owner = Charles Casassa
owner_info = University of Kansas
Date: Tue, 10 DEC 91 14:52 N
The following work was written by Charles Casassa, Department of History, The University of Kansas. Any use or re-distribution of this material should acknowledge this authorship.
PREAMBLE:
December 17, 1991, is the 1,458th anniversary of Justinian's decree, _Tanta_ , which, effectively, set the foundation of Western Legal systems. It represents as well the seed for the rebirth of organized scholarly activity in the middle ages, the creation of the University, the development of the art of government and Divine Right, of Guelf and Ghibelline, Investiture Contests, etc. It is in celebration of that critical moment in the history of Western Civilization that I offer the following essay for your reading enjoyment, however ambitious _that_ may seem.
BY CHARLES CASASSA
NOVEMBER 26, 1991
What Justinian declared law in his _Tanta_ of 533 was a compila- tion of juristic opinions of the previous 250 years which represented the very best and comprehensive collection of legalistic thought and concept in the Western world.
It represented potentially the most logical and complex blueprint for government, especially secular, which existed until the Reformation certainly, and in many cases, beyond.
It made clear, for he who could enforce it, three assumptions: The _will_ of the Ruler to _concede_ law to his _subjects_.
Upon the loss of secular power in Roman form, and the subsequent dissolution of the Occidental Roman Empire, this blueprint was preserved by the Byzantine Empire.
In the West, the Law underwent several metamorphoses, the most notable of these being the preservation of Roman Law in the Church, which had effectively become the last vessel of Roman ideas in the West.
When, upon the reestablishment of the Roman Empire in the West by the Papacy, and the possibility for stability in secular terms became more likely, at least with respect to "empire", the need for a single unifying legalistic Dogma became most pressing.
It was at this juncture that the employment of Justinian's compilation of legal thought became the focus of imperial attention.
Naturally, after several hundred years, the applications of Roman Laws to Roman circumstances had little relativity to Medieval exigencies, however, the implicit idea of Ruler as Legislator was enough motivation to attempt a reapplication of the old legal opinions and judgments to new circumstances. In that instance, the birth of legal scholarship occurred, and its influence had lasting international portent.
It would serve however, to examine in at least some detail Justinian's work, its counterpart in Canon Law, and the journey in time of these two institutions. The preparation of European peoples for Roman Law can be termed as the last "Latinizing" effects of the Roman Empire; the question must be asked, "how did this Roman legacy manifest itself, and who was responsible for propagating it? Finally, it would be illuminating if we examine an example of the emergence of legal scholarship as one of the most, if not the most influential agencies in the Middle Ages, by examining the life of one of these scholars, one Magister Vacarius, "gente Longobardus, vir honestus et juris peritus."(2) By no means the most important or influential jurist of his time, nonetheless he is representative of the international influence exercised by legal scholarship. This is an effort to identify and explain the historical circumstances which allowed Vacarius to leave his mark on history and scholarship.
The designation of Justinian's work as _Corpus Iuris Civilis_ was not the Emperor's, rather it was conferred by Medieval scholar ship on the codification. Justinian himself considered each part as an independent whole, and this original plan was reflected in the transmission especially of the manuscripts and the preponderance of conditions he placed on the utilization of these documents.(3) That he was particularly concerned that nobody beside himself should attempt to interpret the law, or attempt to apply it to new circum stances is evident in at least two ways: one, that he published only what he thought would not be subject to interpretation and modification; and two, by the subsequent opinions published after the primary three books, those being the Digest, Code and Institutes, in the form of the Novellae.(4)
The only surviving manuscript of the bulk of the Corpus, namely the Digest, was written most likely around 600, in the Byzantine part of Italy. It came to be in the possession of Pisa (hence its title, the Pisana)(5) until the Fifteenth Century when the Florentines captured Pisa and confiscated the document, renaming it "Florentina." The Pisana itself played very little part in the dissemination of Roman Law before the Fourteenth Century. What did play a most critical role, how ever, was a copy of the Pisana which was made in the late Eleventh Century, and found its home in Bologna. It was this copy of the Pisana which formed the basis of teaching and of the influence of Roman Law in the Middle Ages. This so-called Vulgate text of the Digest, "Littera Bononiensis" (6) was copied over and over again, and disseminated throughout Medieval Europe.
