Otto Lenel
Encyclopedia
Otto Lenel was a German
Jewish jurist
and legal historian. His most important achievements are in the field of Roman law
.
.
Lenel studied law at he universities of Heidelberg, Leipzig
and Berlin. In 1872, he received the degree of Dr. jur., four years later, he obtained the habilitation
at he University of Leipzig. In 1882, Lenel became famous, when he won a prize which had been offered by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences with his reconstruction of the edict of the praetors (see below).
In the same year of 1882, Lenel became a professor at the University of Kiel
. Two years later, he moved on to the University of Marburg. In 1885 he became a professor taught at the University of Strassburg
, which had become a German institution after he war of 1870/71 in which Lenel himself had fought. In 1895, he was rector
of the University of Strassburg. 1907 he was called to Freiburg University
.
He soon became one of the most important German legal historians of his time. At the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the award of his Dr. jur. degree, he was presented with a Festschrift
. Ten years later, Lenel was given a second Festschrift. On his 80th birthday, Lenel received a gratulatory letter, which was signed by academics representing 20 countries of various continents and 100 universities. He was also made an honorary citizen of the city of Freiburg.
After 1933, however, Lenel—in spite of his international fame, his status as a veteran and his old age—became a victim of Nazi racism. His daughter was forced out of her job as a nurse. The prosecutions by the Nazis broke his spirit. For the last 18 months of his life he was unable to continue his scholarly work. He died on February 7, 1935.
According to his wish, only his closest relatives attended his burial. Due to the political circumstances, no obituary was published in Germany. After Lenel's death, the members of his family met a cruel fate in Nazi Germany: His widow of more than 80 years of age, Luise, née Eberstadt (*25. February 1857 in Frankfurt) and his daughter Bertha Lenel (*7. March 1882 in Freiburg) were sent on 22 October 1940 to a concentration camp in Gurs, France. The widow died there on November 7, 1940, Bertha Lenel survived.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Otto Lenel's death, a sign was affixed to his last residence at Holbeinstrasse 5 in Freiburg, Germany.
s. The praetors were the government officials responsible for the administration of justice during the Roman republic
and the principate
. The edictum (or edict) was the text in which the newly elected praetor announced how he would handle his responsibilities. More precisely, the edict announced, under what circumstances it would succeed and when it would fail. Originally, every praetor drafted his own edict, but over time, a standard text was established, which was regularly re-enacted by the new praetor. Even later, Emperor Hadrian
commissioned a final redaction of the text and prohibited any further changes. The edict had thus changed its nature from being an announcement by the praetor himself to being a legal rule binding on the praetor himself, which made known to all citizens under what circumstances they could bring a successful action in the Roman courts. This text is called the edictum perpetuum (the eternal edict).
In later times, the edict lost its legal importance due to changes in procedural law. For that reason, the edict of the edict was no longer copied and no complete text has come down to us. Similarly, most of the writings of the Roman jurists have only been conserved in fragments in Justinian's digest.
Lenel reconstructed both the text of the edict and tried to establish the order in which the surviving fragments of legal writings had originally been presented before they were cut out and rearranged in the digest. The reconstruction of the edict is the subject of his book Das edictum perpetuum. The results of his research on the writings of the Roman jurists are contained in the two volumes entitled Palingenesia juris civilis. The subjects of the two books are linked, because many books by Roman jurists were commentaries on the edict or at least they followed the structure of the edict. By studying the structure of the scholarly writings of the jurists Lenel found out how the edict was structured and what provisions it contained.
Lenel's work is extremely important for the history of Roman law. It enables modern scholars to consider the original context of the source texts and it helps us understand the technicalities of Rome's legal system.
In addition to his famous works on Roman law Lenel also published some influential papers on modern German civil law.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Jewish jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and legal historian. His most important achievements are in the field of Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
.
Life and career
Otto Lenel was born in Mannheim, Germany on 13 December 1849. He was the son of Moritz Lenel and Caroline Scheuer. He fought in the war against France in 1870/71Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
.
