MIDTERM CHALLENGE - HISTORY OF LAW 1 (2025)

How did the collapse of the Western Roman Empire affect the structure of legal authority in Europe?

• It produced a vacuum filled by multiple sources of law — Roman, Germanic, and canon law — resulting in a pluralistic legal order.

• It established a single, uniform legal system under the control of the papacy.

• It led to the complete disappearance of Roman legal concepts from Western Europe.

• It created a centralised imperial bureaucracy that regulated all aspects of social life

Justinian’s Compilation (later called Corpus Iuris Civilis) profoundly influenced the evolution of European law. Which of the following best explains why its impact was so enduring?

• 1. Because it immediately replaced local customs and became the sole law applied in every European court.

• 2. Because its systematic and rational structure provided jurists with a universal framework to interpret, adapt, and reconcile diverse legal sources across Europe.

• 3. Because it was translated into all the vernacular languages, thus accessible directly to the lay population.

• 4. Because it was imposed by papal decree as the only valid source of law in Christendom.

The notion of “custom” in medieval European legal thought was considered:

• A binding source of law only when expressly confirmed by royal acts and constitutions.

• A mere collection of popular habits without binding force.

• A binding source of law, whose authority derived from long usage and tacit consent.

• Inferior to canon law and tolerated only when expressly confirmed by papal decrees.

The Germanic tribes did not affect the European law that is only the result of the Roman legal heritage

• TRUE

• FALSE

The leges barbarorum (Germanic laws) are historically important because:

• They were the first systematic attempt at codifying Roman law in the Byzantine East.

• They provided written versions of Germanic customs, adapted to coexist with Roman law.

• They were uniformly imposed across all of Europe by Charlemagne.

• 1. They represent the triumph of Roman legal science over Germanic traditions.

Why is the Edictum Rothari (643) significant in the history of Lombard law?

• Because it abolished all previous customs and fully adopted Roman legal concepts since the Lombard ruled over the Italian peninsula.

• Because it was the first written compilation of Lombard customary law, preserving its oral traditions in written form, and exemplifying the Germanic concept of political power.

• Because its list of compensations introduced the principle of equality before the law, regardless of status.

• Because it was directly modeled on Justinian’s Institutes, which allowed Roman law to survive in Italy throughout the early Middle Ages.

What expression better suites the law in the Middle Ages?

• MONISM

• PLURALISM

The feudal relationship (of contractual nature) between lord and vassal carried important legal implications. Which of the following reflects its historical role?

• It was a purely symbolic ritual with no enforceable obligations, serving only to express social hierarchy.

• It was imposed unilaterally by lords, requiring no consent or reciprocity from vassals.

• It represented a mutual and legally binding agreement, where the vassal owed services in exchange for protection and the grant of a fief.

• It created permanent and unchangeable rights, which — theoretically — could not be revoked or altered under any circumstance.

What does the coexistence of Roman, canon, and customary laws during the early Middle Ages reveal about legal pluralism?

• That all forms of law were harmonised into a single territorial code, namely the Corpus Iuris Civilis.

• That canon law was restricted to liturgical matters without broader social influence.

• That Roman law disappeared entirely after the fall of the Western Empire.

• That individuals and institutions often had to navigate overlapping normative systems.

How did medieval canon law differ from secular law in its sources and scope?

• Canon law drew on Scripture, councils, and papal decretals, addressing spiritual and moral life.

• Canon law was simply another name for Roman private law.

• Canon law was based solely on local customs of the clergy.

• Canon law was confined exclusively to the governance of monastic orders.