Visigothic Code
Encyclopedia
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, Chindasuinth
Chindasuinth
Chindasuinth was Visigothic King of Spain, from 642 until his death. He succeeded Tulga, from whom he usurped the throne in a coup; he was "officially" elected by the nobles and anointed by the bishops 30 April 642....
in his second year (642/643). They were enlarged by the novel legislation of Recceswinth (for which reason it is sometimes called the Code of Recceswinth), Wamba, Erwig
Erwig
Erwig was a king of the Visigoths in Hispania . He was the only Visigothic king to be a complete puppet of the bishops and palatine nobility....
, Egica, and perhaps Wittiza
Wittiza
Wittiza was the Visigothic King of Hispania from 694 until his death, co-ruling with his father, Ergica, until 702 or 703.-Joint rule:...
. In 654 Recceswinth promulgated the code anew after a project of editing by Braulio of Zaragoza, since Chindasuinth's original code had been quickly commissioned and enacted in rough.
They are often called the Lex Visigothorum, law of the Visigoths. However, this code abolished the old tradition of having different laws for Romans and for Visigoths; all the subjects of the kingdom would stop being romani and gothi to become hispani. In this way, all the subjects of the kingdom were gathered under the same jurisdiction, eliminating social apart from juridical differences.
The laws were far-reaching and long in effect: in 10th century Galicia
Kingdom of Galicia
The Kingdom of Galicia was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Founded by Suebic king Hermeric in the year 409, the Galician capital was established in Braga, being the first kingdom which...
, monastic charters make reference to the Code (Fletcher 1984, ch. 1, note 56). The laws govern and sanction family life and by extension political life—the marrying and the giving in marriage, the transmission of property to heirs, the safeguarding of the rights of widows and orphans. Particularly with the Visigoth Law Codes, women could inherit land and title and manage it independently from their husbands or male relations, dispose of their property in legal wills if they had no heirs, and women could represent themselves and bear witness in court by age 14 and arrange for their own marriages by age 20 .
The laws combine the Catholic Church's Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
, and have a strongly theocratic tone.
The code is known to have been preserved by the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, as Christians were permitted the use of their own laws, where they did not conflict with those of the conquerors, upon the regular payment of tribute; thus it may be presumed that it was the recognized legal authority of Christian magistrates while the Iberian Peninsula remained under Muslim control. When Ferdinand III of Castile
Ferdinand III of Castile
Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...
took Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
in the thirteenth century, he ordered the code to be adopted and observed by its citizens, and caused it to be rendered, albeit inaccurately, into Castilian, as the Fuero Juzgo
Fuero Juzgo
The Fuero Juzgo was a codex of Spanish laws enacted in Castile in 1241 by Fernando III. It is essentially a translation of the Liber Iudiciorum that was formulated in 654 by the Visigoths....
. The Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
translation of this document is the oldest text found in that language.
Contents
The following list has the book and titles from the Visigothic Code.- Book I: Concerning Legal Agencies
- Title I: The Lawmaker
- Title II: The Law
- Book II: Concerning the Conduct of Causes
- Title I: Concerning Judges, and Matters to be Decided in Court
- Title II: Concerning Causes
- Title III: Concerning Constituents and Commissions
- Title IV: Concerning Witnesses and Evidence
- Title V: Concerning Valid and Invalid Documents and How WillsWill (law)A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
Should be Drawn Up
- Book III: Concerning Marriage
- Title I: Concerning Nuptial Contracts
- Title II: Concerning Unlawful Marriages
- Title III: Concerning the Rape of Virgins, or Widows
- Title IV: Concerning Adultery
- Title V: Concerning Incest, ApostasyApostasyApostasy , 'a defection or revolt', from ἀπό, apo, 'away, apart', στάσις, stasis, 'stand, 'standing') is the formal disaffiliation from or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. One who commits apostasy is known as an apostate. These terms have a pejorative implication in everyday...
, and PederastyPederastyPederasty or paederasty is an intimate relationship between an adult and an adolescent boy outside his immediate family. The word pederasty derives from Greek "love of boys", a compound derived from "child, boy" and "lover".Historically, pederasty has existed as a variety of customs and... - Title VI: Concerning Divorce, and the Separation of Persons who have been Betrothed
- Book IV: Concerning Natural Lineage
- Title I: Concerning the Degrees of Relationship
- Title II: Concerning the Laws of Inheritance
- Title III: Concerning WardsWard (law)In law, a ward is someone placed under the protection of a legal guardian. A court may take responsibility for the legal protection of an individual, usually either a child or incapacitated person, in which case the ward is known as a ward of the court, or a ward of the state, in the United States,...
and Their Guardians - Title IV: Concerning FoundlingsChild abandonmentChild abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness. An abandoned child is called a foundling .-Causes:Poverty is often a...
