Hermogenian
Encyclopedia
Aurelius Hermogenianus, or Hermogenian in English, was an eminent jurist and public servant of the age of Diocletian
and his fellow tetrarchs.
, which collects imperial laws of the years AD 293-94, has long been identified with Hermogenianus, author of the six-book Iuris epitomae (Summaries of the law), a synopsis of classical legal thought. This manual, which followed the arrangement of the Praetor's Edict, survives in 106 excerpts in Justinian's Digest or Pandects
. The excerpts are reassembled according to an approximation of their original order in Otto Lenel's Palingenesia and an English translation can be constructed by reference to Watson's edition of the Digest. It is clear from his last place in the index to the Florentine Digest, that Hermogenian belonged to the last generation of jurists exploited by Justinian's compilers. References to plural principes and imperatores in several Digest extracts from the Iuris epitomae are certainly consistent with a tetrarchic date. It is probably on this work that his subsequent high reputation was based; the fifth-century author Coelius Sedulius
calls Hermogenian a doctissimus iurislator ('most learned relator of the law') and it is probably of the Iuris epitomae (rather than the Codex) that the same author claims that he produced three editions. By analysing the style of the surviving extracts of the Iuris epitomae Tony Honoré has identified Hermogenian also as the drafter of the emperor Diocletian's rescripts (replies to petitions) from the beginning of AD 293 to the end of 294, a task that would have been the job of the emperor's (procurator) a libellis or magister libellorum (master of petitions). These rescripts formed the core of his compilation of imperial laws, the single-book codex that bore his name, which was perhaps designed to function as a supplement to the Codex Gregorianus
that itself had gathered up material from as far back as the emperor Hadrian
. Certainly, the two works are closely linked in subsequent citations, the Hermogenian always after the Gregorian.
as Caesar (AD 293/305), unearthed at Brixia (modern Brescia) in northern Italy in 1983. At this stage, given his title vir eminentissimus (in contrast to his colleague's clarissimus), Hermogenian still belonged to the equestrian order. As happened to a number of senior equestrian prefects of the period, at some point subsequently during Diocletian's reign, he was promoted to the senate, as witnessed by his tenure of the senatorial post of proconsul Asia, in which capacity he put up a dedication to Diocletian or his colleague Maximian at Ilium (Troy) sometime before 305. His career culminated with appointment to the post of urban prefect (praefectus urbi) of Rome in AD 309–310.
, in which his ideas were further developed by the natural law and historical schools of jurisprudence from the 17th century onwards.
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
and his fellow tetrarchs.
Legal scholar
The compiler of the eponymous Codex HermogenianusCodex Hermogenianus
The Codex Hermogenianus or Hermogenian Code is the title of a collection of constitutions of the Roman emperors of the first tetrarchy , mostly from the years 293–94....
, which collects imperial laws of the years AD 293-94, has long been identified with Hermogenianus, author of the six-book Iuris epitomae (Summaries of the law), a synopsis of classical legal thought. This manual, which followed the arrangement of the Praetor's Edict, survives in 106 excerpts in Justinian's Digest or Pandects
Pandects
The Digest, also known as the Pandects , is a name given to a compendium or digest of Roman law compiled by order of the emperor Justinian I in the 6th century .The Digest was one part of the Corpus Juris Civilis, the body of civil law issued under Justinian I...
. The excerpts are reassembled according to an approximation of their original order in Otto Lenel's Palingenesia and an English translation can be constructed by reference to Watson's edition of the Digest. It is clear from his last place in the index to the Florentine Digest, that Hermogenian belonged to the last generation of jurists exploited by Justinian's compilers. References to plural principes and imperatores in several Digest extracts from the Iuris epitomae are certainly consistent with a tetrarchic date. It is probably on this work that his subsequent high reputation was based; the fifth-century author Coelius Sedulius
Coelius Sedulius
Coelius Sedulius, was a Christian poet of the first half of the 5th century. He is termed a presbyter by Isidore of Seville and in the Gelasian decree....
calls Hermogenian a doctissimus iurislator ('most learned relator of the law') and it is probably of the Iuris epitomae (rather than the Codex) that the same author claims that he produced three editions. By analysing the style of the surviving extracts of the Iuris epitomae Tony Honoré has identified Hermogenian also as the drafter of the emperor Diocletian's rescripts (replies to petitions) from the beginning of AD 293 to the end of 294, a task that would have been the job of the emperor's (procurator) a libellis or magister libellorum (master of petitions). These rescripts formed the core of his compilation of imperial laws, the single-book codex that bore his name, which was perhaps designed to function as a supplement to the Codex Gregorianus
Codex Gregorianus
The Codex Gregorianus or Gregorian Code is the title of a collection of constitutions of Roman emperors over a century and a half from the 130s to 290s AD.-History:thumb|Modern bust of Diocletian in his palace at Split, Croatia....
that itself had gathered up material from as far back as the emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
. Certainly, the two works are closely linked in subsequent citations, the Hermogenian always after the Gregorian.
Public servant
More recently the legal scholar has been identified with the Aur(elius) Her[mog]enianus, revealed as co-author with his senior colleague as praetorian prefect, Iulius Asclepiodotus, of an inscribed dedication to ConstantiusConstantius Chlorus
Constantius I , commonly known as Constantius Chlorus, was Roman Emperor from 293 to 306. He was the father of Constantine the Great and founder of the Constantinian dynasty. As Caesar he defeated the usurper Allectus in Britain and campaigned extensively along the Rhine frontier, defeating the...
as Caesar (AD 293/305), unearthed at Brixia (modern Brescia) in northern Italy in 1983. At this stage, given his title vir eminentissimus (in contrast to his colleague's clarissimus), Hermogenian still belonged to the equestrian order. As happened to a number of senior equestrian prefects of the period, at some point subsequently during Diocletian's reign, he was promoted to the senate, as witnessed by his tenure of the senatorial post of proconsul Asia, in which capacity he put up a dedication to Diocletian or his colleague Maximian at Ilium (Troy) sometime before 305. His career culminated with appointment to the post of urban prefect (praefectus urbi) of Rome in AD 309–310.
Career
Correlating the ascertainable dates for his attested posts with their conventional hierarchical order, Hermogenian's known career has been reconstructed as follows:- magister libellorum/a libellis (293–295)
- praetorian prefect (295-?300)
- publishes Codex Hermogenianus
- proconsul of Asia (one or two years in period 300/305)
- publishes Iuris epitomarum libri VI
- urban prefect (30 October 309-28 October 310)
Legacy
According to Honoré, he is important as the first Roman lawyer who made an effort to reduce the law to a small number of basic principles, such as respect for the individual will, from which solutions to concrete problems could be deduced. Both his works were exploited for Justinian's codificatory project in the late 520s and early 530s: Hermogenian's Codex formed a major component of the Codex Justinianus and his Iuris epitomae were excerpted for the Digest. In this form they became authoritative sources of law for the post-Justinianic empire and the revived medieval and early modern Roman law tradition based on the Corpus Juris CivilisCorpus Juris Civilis
The Corpus Juris Civilis is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor...
, in which his ideas were further developed by the natural law and historical schools of jurisprudence from the 17th century onwards.