Divisions of Law

Legal Science in the Iuris Universi Distributio of Jean Bodin
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
ISBN: 978-0-19-881048-3
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 206 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 468 g

Legal science begins in the early modern effort to transform the academic study of classical Roman law into a systematic, rational discipline. In Divisions of Law, Daniel Lee investigates this transformation and focuses on the achievements of one major contributor to this effort, Jean Bodin (ca.1530-1596). The volume also includes the first English translation of Bodin's Iuris Universi Distributio, prepared by Jason Aaron Brown.
Remembered today for his work concerning the theory of state sovereignty, historical methodology, and religious toleration, Bodin was formally trained as a lawyer during a golden age of French jurisprudence. In that context, he authored a groundbreaking legal treatise, the Iuris Universi Distributio, that aspired to outline the essential elements of all legal systems in history. The author examines how early modern legal science broke away from the techniques of medieval jurisprudence, and how Bodin reorganized the whole of Roman law into a more orderly and rational system using the methods of Ramism, ultimately crafting a theory of justice modelled on the Pythagorean ideal of harmony. By studying Bodin's legal reasoning, Divisions of Law invites specialists in jurisprudence, legal history, and the history of political thought to understand how jurisprudence became a science.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lee, Daniel

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introduction: Dividing Law

- 1: Legal Science and Legal Ramism

- 2: Divisions of Law

- 3: Harmonic Justice

- Appendix 1: Jean Bodin, Iuris Universi Distributio Translator's Preface

- Appendix 2: Iuris Universi Distributio (Paris, 1578)

- Appendix 3: A Division of Law as a Whole

Über Autor(innen)

Daniel Lee is Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a specialist in the history of political thought and jurisprudence, with a special focus on the influence of Roman law on modern jurisprudence and social science. His other major works include Popular Sovereignty in Early Modern Constitutional Thought and The Right of Sovereignty, also published by Oxford University Press.

Jason Aaron Brown is a Research Fellow at St. Paul's College in the University of Manitoba and the author of St Antoninus of Florence on Trade, Merchants, and Workers. His scholarship centers on medieval legal and pastoral literature. He has taught history, Latin, and manuscript studies at the University of Manitoba, University of Winnipeg, and Durham University.