The Code of Justinian was much less transmitted, probably because he had not made it a compulsory topic in legal instruction owing again to the fact that he had forbidden all interpretation of the law. In the West the Code was copied several times, generally omitting the last three books, the "Tres Libri", as they dealt with Byzantine administration, and were considered irrelevant. In the Twelfth Century, however, these last three books were included in legal scholarship in Bologna.
The Code clarified the legislative power of the Emperor, constitutionalizing the role of Emperor as the legislator of divine will, forever the administrator of the "Lex Sacra"(7). This connection provided the Holy Roman Emperors with a precedent which in many cases caused great conflict between the Church and Empire.
The supplementary measures of Justinian, those published after the Corpus proper, consisting of interpretations and specific rulings, were made available in the Novellae, which were summarized by one of the great Roman jurists, Julian of Constantinople, who composed the _Epitome Juliani_ (8). However, in the early Twelfth Century another collection of the Novellae copied from an authentic source, partly in Greek and partly in Latin Translation, became popular and was utilized by the Bolognese jurists; it was entitled the _ Authenticum_. Its main theme was the monarchic government of the ruler in a Christian society, again positing the idea of sacred law.
The _Corpus Iuris_ did not enjoy great influence in the early middle ages in the West for various reasons, not the least of which was political instability, and the inability of rulers to enforce their laws. Additionally, any legal system must appear to contemporaries as worthy of adoption or assimilation, because it contains intrinsic qualities which either appeal to them, or that are recognized to be superior to the existing legal order. None of these presupposed conditions existed on the secular plane after the reign of Justinian until Charlemagne in the West, and even then, Europe as a single governmental entity, or "Empire" in Roman terms, which pursued a single legalistic dogma did not exist. Additionally, and efforts to the contrary notwithstanding, the onslaught of Vikings, Saracens, and Normans checked all initial efforts for unification under one rule. These events, and the resultant instability they caused, delayed the implementation of Roman Law as a system in the West.
During the early years secular monarchy in the West was therefore nonexistent, however, the monarchy of the "Christian Society" (9) was alive and well, and exercising considerable influence throughout Europe.
Christian law was Roman law, not necessarily Justinian's law, but founded on the same material, so while Europe was unable to enjoy Justinian law, it nonetheless had been exposed to the Roman Christian law, and this had a "Latinizing" effect which would eventually prepare the way for the full fledged implementation of the _Corpus Iuris_ in secular terms.
To understand why and how the Church was able to successfully operate as a monarchic organ, obviously with various degrees of success, one must consider the blending of Roman culture and law with Christian ideas.
This merging of Christianity and Roman Law occurred almost by accident, and owes itself to private efforts in the Second and Third Centuries A.D. The process of assimilating pagan Roman law to Christian conceptions was addressed by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, and by such sources as Tertullian who created the embryonic Christian doctrine in legalistic terms (10).
For Tertullian, relations between God and man were legal, and consisted of rights and duties. The result was that Pauline cosmology and the writings of the church fathers created the notion of the corp orate body of Christians.
The release of Christianity from state proscription by Constantine the Great legitimized these ideas, and the sub sequent provision for the inevitable conflict, born in the Pauline idea that, "There is no power but from God"(11), which claimed that the emperor was the "Pontifex Maximus", and thus had the ultimate legislative power, eliminated the possibility of conflict between the legislators of the Christian corporate body, the Emperor and the Church itself. However, when the Byzantine empire no longer had the wherewithal to enforce this legislative dominance on the Italian peninsula, or in western Europe, the bridgebuilder became the monarch of the Christian corporate society, namely the Pope.
It is important to remember that it was the Papacy which acted as the primary transmitter of Roman Law and Roman principles of government, however cloaked in Canonistic variation, from the mid Seventh Century until the early Twelfth. In this capacity the Papacy as the connection between mature, ancient Roman civilization and the dominant Germanic societies of the early Middle Ages. It preserved overall one salient idea which was transmitted to all of Europe the idea of the rule of law. Wherever clerics lived, and whatever functions they performed, they became in fact the purveyors of Roman Law, because the Church lived an was conceived in the West according to Roman law.
The Church law was Canon law, the true living Roman law in the West, which was copiously applied to the Christian society by the Pope and the Curia, and the myriad Councils conducted throughout Europe, under the direction of the Bishops, or the Pope. The decretals(the legislative tool of the Pope), rules, statutes, canons, declarations, statements, etc., were accumulated over the centuries, issued by authorities of varying standing and referring to conditions not necessarily current, represented the whole body of Church Canon law (12). As a result, during the period of secular restabilization, and the emergence of the Corpus Iuris as an imperial reference, the Church experienced a crisis threatening its validity as sole legislator of the Christian corporation.
