Visigothic Law and the Liber Iudiciorum
Christianity
Origins and Development
Christianity originated from the teachings of Christ, found in sacred texts written after his time. Within the Jewish context, Christ was seen as the Messiah. After his death, a set of beliefs formed, leading to the separation of Christianity from Judaism. This new faith centered on salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Open to all, Christianity required only baptism and Eucharist, regardless of ethnicity. Key features of its development include:
- Gradual establishment of sacred texts.
- Emergence of different Christianities, some deemed heretical.
- Development of an ecclesiastical structure.
Communities formed, based on brotherly love, using familial terms like “sister,” “father,” and “mother.” Early life was characterized by the anticipation of the end times.
The Rise of the Church
Official authorities, like bishops, initially elected by the people for economic tasks, gradually gained power. Political rivalries often transformed into theological debates. A pivotal moment was Christianity’s conversion to the official religion, occurring in two stages:
- Tolerance of Christianity: Constantine’s conversion and the Edict of Milan (313 AD) led to a pro-Christian policy, reinforcing the bishops’ authority and using Christianity to legitimize his position.
- Official Religion: The Edict of Thessalonica, under Theodosius, made Christianity the sole permitted religion, persecuting pagans. The Catholic confession legitimized emperors, who began to be seen as God-sent.
The Church benefited immensely, acquiring wealth and privileges. It transformed from a community of believers to a powerful institution. Dogmas and ecclesiastical structures solidified.
Sacred Texts and Dogmas
The Bible, comprising the Old Testament (broader than the Jewish version) and the New Testament (Jesus’s life, including the four Gospels), became central. St. Jerome’s late third/early fourth-century translation was widely adopted. Monastic life, focused on prayer, proliferated.
Councils, particularly ecumenical councils, addressed the proliferation of bishops and established dogmas of faith. Disagreement was considered heresy. Patristic thought emerged, formulating the concept of the seven deadly sins as man’s battle against the world and himself, advocating bodily punishment to combat vices.
Canon Law
Canon law, the law of the Church, significantly influenced European legal development, existing alongside Roman law. Christian communities lived by their faith, turning to sacred texts and Gospel teachings. Apostolic teachings, initially transmitted orally, gradually formed a set of behavioral rules.
As the perceived imminence of the end times faded, Church institutions developed. Bishops gained political power and jurisdiction, supported by ecclesiastical authorities, becoming influential figures. The lack of effective political structures furthered the development of ecclesiastical courts.
Councils established normative bodies, dictating rules (royalties) to regulate coexistence within the Church. Papal provisions also emerged, establishing the Pope’s authority. By the fifth century, the Pope was considered the head of the Church, issuing papal bulls, encyclicals, and constitutions.
Isidore and the Compilation of Canon Law
The growing body of canons and decrees required compilation. The Crisis of the Third Century and barbarian invasions, particularly in the fifth century, furthered this need. Barbarian peoples (Germans, Slavs, Swabians, Vandals) established ephemeral political units within the former Roman Empire, accelerating the ongoing ruralization process.
The Law of the Visigoths
Early Visigothic Law
The Visigoths, entering the Roman Empire in the third century, underwent a process of acculturation, adopting Roman ways and language. The fourth-century Hunnic invasion displaced them to Thrace. A 418 AD agreement (foedus) granted them Aquitaine Secunda in exchange for defending the Empire.
Visigothic kings issued provisions affecting both Visigoths and Gallo-Romans. The Code of Euric, discovered in a palimpsest, addressed practical matters like land leasing and distribution. It wasn’t a complete legal system but a solution to immediate problems. Roman vulgar law prevailed.
King Alaric later sought to consolidate existing law into a single text: the Lex Romana Visigothorum (506 AD), known as the Breviary of Alaric. It contained selections from the Theodosian Code and iura (Gaius and Paulus’s works), simplified for practical use. An interpretatio clarified the meaning of the texts, highlighting the low level of legal culture. The Breviary, along with the Code of Euric, became the prevailing law.
The Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo
Expelled by the Franks in 507, the Visigoths moved to the Iberian Peninsula, establishing the Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo. They integrated peacefully, sharing land and preserving their Arian Christian faith, considered heretical by the Catholic population. The kingdom, constantly on the verge of disintegration, achieved greater stability after Recaredo’s conversion to Catholicism in 589.
The socio-economic structure continued Roman traditions, with dependency relationships between powerful and humble individuals. Kings granted land to nobles in exchange for loyalty. Religious recognition of this hierarchy became possible after the conversion to Catholicism.
The Fourth Council of Toledo (633 AD) established an oath of allegiance, signifying the Church’s influence and the religious nature of political bonds. A symbiosis between scriptural and secular texts emerged. The Code of Euric was revised, and the disintegration towards feudalism began.
The Liber Iudiciorum
The Liber Iudiciorum (Lex Visigothorum) was the last major legal work of the Visigothic kings. Divided into twelve books, it held significant importance in Spanish legal history. Its theological discourse reflects its time and place, representing a crossroads of Christian, Roman, and Visigothic traditions.
Three key factors shaped the Liber:
- Recaredo’s conversion to Catholicism and the use of Catholic discourse by the monarchy.
- The oath of allegiance, highlighting the Church’s political weight and the religious nature of political bonds.
- The fall of Jerusalem to Persians and then Saracens, interpreted as the end times and fueling a new ideology.
The Liber comprises two layers: Arian laws (pre-conversion) from the Code of Euric, and post-conversion laws influenced by the new ideology. It’s a compilation of Visigothic royal laws, fusing Roman and Christian traditions. It broke with Roman tradition by establishing a distinct Visigothic law. Promulgated in 654 and revised in 681, it became the sole applicable law, with gaps referred to the king.
The highly Romanized Liber, while breaking from Roman authority, demonstrates the enduring influence of Roman law. Unofficial manuscript transmission led to modifications (the vulgate version) in the Middle Ages. Alongside the Liber, a collection of conciliar canons formed within canon law, also existing in a vulgar version.
Summary
Following the Roman Empire’s collapse, barbarian kingdoms emerged, adopting Roman customs and creating their own laws, alongside the Byzantine Empire. Ruralization continued, and feudalism advanced. Roman law, biblical texts, and new legal texts fusing Roman and Catholic theology were transmitted and shaped the legal landscape. These developments reflect the political fragmentation and the prevailing belief in a divinely ordained order characteristic of the Middle Ages.