Roman Law and European Culture

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

It seems correct to speak about Roman law as one of the most important formants ofthe European culture as a whole. But this view of the relationship between Roman law andEuropean culture is incomplete. European legal culture is constituted by a multitude ofcultural formants. It is the way how these elements where mixed and mingled thatconstitutes the European culture. Then to what extent did Roman law contribute to theformation or acceptance of these axioms? What part has Rome been playing? If wecompare Roman law which developed in antiquity (that means between the 1st centurybefore and the 3rd century after Christ) and the Roman law which was studied and usedfrom the 11th century onwards we can detect important differences. However, before weseparate Roman law and later influences we must uncover antique Roman law; we mustget to know how Roman law was like in antique reality. We should try to unveil influenceson Roman law which took place since late antiquity, particularly since the Middle Ages. Forthis purpose, I selected three examples; one example stems from the law of obligations,one from the law of property, one from the law of succession. In all three examplesRoman law provides the shell for the modern solutions. But their contents differ widelyor even totally from what Roman lawgivers and jurists designed. In many instances newlaw was formed out of the Roman sources, they produced an usus modernus iuris romani, aswe could call it. This new law is indebted to Greek philosophy, to moral theology, to theNatural Lawyers or to other philosophic, sociologic or economic ideas of later times. Thisis why it is difficult to measure how Roman law formed or transformed European culture.
Many of the Roman concepts and some of the Roman institutes underwent a profoundchange due to other cultural influences, mostly of philosophical or theological origin.
Though we use the same arguments as the Romans, we draw them from differentvaluations. What does this mean for our discussion of Roman law and European culture?
The consequences are twofold; first, we have to be aware of the differences. Secondly, wehave to explain how Roman law mingled with other cultural formants. Only then it ispossible to consider which cultural elements contributed to the formation of Europe andto measure the mutual influences.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Abstract 1
• Ⅰ. Introduction 2
• Ⅱ. The Law of Obligations 4
• Ⅲ. The Law of Property 8
• Ⅳ. Law of Succession 12
• Ⅴ. Conclusion 16