If, in the early Eleventh Century there were several decrees relating to a specific problem which contradicted each other, which was to be applied? The problem was not unique to Canon law, however, as the emergence of the Corpus Iuris as an imperial reference presented equally confusing problems of interpretation and con temporary application.
The answer lay in the development of what came to be called the Dialectical or Scholastic method, applied in the first place to the Corpus Iuris, and then subsequently to the Canon law. It was in this period of the scholastic preeminence of the Corpus Iuris that the legal scholar was created, and his environment, the University, was born.
The house of Hohenstaufen had a critical role in the success of the Medieval legal scholars, who came to be known as the Glossators. The contest of jurisdiction in the Holy Roman empire became heated, and the Germans needed a legitimate precedent to claim that they were entitled to the first position as legislator of Latin Christendom, and to place the Church in an auxiliary position. The reasons why Bologna in the Eleventh Century was the matrix of legal scholarship is clothed in half truth and half legend(13), but Frederick I capitalized on the emergence of these scholars, and thereby helped Europe to the full absorbtion of the Corpus Iuris.
The creation of the Bolognese school of Glossators, and the University of Bologna is essentially credited to Irnerius, the first great legal teacher of the Middle Ages(14). The merit of the school of Irnerius was to have revived the study of the law of Justinian in place of the law of the _Lex Romana Visigothorum_, which had been the main secular source of Roman law in the early Middle Ages. As an imperial doctrine, it was inadequate, and therefore, the task was to apply the more superior and complex _Corpus Iuris_ to the contemporary political situation. The aim of the Glossators was to establish reliable texts and then to analyze and catalogue their contents. Although the _Corpus Iuris_ was a treasure house of legal learning, it was, as a complete source poorly organized (15). Similar material appears in its main three parts, but each is arranged in different ways. The style was at times obscure, some of the material having been interpolated by Justinian's compilers, largely for the purpose of abbreviation. Most of the material was out of date, and Justinian's _Deo Auctore_ notwithstanding, it contains many contradictions and antinomies. Nevertheless, it was a complete body of law, codified, and portable, and therefore was infinitely more manageable than the Canon law until the work of Gratian(16). The Glossators of Bologna "...had a closer familiarity with its texts than any generation of lawyers before or since" (17).
As the popularity of the Bolognese school grew, two developments occurred which would tremendously affect the future of Western culture. The first was that as the student population at Bologna grew, during the time of Irnerius and his four principal pupils, the "Four Doctors", the tendency to form groups naturally grew, and "Nationes"(18) were formed, and finally, the conglomeration of these nations into an organized body resulted in the formation of the "Universitas"; secondly, and directly related to the first, these students for various reasons experienced difficulty in funding, and were subjected to extortion, tolls, reprisals and jurisdictional uncertainties(19). As civilians, rather than clerics,they were exposed conditions which impeded travel to and from the University.
The Civilian population at Bologna began to be threatened while the clerics began to arrive unimpeded from Rome to study the Roman law. Frederick I needed civilian jurists to maintain and staff his government, so he could not afford to lose his advantage. He issued a decree, _Habita_ which gave the civilian students precisely the same privileges as the clerics. Habita allowed the civilian legal scholar to travel to and from Bologna without worry of great expense. The decree became incorporated in most universities' constitutions soon thereafter(20), and the end result was that the legal scholar was afforded the possibility to travel and spread his knowledge from place to place. One such scholar, Vacarius, beneficiary of this decree, and contemporary of the Four Doctors and quite possibly Irnerius himself (21), proved how important the patronage of the Emperor was to become.
Vacarius was born in Lombardy around 1120 (22), and studied civil law at Bologna under the instruction of the Four Doctors (23), where he attained the title of Magister. He was educated at a time when the jurists believed that the Canon law was inferior to the _Corpus Iuris_, a mere collection of various materials of differing authority. He was familiar with the dialectic techniques, and employed grammar, rhetoric and logic to his studies as did his masters. He was, however, to experience a change of lifestyles which would no longer allow this rather insular, pristine interpretation of the law. This change would come to identify him as a sort of hybrid Glossator, a precursor of the Post-Glossators (24) who would attempt to give life to the ancient Roman law according to Medieval realities.
