The ''Lex Ripuaria'', also spelled ''Lex Ribuaria'', is a 7th-century collection of
Germanic law
Germanic law is a scholarly term used to describe a series of commonalities between the various law codes (the ''Leges Barbarorum'', 'laws of the barbarians', also called Leges) of the early Germanic peoples. These were compared with statements i ...
, the laws of the
Ripuarian Franks
The Rhineland or Ripuarian Franks, also often referred to using the Latin plurals ''Ribuarii'', or ''Ripuarii'', were the Franks who established themselves in and around the formerly Roman city of Cologne, on the Rhine river in what is now Germa ...
. It is a major influence on the ''
Lex Saxonum
The ''Lex Saxonum'' are a series of laws issued by Charlemagne between 782 and 803 as part of his plan to subdue the Saxon nation. The law is thus a compromise between the traditional customs and statutes of the pagan Saxons and the established l ...
'' of AD 802. The ''Lex Ripuaria'' originated about 630 around
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
and has been described as a later development of the Frankish laws known from ''
Lex Salica''.
[F.Beyerle, Völksrechtliche Studien I-III, Zeitschrift der Savigny-Stiftung, germ. Abt. LXII 264vv, LXIII ivv; Ewig 450vv;487vv]
The 35 surviving
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
s, as well as those now lost which served as the basis of the old editions, do not go back beyond the time of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
. In all these manuscripts the text is identical, but it is a revised text - in other words, we have only a ''lex emendata''. On analysis, the law of the Ripuarians, which contains 89 chapters, falls into three heterogeneous divisions. Chapters 1-31 consist of a scale of compositions; but, although the fines are calculated, not on the unit of 15 ''solidi'', as in the
Salic Law
The Salic law ( or ; ), also called the was the ancient Frankish Civil law (legal system), civil law code compiled around AD 500 by Clovis I, Clovis, the first Frankish King. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is deba ...
, but on that of 18 ''solidi'', it is clear that this part is already influenced by the Salic Law. Chapters 32-64 are taken directly from the Salic Law; the provisions follow the same arrangement; the unit of the compositions is 15 ''solidi''; but capitularies are interpolated relating to the affranchisement and sale of immovable property. Chapters 65-89 consist of provisions of various kinds, some taken from lost capitularies and from the Salic Law, and others of unknown origin.
The compilation apparently goes back to the reign of
Dagobert I
Dagobert I (; 603/605 – 19 January 639) was King of the Franks. He ruled Austrasia (623–634) and Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield real royal power, after which the ...
(629-639), to a time when the power of the
mayors of the palace was still minimal, since we read of a mayor being threatened with the death penalty for taking bribes in the course of his judicial duties. It is probable, however, that the first two parts are older than the third. Already in the Ripuarian Law the divergences from the
old Germanic law are greater than in the Salic Law. In the Ripuarian Law a certain importance attaches to written deeds; the clergy are protected by a higher
wergild: 600 ''solidi'' for a priest, and 900 for a bishop; on the other hand, more space is given to the ''cojuratores'' (sworn witnesses); and the appearance of the
judicial duel
Trial by combat (also wager of battle, trial by battle or judicial duel) was a method of Germanic law to settle accusations in the absence of witnesses or a confession in which two parties in dispute fought in single combat; the winner of the ...
is noted, which is not mentioned in the Salic Law.
Editions
*R. Sohm, "Monumenta Germaniae", Leges V (1883)
References
External links
Information on the ''lex Ribuaria'' and its manuscript tradition on the ' website A database on Carolingian secular law texts (Karl Ubl, Cologne University, Germany, 2012).
See also
*
Paris, BN, lat. 4404
*
Lex Salica
{{Authority control
Germanic legal codes