THE BREVIARIUM
The Breviarium Alaricianum is the code of Roman law of the Visigoths, compiled by a committee of jurists appointed by Alarie II, whose task it was to gather within one book a selection of all the ‘ius antiqua’, the “ancient law,” and the ‘leges romanae’, “Roman laws,” with the aim of “clarifying and explaining” Roman law and jurisprudence.
The new code was ratified at a gathering of bishops and, after being deposited in the royal treasury, served as a source for authorized copies to be sent to all the counts of the kingdom. In the promulgation edict of 2 February 506, Alaric ordered that the new code would be the only valid source of law and jurisprudence, and that the counts were forbidden to use any other “law” or “legal formula” not included in this code in their courts. This code was, in effect, a completion of, and complement to, Euric’s codification of Gothic law, so that the Roman population of the Visigoth kingdom could enjoy its own code.The Breviarium, which was the only legal code for the Roman population of the Visigoth Kingdom, remained in force until 654, when the Lex Visigothorum Reccessvindiana, “Reccessvind’s Visigoth Law,” was promulgated, applying equally to Visigoths and Romans and abrogating the authority of the Breviarium. The most important source of knowledge of the Roman law in western Europe, the Breviarium remained a major legal authority until it was replaced by the Justinian corpus in the twelfth century. Many manuscripts of the Breviarium, both complete and in adaptations, circulated in Europe throughout the centuries, such as the Lex Romana Raetica Curiensis and the Epitome Aegidii. The 16th book of the Theodosian Code, which held special interest for clerics in general, and canonists in particular, was added to many manuscripts of the Breviarium at an early stage in the process of circulation.27
The compilers of the Breviarium made use of the Theodosian Code and the later Novels as sources of Roman law.
While preserving the original sequence of the laws in the Theodosian Code and in the collections of Novels, they were discriminating in their far-reaching selection. Hanel calculated that, out of 3400 texts in the Theodosian Code, the editors of the Breviarium accepted only 398; out of the 104 Novels in the collections, they accepted only 33.28 Indeed, out of a total of 68 texts (45 laws) in the Theodosian Code relating to the Jews, only nine texts (seven laws) were received in the Breviarium: two texts included here in No. 10, two included in No. 18, and one text each in each of the following laws: Nos. 12, 16, 17, 28, and 40. To this, one should add the Third Novel of Theodosius II (No. 54) and part of the Sentences of Paul (No. 6)—eleven texts in all. To each of these texts the compilers added a commentary. In contrast to the concentration of texts relating to the Jews in the latter books of the Theodosian Code, mainly in Chapters 8 and 9 of Book 16, the compilers of the Breviarium were interested in those texts concerning the Jews from the point of view of personal law, that is, mainly texts found in the first books of the Theodosian Code. They drastically cut the two chapters of Book 16 of the Theodosian Code dedicated to the Jewish religion: only two of the 29 texts in Chapter 8 were left, and only one of the five texts in Chapter 9 (the second law appearing in Brev. 16:4 in Hanel’s edition is apparently a late addition; see his note there). But even these three texts concern matters relating to personal law, such as conversion to Judaism, conversion of Jews to Christianity, and the ownership of Christian slaves.29 Juster maintained that the compilers of the Breviarium rejected most of the texts concerning the Jews found in the Theodosian Code for practical reasons, such as the wish to avoid duplication and to eliminate texts which were out-of-date or inapplicable.30 At the same time, it should be stressed that they treated with indifference all the laws in Book 16 of CTh, including those pertaining to Christianity, to heretical sects, and to paganism. It would thus seem that their approach to those texts in Book 16 concerning the Jews must have been affected in large measure by their Arianism, and that they have expressed their hostility towards the Orthodox Christian editors of the Theodosian Code precisely in connection to the most “religious” book of the Code. In the promulgation edict of the Breviarium emphasis was placed upon the selection exercised by the compilers and, unlike the editors of the codes of Theodosius II and Justinian, it would seem that they were not instructed to alter or update the texts. Of the eleven texts referred to above, five were preserved in the Breviarium alone, while six were preserved both in the Breviarium and in independent texts of the Theodosian Code, so that we can compare the versions and appreciate the working methods of the editors of the Breviarium. Through this comparison, one arrives at the unequivocal conclusion that the Breviarium reproduced faithfully complete and exact texts, without changes or deletions—even to the extent of copying the indications of division found in the Theodosian Code. Only CTh 16:7:3— i.e., Brev. 16:2:1 (No. 16)—was abridged, and in a drastic manner, but the compilers took the trouble to explain that “no [copy] was made of the other portion of the law, concerning the Manichaeans, as it is clearly found in the Novels.”313.
More on the topic THE BREVIARIUM:
- THE BREVIARIUM
- II Jurisprudence
- 17 Prohibition on the Possession and Proselyting of Christian Slaves by Jews
- 1. CODEXTHEODOSIANUS
- 28 On the Judicial Powers of the Jewish Authorities
- 16 Interdiction on Christians from Participating in Pagan, Jewish and Manichaean Cults
- 12 Confiscation of the Properties of Christian Proselytes
- 40 Protection of Synagogues and Recognition of Jewish Holidays as Official Holidays for Jews Honorius (with Theodosius II)
- CONTENTS
- Mommsen’s Encounter with the Code