His story takes us to England, where in the late 1130's Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury, was experiencing difficulty in the administration of his province, partially because of a dispute over legatine privileges with the Bishop of Winchester, Henry of Blois. He was unsuccessful in the enforcement of Canon Law in a country which for the most part had remained immune from canonical legal processes (25). In 1143 Theobald set out for Rome upon the death of Innocent II to secure a legatine position for himself. He had attempted to persuade the best equipped canonist in England, Gilbert Foliot (26), to accompany him and help him plead his cause, but Foliot refused. He was, therefore, terribly in need of expert legal advice, and this is how Vacarius first came into his employ (27).
Theobald was well received by Celestine, and received the legateship while he was still in Italy. However, Celestine died, and his replacement, Lucius II reverted to the policy of Innocent II. So Theobald returned to England without the legateship, but probably with Vacarius (28). In 1144 Vacarius was 24 or 25, so it was quite possible that he entered the employ of the Church as a civilian, and enjoyed the company of John of Salisbury (29), who also was in Theobald's employ, and who most probably was in the forefront with respect to consultation and administration.
It is safe to say that Vacarius received his first dose of Canon Law in those years, and soon became aware of the need to apply theory into practice. So while the Canon law considered inferior (even after the _Decretum_ in 1139) on a theoretical plane, it clearly demonstrated to Vacarius in those years its dynamism as an applicable system. It was at that time as well that he recognised the vacuum in England for Roman law, and his lectures (30) were the very first introduction of the _Corpus Iuris_ in England as a subject for scholarly study.
There is some question as to where Vacarius might have taught Roman Law in England, the evidence that he did rests primarily on the chronicles of three men, Robert of Torigny (31), John of Salisbury (32), and Gervase of Canterbury (33). Some believe he taught at Oxford (34) while others are content to say that he lectured in Canterbury, and that based on the conditions of the school at Oxford in the mid-century, it would have been improbable that there was any lecture on law, or anything else there, at least until the early 'nineties (35). What is clear, and what probably remains most important, is that he was responsible for the introduction of Roman Law into the English scholastic environment with his book, _Liber Pauperum_.
Liber Pauperum_ was the first legal textbook in England. Vacarius' title indicates at least partially who the book was written for, namely the poor student who was unable to afford a copy of the Corpus, and who was not prepared to analyze the entire Roman Law. The _Liber Pauperum_ is an epitome, a condensation of the 50 books of the Digest and 12 books of the Code into 9 books, corresponding to the overall scheme of the Institutes. He wrote it on economic grounds, to diffuse the knowledge, however elementary, of the Roman Law.
Roman Law was the law of reason and equity, whose principles inherently underlay the customary law of any civilized country, and therefore, could be used in a country whose customary law was principal, and which naturally had gaps which could be filled by it.
It was wholly unnecessary to limit its exposure only to those who could afford it, since in Vacarius' mind a monopoly of the wealthy was not equitable. He also felt the need to justify Roman Law in a country where customary law had such a great role. He attempted to stress the inherent logical content of the _Corpus Iuris_ by condensing it and rearranging it for the unpracticed pupil (36). Although not directed at solving specific court problems, the work was sensitive to practical needs by making the ideas of the Roman jurists and their Bolognese exponents more accessible. His book in the eyes of the Bolognese glossators was simplistic, and antithetical to the efforts they had made to a complete analysis of the _Corpus Iuris_, however it demonstrates a growing trend of accommodation of theory and practice in the high middle ages which allowed the fruits of study to be applied to current circumstances. Vacarius was partially responsible for that trend by his introduction of _Liber Pauperum_ into English scholastic literature.
Vacarius seemed particularly interested in the relationship bet ween the civil law and custom. In an important section in the _Liber Pauperum_(37) deals with custom and its relation to civil law. The emperor was the sole legislator and the only authoritative interpreter of the law. The interpretation of the emperor can give weight to considerations of equity, whereas a judge is limited by the law. This was the orthodox view, but in setting it out, Vacarius adds after the interpretation of the emperor, "or Custom", so equating modification and even abrogation of the law by custom with that by the emperor. He found pre cedent in the Codex (38) in which Constantine claimed that the emperor creates, permits and condones custom, hence it is derived from his will. But for Vacarius, what was more important, was that custom was derived from "Consensus Populi"(39).
