Course 2025-2026 a.y.

50219 - HISTORY OF LAW - MODULE 1 (INTRODUCTION TO EUROPEAN LEGAL HISTORY)

Department of Law

Course taught in English

Student consultation hours
19 - 20
CLMG (6 credits - I sem. - OB  |  IUS/19)
Course Director:
EMILIO CAROLI

Classes: 19 (I sem.) - 20 (I sem.)
Instructors:
Class 19: STEFANO MALPASSI, Class 20: EMILIO CAROLI


Suggested background knowledge

The teaching assumes a general familiarity with the institutions and terminology of private and public law.

Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

The aim of the course is to provide an overview of the history of law in Europe. The purpose is to sketch the history of a common civilisation, to which contributed people coming from different and faraway lands, cities, kingdoms and towns. The course will consider the contribution of four traditions: that of the Germanic tribes that migrated throughout the Roman Empire, of Roman law, of Christianity, and of Greek philosophy. It will focus on the influence of these traditions on legislation, law and legal practice. It will examine the common features and the development over time of judicial procedure, the private law of obligations, and some aspects of public law. Special emphasis will be placed on the relation between laws and the role played by professional jurists. Overall, the course aims to introduce students to the complexities of European legal history through in-depth analysis of the sources of the law, from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern period in continental civil law and the English common law.

CONTENT SUMMARY

Introductory lessons followed by the analysis of historical sources and legal materials will be presented on each of the following topics:

 

Law in the Early Middle Ages

  • The Roman Law Legacy
  • The Law of the German Tribes
  • Christianity and the Origins of Canon Law

 

Law in the Late Middle Ages

  • The re-discovery of the Digest and the Bologna Studium Iuris
  • The New Legal Science: Glossators and Commentators
  • The European Ius Commune

 

Property in the Middle Ages: A Retrospective

 

Towards the Early Modern Age

  • The French Droit Commun
  • The Origins of the English Common Law
  • Constitutionalism in the Middle Ages
  • The Corpus Iuris Canonici

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Describe the framework of the historical evolution of the law in Europe
  • Recognize the different sources of law from the Middle Ages to Early Modern period
  • Retrace the historical origins and evolution of some fundamental legal principles of both private and public law

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Understand the current European legal systems from a historical perspective
  • Understand the evolution of jurisprudence as interpretation of law (iuris-prudentia) in European legal history
  • Seek to reflect on the further development of law by understanding the historical origins of modern legal systems

 

 


Teaching methods

  • Lectures
  • Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
  • Interaction/Gamification

DETAILS

Students will be asked to actively participate in class, and to read and discuss the sources and materials shared by the instructors

At the end of each section, the topics discussed in class will be reviewed using game-based learning (quizzes, brainstorming activities)

 

 


Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
     x

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Attending students will be asked to take the exam on the contents of the lessons and the materials shared in class. The final exam consists of 1 open ended question (max 10 pts) and 22 multiple choice questions (1pt each). Active participation in class will be evaluated as well.


NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Non-attending students will be asked to take the final exam on the contents of the suggested textbooks. The exam consists of 1 open ended question (max 10 pts) and 22 multiple choice questions (1pt each).


Teaching materials


ATTENDING STUDENTS

Attending Students:

 

Notes from the lessons and contents shared in class.

 

Selected parts of some textbooks will be indicated by the instructors.

 

Suggested introductory reading: Antonio Manuel Hespanha, Legal History and Legal Education, in Rechtsgeschichte 4, 2004, 41-56 (available online).

 

Students enrolled in class 0 are kindly invited to contact the instructor.


NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Non-Attending Students:

 

Antonio Padoa-Schioppa, A History of Law in Europe. From Early Middle-Ages to the Twentieth Century, Cambridge 2018, from page 1 to page 228.

 

Antonio Manuel Hespanha, Legal History and Legal Education, in Rechtsgeschichte 4, 2004, 41-56 (available online).

 

Heikki Pihlajamäki (ed.), Markus D. Dubber (ed.), Mark Godfrey (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of European Legal History. Part III - The Law in the High and the Late Middle Ages: The Learned Ius Commune and the Vernacular Laws, Oxford 2018. The complete text is available online via the UniBocconi library catalog and can be accessed using institutional credentials through the university’s library website.

 

Students enrolled in class 0 are kindly invited to contact the instructor.

 

Last change 29/05/2025 15:59