- Title V: Concerning Such Property as is Vested by the Laws of Nature
- Book V: Concerning Business Transactions
- Title I: Ecclesiastical Affairs
- Title II: Concerning Donations in General
- Title III: Concerning the Gifts of Patrons
- Title IV: Concerning Exchanges and Sales
- Title V: Concerning Property Committed to the Charge of, or Loaned to, Another
- Title VI: Concerning Pledges and Debts
- Title VII: Concerning the Liberation of Slaves, and Freedmen
- Book VI: Concerning Crimes and Tortures
- Title I: Concerning the Accusers of Criminals
- Title II: Concerning Malefactors and their Advisors, and Poisoners
- Title III: Concerning Abortion
- Title IV: Concerning Injuries, Wounds, and Mutilations, Inflicted upon Men
- Title V: Concerning Homicide
- Book VII: Concerning Theft and Fraud
- Title I: Concerning Informers of Theft
- Title II: Concerning Thieves and Stolen Property
- Title III: Concerning Appropriators and Kidnappers of Slaves
- Title IV: Concerning Forgers of Documents
- Title V: Concerning Forgers of Documents
- Title VI: Concerning Counterfeiters of Metals
- Book VIII: Concerning Acts of Violence and Injuries
- Title I: Concerning Attacks, and Plunder of Property
- Title II: Concerning Arson and Incendiaries
- Title III: Concerning injuries to Trees, Gardens, or Growing Crops of any Description
- Title IV: Concerning Injury to Animals, and Other Property
- Title V: Concerning the Pasturage of Hogs and Concerning Strays
- Title VI: Concerning Bees, and the Damage They Cause
- Book IX: Concerning Fugitives and Refugees
- Title I: Concerning Fugitives, and Those who Conceal, and Assist Them in Their Flight
- Title II: Concerning Those who Refuse to go to War, and Deserters
- Title III: Concerning Those who Seek Sanctuary in a Church
- Book X: Concerning Partition, Limitation, and Boundaries
- Title I: Concerning Partition, and Lands Conveyed by Contract
- Title II: Concerning the Limitations of Fifty and Thirty Years
- Title III: Concerning Boundaries and Landmarks
- Book XI: Concerning the Sick and the Dead and Merchants who Come from Beyond
- Title I: Concerning Physicians and Sick Persons
- Title II: Concerning Those who Disturb SepulchreSepulchreThe rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel are a group of hundreds of rock-cut tombs constructed in Israel in ancient times. They were cut into the rock, sometimes with elaborate facades and multiple burial chambers. Some are free-standing, but most are caves. Each tomb typically belonged to a...
s - Title III: Concerning Merchants who Come from Beyond Seas
- Book XII: Concerning the Prevention of Official Oppression, and the Thorough Extinction of Heretical Sects
- Title I: Concerning the Exercise of Moderation in Judicial Decisions, and the Avoiding of Oppression by Those Invested with Authority
- Title II: Concerning the Eradication of the Errors of all Heretics and Jews
- Title III: Concerning New Laws against the Jews, in which Old Ones are Confirmed, and New Ones are Added
See also
- Code of EuricCode of EuricThe Codex Euricianus or Code of Euric was a collection of laws governing the Visigoths compiled at the order of Euric, King of Spain, sometime before 480, probably at Toulouse ; it is one of the earliest examples of early Germanic law. The compilation itself was the work of Leo, a Roman lawyer and...
- Early Germanic lawEarly Germanic lawSeveral Latin law codes of the Germanic peoples written in the Early Middle Ages survive, dating to between the 5th and 9th centuries...
- Fuero JuzgoFuero JuzgoThe Fuero Juzgo was a codex of Spanish laws enacted in Castile in 1241 by Fernando III. It is essentially a translation of the Liber Iudiciorum that was formulated in 654 by the Visigoths....
- Code (law)Code (law)A code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted, by a process of codification. Though the process and motivations for codification are similar in common law and civil law...
- Nuremburg laws (Nazi law)
- DecapitationDecapitationDecapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
Sources
- King, P. D. "King Chindasvind and the First Territorial Law-code of the Visiogothic Kingdom." Visigothic Spain: New Approaches. ed. Edward JamesEdward James (historian)Edward James is Professor of Medieval History at University College, Dublin. He received a BA 1968; DPhil in 1975. He was a Lecturer, then College Lecturer, at the Department of Medieval History, University College Dublin from 1970-1978...
. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980. pp 131–157.
External links
- Lex Visigothorum - Latin text
- Visigothic Code - Forum Iudicum. 1908 English Translation of Full Text
- R. A. Fletcher, 1984. Saint James's Catapult: The Life and Times of Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela (Oxford University Press) (on-line text)