Later in his career he wrote on the issue of Marriage (40), and once again brought custom into play with his opinion that marriage signified on a legal basis the conveyance of property. What he was demonstrating, using the civil law as his logical springboard, was that as an insulated study, Roman law had little future in Twelfth Century England, and hence his interpretation considering the custom of the land rendered palatable, at least to his employers the foreign Roman Law.
The _Liber Pauperum_ enjoyed great success at the end of the Century at Oxford; its followers were called "Pauperistae" (41). But Vacarius was soon silenced as a teacher of Roman Law in England by an edict prohibiting the civil law by Stephen (42). He probably took Orders soon thereafter as a result of the brilliant clerical circle at Canterbury at that time, where, amongst others he met Roger de Pont l'Eveque and Thomas Becket(43). He entered into Roger's employ at York, and became known to the Roman authorities as a capable ecclesiastical diplomat and jurist. He also was able to remain politically clean in the Becket affair, as he was not inclined towards partisanship. He was, as Zulueta called him, "a safe and unheroic man." It is conceivable that he continued to lecture locally (44), but his greatest impact remained the _Liber Pauperum_, which was utilized up until 1220.
As for the remainder of his career, he became a county parson, and was known to contribute only occasionally to what could be called scholarly activity, in two tracts, both were theological discussions:"De Assumtio Homine" and "Summa de Matrimonio." He became an orthodox theologian, but nevertheless based his arguments on the dialectic method of the Glossators, and relied heavily on the civil law as a reference. He died around the turn of the century.
Vacarius was not the most illustrious jurist of his time, but he shared company with the very greatest, in Italy and England, and his method was their method to a large degree. He diverged from the Bolognese orthodoxy for very practical reasons, and in doing so introduced to England the Roman Law. He was able to do so for various reasons: the _Habita_ of Frederick I ; the propensity for litigation in the Church; the introduction of the _Corpus Iuris_ to scholastic analysis; and above all, a notable desire for the Medieval society and the Christian society to create an environment where law and order combined with Christian morality dictated the conduct of the individual and the society. Vacarius was a pioneer in the sense that he strove to disseminate to even the common man those precious tools in the _Corpus Iuris_ by making them palatable and applicable to the current need.
Notes:
1. Gervasius Cantuariensis, _Actus Pontificum_ 2,384. Quotation from Gervase of Canterbury in F.de Zulueta's book _The Liber Pauperum Of Vacarius_ Selden Society, London, 1927
2. Chronicle of Robert of Torigny entry in 1149 "Magister Vacarius, gente Longobardus, vir honestus et juris peritus, cum leges Romanas anno ab incarnatione Domini MCXLIX..." from "Master Vacarius and the Beginning of an English Academic Tradition", by R.W.Southern, in _Medieval Learning and Literature_ Oxford 1976.
3. Francesco Calasso, _Medio Evo Del Diritto_ Milan 1954 pages 367-390
4. 168 Novellae published in the subsequent 30 years of his reign to meet current and developing demands and exigencies, and also as the primary source of interpretation of existing laws.
5. W. Ullman, _Law and Politics in the Middle Ages_ London 1975 p. 68.
6. Calasso, _Medio Evo Del Diritto_ p. 599, W. Ullman, _Law and Politics_ p.68
7. The declaration that the Emperor was the administrator of the divine will made all his laws necessarily the words of the Lord, and therefore sacred. For discussion on "Lex Sacra" see, W. Ullman, _The Medieval Idea of Law, London 1946
8. F. Calasso, _Medio Evo Del Diritto_ pp. 82 84; 291-294
9. The "Christian Society" is a term to describe Latin Christendom, or those members of Western Europe who where, voluntarily or not, included as members, or subjects in the Universal Church. Depending on the circumstances and the strength of the local Bishop, one could exclude or include oneself in only a limited way.
