of the legal phenomenon in its unity and complexity, and of the individual situations that must also be analyzed with regard to the facts and legal cases, as well as to acquire full awareness of the theoretical and practical implications of each institute, in relation to the various branches of law, which only an in-depth study, even in a diachronic sense, can ensure.
Analytical program
- From late antiquity to the early Middle Ages, 5th-11th Century: late antiquity law, Christianity, the law of the Germanic kingdoms, the Carolingian and feudal age, the reform of the Church.
- The Middle Ages, XII-XV Centuries: public institutions and sources of law in the formation of municipal and monarchical governments; civil law and canon law schools; jurisprudentiality of the common law; juridical practice and school; the formation of the common law.
- The modern age, XVI-XVIII Centuries: the characteristics of the modern state between contractualism and absolutism; the 'humanistic' revolution of legal culture; legal class; large courts; the second between domestic and international public law; the theories of the social contract and natural law.
- The age of reforms, XVIII-XIX Centuries: the legal Enlightenment; the reforms of enlightened absolutism; revolutions and law.
- Legal culture, codification and profiles of justice in the 19th Century.
The final, thematic part of the course will be devoted to the evolution of family law and the legal status of women, tracing the process of women's emancipation from a legal-historical perspective.
The History of Medieval and Modern Law course is aimed at outlining the evolution of European law between the Middle Ages and the contemporary age, with particular regard to the invention and elaboration of the instruments of governance, justice, legality, the protection of rights individual and social.
The 'historical' nature of the law requires, in fact, to refine critical and logical tools that make it possible to identify, in individual eras and in the various institutional, political, economic and social contexts, the conflicting interests and the criteria used to balance them by legislators , professors, lawyers, judges and 'intellectuals' who, from time to time, have had a different weight and role in the functioning of domestic and international institutions.
The in-depth study of the various levels of legal practice and culture between the past and the present is essential to equip the student with interpretative skills both of the legal phenomenon in its unity and complexity, and of the individual situations that must also be analyzed with regard to the facts and legal cases, as well as to acquire full awareness of the theoretical and practical implications of each institute, in relation to the various branches of law, which only an in-depth study, even in a diachronic sense, can ensure.
Analytical program
- From late antiquity to the early Middle Ages, 5th-11th Century: late antiquity law, Christianity, the law of the Germanic kingdoms, the Carolingian and feudal age, the reform of the Church.
- The Middle Ages, XII-XV Centuries: public institutions and sources of law in the formation of municipal and monarchical governments; civil law and canon law schools; jurisprudentiality of the common law; juridical practice and school; the formation of the common law.
- The modern age, XVI-XVIII Centuries: the characteristics of the modern state between contractualism and absolutism; the 'humanistic' revolution of legal culture; legal class; large courts; the second between domestic and international public law; the theories of the social contract and natural law.
- The age of reforms, XVIII-XIX Centuries: the legal Enlightenment; the reforms of enlightened absolutism; revolutions and law.
- Legal culture, codification and profiles of justice in the 19th Century.
The final, thematic part of the course will be devoted to the evolution of family law and the legal status of women, tracing the process of women's emancipation from a legal-historical perspective.
Prerequisites for admission
As a second-year examination, successful completion of the courses in Constitutional Law and Institutions of Private Law is required, as these constitute formal prerequisites for enrolment.
Teaching methods
The course is delivered in person through face-to-face lectures conducted by the instructor. Class attendance is not mandatory.
Teaching materials will be made available on the Ariel e-learning platform.
For attending students, the sections of the required readings that will be examined in greater depth will be specified during the lectures. In addition, presentation slides, available on the Ariel platform, will be used to support and complement the study of the assigned texts.
Teaching materials will be made available on the Ariel e-learning platform.
For attending students, the sections of the required readings that will be examined in greater depth will be specified during the lectures. In addition, presentation slides, available on the Ariel platform, will be used to support and complement the study of the assigned texts.
Teaching Resources
The examination will be based on one of the following optional sets of textbooks (Option 1 or Option 2):
Option 1
Antonio Padoa Schioppa, A History of Law in Europe. From the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era (Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea), Bologna, Il Mulino, 2nd ed., 2016, pp. 17-494.
Option 2
Gian Savino Pene Vidari, History of Law in the Medieval and Modern Ages (Storia del diritto in età medievale e moderna), Turin, Giappichelli, 2023 (312 pages);
Elements of European Legal History. The Contemporary Age (Elementi di storia del diritto europeo. L'età contemporanea), Turin, Giappichelli, 2023, pp. 1-87.
The two volumes are also available for purchase at a discounted price as a single boxed set (ISBN 9791221154917).
Monographic section:
The reading for monographic section of the course will be announced shortly.
For students attending the course, the sections of the textbook to be studied in greater depth will be specified during the lectures. In addition, lecture slides (available on the Ariel platform) will be used to support and complement the study of the required readings.
Supplementary Requirements for Students Transferring from the Three-Year Degree Programme to the Integrated Five-Year Degree Programme
The following supplementary reading requirements apply:
For students who have previously completed the 9-ECTS course in Medieval and Early Modern Legal History (Storia del diritto medievale e moderno):
A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2016, revised and expanded second edition, pp. 411-587 (supplementary requirement equivalent to 3 ECTS credits).
