Alarician Breviary
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The ''Breviary of Alaric'' (''Breviarium Alaricianum'' or ''Lex Romana Visigothorum'') is a collection of
Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...
, compiled by Roman jurists and issued by
referendary Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe. Pre-modern history The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byza ...
Anianus on the order of
Alaric II Alaric II (, , 'ruler of all'; ; – August 507) was the King of the Visigoths from 484 until 507. He succeeded his father Euric as King of the Visigoths in Toulouse on 28 December 484; he was the great-grandson of the more famous Alaric I, who ...
,
King of the Visigoths The Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Spain or Kingdom of the Goths () was a barbarian kingdom that occupied what is now southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to the 8th centuries. One of the Germanic successor states to the ...
, with the approval of his bishops and nobles. It was promulgated on 2 February 506, the 22nd year of his reign.Breviarium Alaricianum
in ''
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' is an English language encyclopedia first published in 1842. The second, improved and enlarged, edition appeared in 1848, and there were many revised editions up to 1890. The encyclopedia covered law ...
'' by
William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...
, 1890. Retrieved 14 November 2013. It applied, not to the Visigothic nobles who lived under their own law, which had been formulated by
Euric Euric ( Gothic: 𐌰𐌹𐍅𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, ''Aiwareiks'', see ''Eric''), also known as Evaric ( 420 – 28 December 484), son of Theodoric I, ruled as king (''rex'') of the Visigoths, after murdering his brother, Theodoric II, from ...
, but to the
Hispano-Roman Hispania was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, Baet ...
and
Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...
population, living under Visigoth rule south of the
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and, in Book 16, to the members of the
trinitarian The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...
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; the Visigoths were
Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...
and maintained their own clergy.


Significance

It is termed a code (''codex''), in the certificate of Anianus, the king's referendary, but unlike the code of
Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...
, from which the writings of jurists were excluded, it comprises both imperial constitutions (''leges'') and juridical treatises (''jura''). From the circumstance that the ''Breviarium'' has prefixed to it a royal rescript (''commonitorium'') directing that copies of it, certified under the hand of Anianus, should be received exclusively as law throughout the kingdom of the Visigoths, the compilation of the code has been attributed to Anianus by many writers, and it is frequently designated the ''Breviary of Anianus'' (''Breviarium Aniani''). The code, however, appears to have been known amongst the Visigoths by the title of ''Lex Romana'' or ''Lex Theodosii'', and it was not until the 16th century that the title of ''Breviarium'' was introduced to distinguish it from a recast of the code, the ''
Lex Romana Curiensis The ''Lex Romana Curiensis'' ("Roman Law of Chur"), also known as the ''Lex Romana Raetica'', ''Lex Romana Utinensis'' or ''Epitome Sancti Galli'', is a Latin legal treatise of the eighth century from the region of Churraetia.Floyd Seyward Lear ( ...
'' which was introduced into northern Italy in the 9th century for the use of the Romans in
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
. This recast of the Visigothic code was published in the 18th century for the first time by Paolo Canciani in his collection of ancient laws entitled ''Barbarorum Leges Antiquae''. Another manuscript of this Lombard recast of the Visigothic code was discovered by
Gustav Friedrich Hänel Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
in the library of
St Gall Gall (; 550 645) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. However, he may have originally come from the border region betwe ...
. The chief value of the Visigothic code is as a source for Roman Law, including the first five books of the ''
Theodosian Code The ''Codex Theodosianus'' ("Theodosian Code") is a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Emperor Theodosius II and his co-emperor Valentinian III on 26 March 429 an ...
'' (''Codex Theodosianus''),"Codex Theodosianus" in ''
The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium The ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (ODB) is a three-volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. With more than 5,000 entries, it contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzan ...
'',
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 475.
five books of the ''Sententiae Receptae'' of Julius Paulus. Until the discovery of a manuscript in the chapter library in
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
, which contained the greater part of the ''
Institutes An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ...
'' of Gaius, it was the only known work containing the institutional writings of
Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (biblical figure) (1st century AD) *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gal ...
, an important ancient Roman jurist. The ''Breviary'' had the effect of preserving the traditions of Roman law in
Aquitania Gallia Aquitania (, ), also known as Aquitaine or Aquitaine Gaul, was a province of the Roman Empire. It lies in present-day southwest France and the comarca of Val d'Aran in northeast Spain, where it gives its name to the modern region of Aquit ...
and
Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...
, which became both
Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...
and
Septimania Septimania is a historical region in modern-day southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of '' Gallia Narbonensis'' that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theod ...
, thus reinforcing their sense of enduring continuity, broken in the
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
north.


Contents

The ''Breviary of Alaric'' comprises: * sixteen books of the ''
Codex Theodosianus The ''Codex Theodosianus'' ("Theodosian Code") is a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Emperor Theodosius II and his co-emperor Valentinian III on 26 March 429 an ...
''; * the novels (decrees) of – **
Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...
, **
Valentinian III Valentinian III (; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the Western Roman Empire, West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful general ...
, **
Marcian Marcian (; ; ; 392 – 27 January 457) was Roman emperor of the Byzantine Empire, East from 450 to 457. Very little is known of his life before becoming emperor, other than that he was a (personal assistant) who served under the commanders ...
, **
Majorian Majorian (; 7 August 461) was Western Roman emperor from 457 to 461. A prominent commander in the Late Roman army, Western military, Majorian deposed Avitus in 457 with the aid of his ally Ricimer at the Battle of Placentia (456), Battle of Place ...
and **
Libius Severus Libius Severus, sometimes enumerated as Severus III, was Western Roman Empire, Western Roman emperor from November 19, 461 to his death on November 14, 465. A native of Lucania,Cassiodorus, ''Chronicle''; ''Chronica Gallica of 511'', s:la:Chroni ...
; * the institutes of
Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (biblical figure) (1st century AD) *Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist * Gaius Acilius * Gaius Antonius * Gaius Antonius Hybrida * Gaius Asinius Gal ...
; * five books of the ''Sententiae Receptae'' of
Julius Paulus Julius Paulus (; fl. 2nd century and 3rd century AD), often simply referred to as Paul in English, was one of the most influential and distinguished Roman jurists. He was also a praetorian prefect under the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus. Life ...
; * thirteen titles of the ''
Codex Gregorianus The ''Codex Gregorianus'' (Eng. Gregorian Code) is the title of a collection of constitutions (legal pronouncements) of Roman emperors over a century and a half from the 130s to 290s AD. It is believed to have been produced around 291–294 but th ...
''; * two titles of the ''
Codex Hermogenianus The ''Codex Hermogenianus'' (Eng. Hermogenian Code) is the title of a collection of constitutions (legal pronouncements) of the Roman emperors of the first tetrarchy (Diocletian, Maximian Augusti, and Constantius and Galerius Caesars), mostly from ...
''; and * a fragment of the first book of the ''
Responsa Papiniani Aemilius Papinianus (; ; 142 CE–212 CE), simply rendered as Papinian () in English, was a celebrated Roman jurist, ''magister libellorum'', attorney general (''advocatus fisci'') and, after the death of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus in 205 CE, pr ...
''.


See also

*
Paris, BN, lat. 4404 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS lat. 4404 is a medieval manuscript from the 9th century containing, among other legal texts, the Breviary of Alaric, and is notable also for containing illustrations of rulers. The earliest examples of ...


References

{{authority control 6th century in the Visigothic Kingdom 506 establishments Roman law codes