Lenel studied law at he universities of Heidelberg, Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
and Berlin. In 1872, he received the degree of Dr. jur., four years later, he obtained the habilitation
Habilitation
Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...
at he University of Leipzig. In 1882, Lenel became famous, when he won a prize which had been offered by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences with his reconstruction of the edict of the praetors (see below).
In the same year of 1882, Lenel became a professor at the University of Kiel
University of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
. Two years later, he moved on to the University of Marburg. In 1885 he became a professor taught at the University of Strassburg
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
, which had become a German institution after he war of 1870/71 in which Lenel himself had fought. In 1895, he was rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the University of Strassburg. 1907 he was called to Freiburg University
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
.
He soon became one of the most important German legal historians of his time. At the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the award of his Dr. jur. degree, he was presented with a Festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
. Ten years later, Lenel was given a second Festschrift. On his 80th birthday, Lenel received a gratulatory letter, which was signed by academics representing 20 countries of various continents and 100 universities. He was also made an honorary citizen of the city of Freiburg.
After 1933, however, Lenel—in spite of his international fame, his status as a veteran and his old age—became a victim of Nazi racism. His daughter was forced out of her job as a nurse. The prosecutions by the Nazis broke his spirit. For the last 18 months of his life he was unable to continue his scholarly work. He died on February 7, 1935.
According to his wish, only his closest relatives attended his burial. Due to the political circumstances, no obituary was published in Germany. After Lenel's death, the members of his family met a cruel fate in Nazi Germany: His widow of more than 80 years of age, Luise, née Eberstadt (*25. February 1857 in Frankfurt) and his daughter Bertha Lenel (*7. March 1882 in Freiburg) were sent on 22 October 1940 to a concentration camp in Gurs, France. The widow died there on November 7, 1940, Bertha Lenel survived.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Otto Lenel's death, a sign was affixed to his last residence at Holbeinstrasse 5 in Freiburg, Germany.
Work
Lenel is best known for his reconstruction of the fundamental text of the Roman legal system, the so-called edictum perpetuum of the Roman praetorPraetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
s. The praetors were the government officials responsible for the administration of justice during the Roman republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
and the principate
Principate
The Principate is the first period of the Roman Empire, extending from the beginning of the reign of Caesar Augustus to the Crisis of the Third Century, after which it was replaced with the Dominate. The Principate is characterized by a concerted effort on the part of the Emperors to preserve the...
. The edictum (or edict) was the text in which the newly elected praetor announced how he would handle his responsibilities. More precisely, the edict announced, under what circumstances it would succeed and when it would fail. Originally, every praetor drafted his own edict, but over time, a standard text was established, which was regularly re-enacted by the new praetor. Even later, 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...
commissioned a final redaction of the text and prohibited any further changes. The edict had thus changed its nature from being an announcement by the praetor himself to being a legal rule binding on the praetor himself, which made known to all citizens under what circumstances they could bring a successful action in the Roman courts. This text is called the edictum perpetuum (the eternal edict).
In later times, the edict lost its legal importance due to changes in procedural law. For that reason, the edict of the edict was no longer copied and no complete text has come down to us. Similarly, most of the writings of the Roman jurists have only been conserved in fragments in Justinian's digest.
Lenel reconstructed both the text of the edict and tried to establish the order in which the surviving fragments of legal writings had originally been presented before they were cut out and rearranged in the digest. The reconstruction of the edict is the subject of his book Das edictum perpetuum. The results of his research on the writings of the Roman jurists are contained in the two volumes entitled Palingenesia juris civilis. The subjects of the two books are linked, because many books by Roman jurists were commentaries on the edict or at least they followed the structure of the edict. By studying the structure of the scholarly writings of the jurists Lenel found out how the edict was structured and what provisions it contained.
Lenel's work is extremely important for the history of Roman law. It enables modern scholars to consider the original context of the source texts and it helps us understand the technicalities of Rome's legal system.
In addition to his famous works on Roman law Lenel also published some influential papers on modern German civil law.
Books by Otto Lenel
- Über Ursprung und Wirkung der Exceptionen, 1876 [reprinted 1970]
- Das edictum perpetuum, 1883, 3rd ed. 1927.
- Palingenesia juris civilis, 2 vols., 1887-1889.