Description
Book SynopsisLaw is a specific form of social regulation distinct from religion, ethics, and even politics, and endowed with a strong and autonomous rationality. Its invention, a crucial aspect of Western history, took place against the backdrop of the Roman Empire's gradual consolidation. Schiavone reconstructs this development with clear-eyed passion.
Trade ReviewEveryone recognizes that during the early Roman Empire law emerged as a professionalized and vital part of statecraft, but few understand the wrenching intellectual controversy that accompanied the transformation. Aldo Schiavone's terrific book brings this historic debate into dazzling focus. -- Bruce Frier, University Michigan
The wide sweep and deeply humanistic approach of
The Invention of Law in the West--with its emphasis on the primary sources and concise critical synthesis of much previous scholarship--make this ambitious volume perhaps the best attempt yet by any scholar to animate the venerable yet highly complex, technically demanding and intellectually isolated field of Roman law for a wider readership...It indisputably marks a new and welcome opening in its field. -- T. Corey Brennan * Time Literary Supplement *
