Herennius Modestinus, or simply Modestinus, was a civil servant and a celebrated Roman jurist, a student of

Ulpian Ulpian (; ; 223 or 228) was a Roman jurist born in Tyre in Roman Syria (modern Lebanon). He moved to Rome and rose to become considered one of the great legal authorities of his time. He was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to ...

who flourished about 250 AD. He appears to have been a native of one of the Greek-speaking provinces, or probably

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. Possibly from 223 to 225 AD he was secretary ''a libellis'' under Emperor

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain co ...

, and about 228 he was '' praefectus vigilum''. In Valentinian's '' Law of Citations'' he is classed with Papinian, Paulus,

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 ...

and

, as one of the five jurists whose recorded views were considered decisive. He is considered to be the last great jurist of the classic age of Roman law. He is mentioned in a rescript of Gordian III in the year 240 in connection with a responsum which he gave to the party to whom the rescript was addressed. No fewer than 345 passages in the ''Digest'' of the ''

Corpus Juris Civilis The ''Corpus Juris'' (or ''Iuris'') ''Civilis'' ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, enacted from 529 to 534 by order of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. It is also sometimes referred ...

'' are taken from his writings. He is the author of a collection of Responsa and Digesta written in 12 books.

References

* Alan Watson, ''Roman Law and Comparative Law'' (London: University of Georgia Press, 1991). * Modestinus, Herennius 3rd-century Romans Modestinus Praefecti vigilum {{AncientRome-law-bio-stub