Reviews of Books LAWS OF THE VISIGOTHS The Visigothic Code (Forum Judicum). Trans lated from the original Latin, and edited by S. P. Scott. author of "Through Spain" and "History of the Moorish Empire in Europe," member of the Comparative Law Bureau of the American Bar Association. Boston Book Co., Boston. Pp. lxxiv, 409+ 9 (index). (85.)
HE legislation of the Visigoths is of historical importance as an inter esting stage in the evolution of Conti nental legal institutions.
No barbaric
nation during the early Middle Ages was more under the influence of Rome than the Goths. Before the downfall of the Empire, they had been settled for a considerable time on Roman soil and had acquired much of Roman civilization.
When the western branch of the nation invaded Spain, it found there a people of Basque and Celtic elements which had become to a large degree Roman
ized. The resulting legislation was there fore destined to exemplify not so much the gradual reception of Roman law by barbarians, that process having already been largely accomplished, as the vicissi tudes of a debased Roman law in its
had some points of similarity with the Code of Justinian, enacted some thirty years later. The Breviary became the standard source of Roman law through
out Western Europe during the earlier half of the Middle Ages, being taken over by the Franks with their conquest of Southern Gaul, and is interesting as marking the debasement of Roman law. It has been well edited by a German scholar, Hanel.
The Breviary of Alaric was succeeded by other legislation in the sixth century, in which the Visigoths yielded more ‘and more to the influence of Roman rules. The national edicts of King Recared,
at the time of his conversion from Arianism to Roman Christianity, marked
the growth of a more national body of laws. In the seventh century the two kings Chindaswind and Recceswind in
troduced
territorial codes based on
Roman patterns, and repealed conflict
ing enactments. The introduction of Roman Christianity marked the begin ning of a period of decadence; the Visi
friction with the vaguely defined forces
goths henceforth grew more luxurious,
of barbaric custom.
less powerful in war, and more addicted
The Visigoths of Spain and France both codified Roman law for the use of their subjects and adopted Roman en actments wholesale. The laws of King Euric, dating from about 464 A.D., are the most ancient Visigothic legislation of which we know, and only fragments of them have survived. In these frag
ments Professor Vinogradoif has found a number of paragraphs drawn from Roman sources. In 506 King Alaric II
codified the Roman law of the Visigoths under the name of the Breviary of Alaric, which was a compendium of the enactments of the later Empire, and
to religious persecution.
Under Recces
wind the Forum Judicum was promul gated, to which additions were later
made by King Erwig and King Egica. Twenty-six years after Erwig had re vised the Forum Judicum the Visigoths, incapable of resisting the Saracenic invaders, succumbed to conquest. The document now translated by Mr.
Scott is Erwig’s revision of the Forum Judicum, although he assumes that he is translating the compilation of Chin daswind and Recceswind. He does not say what text he has used.
The edi
tion of the Royal Spanish Academy,