10. Letter to the Romans of St. Paul,The Holy Bible
11. Romans,13 1-7
12. The corpus of Canon law was an obstacle to scholarly inter- pretation in the early 12th Century, and for a brief moment a period of about 20 years, the Corpus Iuris represented a superior body of law. See Peter Stein,_ I Fondamenti Del Diritto Europeo_ or the english equivalent. 13. F. Calasso, _Medio Evo Del Diritto_,pp.503-510
14. Ibid.
15. Peter Stein, "Vacarius and the Civil Law" from _Church and Government in the Middle Ages_ London 1976 p.119
16. Gratian, _Concordia Discordantium Canonium_ Published in 1139
17. Quoted from Peter Stein, "Vacarius and the Civil Law" _Church and Government in the Middle Ages_ p.124 18. F. Calasso, _Medio Evo Del Diritto_ pp. 503-510 19. W. Ullman, _Law and Politics in the Middle Ages_ p.93
20. Soon thereafter is of course a relative phrase, but by the middle of the Thirteenth Century, _Habita_ was integrated in most of the new universities' constitutions.
21. F. Calasso, _Medio Evo Del Diritto_ pp. 503-520, Zulueta, _The Liber Pauperum Of Vacarius_ introduction.
22. Approximate date, nobody is sure, see Zulueta, _Liber Pauperum_
23. The four doctors where the founders of the school of Glossators, they were in the words of Irnerius," Bulgaris os aureum, Martinus copia legum, Mens legum est Ugo, Jacobus id quod ego." Calasso, _Medio Evo Del Diritto_ p.511
24. See W. Ullman, _The Medieval Idea of Law_ London 1946
25. Peter Stein, "Vacarius and the Civil Law" _Church and Government in the Middle Ages_ 26. R.W.Southern, "Master Vacarius and the Beginning of an English Academic Tradition" From _Medieval Learning and Literature_, and de Zulueta, _The Liber Pauperum of Vacarius_
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid.
30. 'Lectura' discovered by Dr. E Rathbone in BL Royal MS and identified by Zulueta as authored by students of Vacarius.
31. _Chronique de Robert de Torigni_ Robert of Torigny was a monk of Bec and then abbot of Mont St. Michel. A chronicle of miscellaneous political and local events. Southern, Ibid.
32. _Policraticus_ of John of Salisbury mentions Vacarius as an example of the tyranny of Kings, for as we know, Vacarius was silenced by Stephen "...Vacario nostro indictum silentium..." Southern, Ibid.
33. _Acta Pontificum Cantuariensis Ecclesia_ Gervase of Canterbury mentions that Vacarius read Law at Oxford. Zulueta, Ibid.
34. Most of the evidence that Vacarius taught at Oxford comes from the three chroniclers. R.W. Southern in his essay, "Master Vacarius and the Beginning of and English Academic Tradition" _Medieval Learning and Literature_, states that there is some difficulty relying on chroniclers, and in view of the slim evidence, and the fact that Oxford as a viable school capable of supporting lectures on Roman Law did not exist before the 1190's no real proof can be given that he actually taught at Oxford. See also Zulueta,Ibid., Peter Stein, Ibid.
35. Ibid.
36. Peter Stein, Ibid.
37. _Liber Pauperum_ I.8
38. Codex VI 23,19
39. Vacarius differed from his orthodox Bolognese counterparts in this discussion, writing "...consuetudo populi tollit legem." Which opposed Irnerius' "...maioris auctoritatis est lex." The precedent is important because it reveals a weakness in the imperial logic of the interpretation of the _Corpus Iuris_ which would in the long run help replace monarchy with other forms of legislative bodies.
40. _Summa De Matrimonio_ by Vacarius written later in his career, and which posited the idea that the essence of marriage was in the transfer of property (the wife) into the hands of the husband.
41. de Zulueta, _The Liber Pauperum of Vacarius_ introduction
42. See excerpt of John of Salisbury's _Policraticus_
43. de Zulueta, Ibid.
44. Again there is evidence in various manuscripts that he lectured at least privately. See de Zulueta, Ibid. Stein, Ibid.
Bibliography:
Francesco Calasso, _Medio Evo Del Diritto_ Milano 1954
Richard William Southern, "Master Vacarius and the Beginning of an English Academic Tradition" in _Medieval Learning and Literature_ Oxford, 1976
Peter Stein, "Vacarius and the Civil Law" in _Church and Government in the Middle Ages_ London 1976.
Peter Stein, _I Fondamenti Del Diritto Europeo_ London 1980.
Walter Ullman, _Law and Politics in the Middle Ages_ London 1975.
Walter Ullman, _The Medieval Idea of Law_ London 1946.
F. de Zulueta, _The Liber Pauperum Of Vacarius_ London 1927.
The Holy Bible, esp. St. Paul's letter to the Romans.