This chapter deals with the place of Roman law in the creation and evolution of canon law, the law of the medieval church.1

Its particular subject covers one aspect of the larger history of Roman law, assessing its influence on a different legal system, one that touched the lives of virtually all European men and women during the middle ages and into modern times.

Any such assessment must embrace three separate though related aspects. First is an examination of the impact of the Corpus iuris civilis on the texts and substance of the medieval canon law. Second is an evaluation of the part played by the church in preserving and promot­ing the legal heritage of the ancient world as it was found in the Justinianic compilations. Third is a consideration of how (and how far) the two laws were blended together to form the ius commune, the general law common to European lands prior to the nineteenth century.

More on the topic This chapter deals with the place of Roman law in the creation and evolution of canon law, the law of the medieval church.1:

1. Early Medieval Law and the Reinvigoration of Roman Law
2. The Rhodian Law on Jettison
3. 3. Ius Commercii and International Law