For students who have previously completed the 6-ECTS course in Contemporary Legal History (Storia del diritto contemporaneo):
A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2016, revised and expanded second edition, pp. 15-427 (supplementary requirement equivalent to 6 ECTS credits).
For students transferring from other Faculties or degree programmes, the supplementary requirements will be determined in consultation with the instructor on the basis of the syllabus previously completed at their institution of origin.
Option 1
Antonio Padoa Schioppa, A History of Law in Europe. From the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Era (Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea), Bologna, Il Mulino, 2nd ed., 2016, pp. 17-494.
Option 2
Gian Savino Pene Vidari, History of Law in the Medieval and Modern Ages (Storia del diritto in età medievale e moderna), Turin, Giappichelli, 2023 (312 pages);
Elements of European Legal History. The Contemporary Age (Elementi di storia del diritto europeo. L'età contemporanea), Turin, Giappichelli, 2023, pp. 1-87.
The two volumes are also available for purchase at a discounted price as a single boxed set (ISBN 9791221154917).
Monographic section:
The reading for monographic section of the course will be announced shortly.
For students attending the course, the sections of the textbook to be studied in greater depth will be specified during the lectures. In addition, lecture slides (available on the Ariel platform) will be used to support and complement the study of the required readings.
Supplementary Requirements for Students Transferring from the Three-Year Degree Programme to the Integrated Five-Year Degree Programme
The following supplementary reading requirements apply:
For students who have previously completed the 9-ECTS course in Medieval and Early Modern Legal History (Storia del diritto medievale e moderno):
A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2016, revised and expanded second edition, pp. 411-587 (supplementary requirement equivalent to 3 ECTS credits).
For students who have previously completed the 6-ECTS course in Contemporary Legal History (Storia del diritto contemporaneo):
A. Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, 2016, revised and expanded second edition, pp. 15-427 (supplementary requirement equivalent to 6 ECTS credits).
For students transferring from other Faculties or degree programmes, the supplementary requirements will be determined in consultation with the instructor on the basis of the syllabus previously completed at their institution of origin.
Assessment methods and Criteria
As the course extends over two semesters, student learning will be assessed through two oral examinations: the first will take place at the end of the first semester, and the second at the end of the second semester.
Each examination will be graded on a 30-point scale. Upon successful completion of the second examination, the final course grade, also expressed on a 30-point scale, will be determined by calculating the average of the marks obtained in the two oral examinations.
Exclusively for second-year students (14 ECTS), the oral exam may be taken in two parts:
- the first part must take place by the end of the winter session and will cover the topics taught in the first semester. A passing grade will remain valid until the last exam session of the summer session;
- the second part, accessible only to those who have passed the first part in the previous winter session, must take place by the end of the summer session and will cover the topics taught in the second semester.
For students taking the 13-ECTS exam, the exam must be taken orally, covering the entire syllabus, as is also the case for students taking the 14-ECTS exam who choose not to split the exam into two parts at the end of the courses.
Student performance will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Knowledge and understanding of the course content, including the accuracy and completeness of the information presented;
Clarity and coherence of oral presentation, with particular attention to the appropriate use of disciplinary terminology;
Argumentative skills, demonstrated through the ability to formulate and support well-structured interpretations and positions;
Critical thinking and analytical abilities, including the capacity to examine issues from multiple perspectives and engage critically with the course materials;
Ability to synthesize and independently elaborate acquired knowledge, showing an informed and reflective understanding of the topics covered.
Alternative examination arrangements for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders (SLDs) will be established in consultation with the instructor and the relevant University Office, in accordance with institutional policies and regulations.
Each examination will be graded on a 30-point scale. Upon successful completion of the second examination, the final course grade, also expressed on a 30-point scale, will be determined by calculating the average of the marks obtained in the two oral examinations.
Exclusively for second-year students (14 ECTS), the oral exam may be taken in two parts:
- the first part must take place by the end of the winter session and will cover the topics taught in the first semester. A passing grade will remain valid until the last exam session of the summer session;
- the second part, accessible only to those who have passed the first part in the previous winter session, must take place by the end of the summer session and will cover the topics taught in the second semester.
For students taking the 13-ECTS exam, the exam must be taken orally, covering the entire syllabus, as is also the case for students taking the 14-ECTS exam who choose not to split the exam into two parts at the end of the courses.
Student performance will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
Knowledge and understanding of the course content, including the accuracy and completeness of the information presented;
Clarity and coherence of oral presentation, with particular attention to the appropriate use of disciplinary terminology;
Argumentative skills, demonstrated through the ability to formulate and support well-structured interpretations and positions;
Critical thinking and analytical abilities, including the capacity to examine issues from multiple perspectives and engage critically with the course materials;
Ability to synthesize and independently elaborate acquired knowledge, showing an informed and reflective understanding of the topics covered.
Alternative examination arrangements for students with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders (SLDs) will be established in consultation with the instructor and the relevant University Office, in accordance with institutional policies and regulations.
IUS/19 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LAW - University credits: 14
Lessons: 98 hours
Professor:
Parini Sara Veronica
Shifts:
Turno
Professor:
Parini Sara VeronicaProfessor(s)
Reception:
By appointment ([email protected])
Department of Private Law and Legal History, office 1-1120
Reception:
appointment by mail
Dipartimento di Diritto privato e Storia del diritto/Piattaforma Microsoft Teams