Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of Contributors
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The Sources of Medieval Learned Law
- 2 The Infrastructure of the Early Ius Commune: The Formation of Regulae, or its Failure
- 3 Ius Quaerens Intellectum: The Method of the Medieval Civilians
- 4 Medieval Family and Marriage Law: From Actions of Status to Legal Doctrine
- 5 The Roman Concept of Ownership and the Medieval Doctrine of Dominium Utile
- 6 Succession to Fiefs: A Ius Commune Feudorum?
- 7 Towards the Medieval Law of Hypothec
- 8 The Ignorant Seller's Liability for Latent Defects: One Regula or Various Sets of Rules?
- 9 The Glossators' Monetary Law
- 10 Citations and the Construction of Procedural Law in the Ius Commune
- 11 Doctoribus bona dona danda sunt: Actions to Recover Unpaid Legal Fees
- Index
9 - The Glossators' Monetary Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of Contributors
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The Sources of Medieval Learned Law
- 2 The Infrastructure of the Early Ius Commune: The Formation of Regulae, or its Failure
- 3 Ius Quaerens Intellectum: The Method of the Medieval Civilians
- 4 Medieval Family and Marriage Law: From Actions of Status to Legal Doctrine
- 5 The Roman Concept of Ownership and the Medieval Doctrine of Dominium Utile
- 6 Succession to Fiefs: A Ius Commune Feudorum?
- 7 Towards the Medieval Law of Hypothec
- 8 The Ignorant Seller's Liability for Latent Defects: One Regula or Various Sets of Rules?
- 9 The Glossators' Monetary Law
- 10 Citations and the Construction of Procedural Law in the Ius Commune
- 11 Doctoribus bona dona danda sunt: Actions to Recover Unpaid Legal Fees
- Index
Summary
INTRODUCTION
This chapter tries to establish what was the learned law's view of money in the time of the glossators. Before going into the glossators' texts, it is necessary to consider what Justinian's law books contained in this respect, and therefore to turn briefly to the views that the Roman lawyers of antiquity held on the law regarding money and currency.
Money in Justinian's laws
The Roman economy was fully monetarised. Money for the Romans meant coins, nummi. Roman coins were “commodity money”, but circulated by tale. The Roman currency was state-controlled; coins were referred to as materia forma publica percussa. The minting of coins was meticulously organised. There was no free minting. Coins came in two – later three – denominations, brought into an official, rigid relation. Bi- and tri-metallism, the parallel use of copper, silver, and later also gold, required adjustments from time to time, and these were brought about in an orderly way. Public finances, taxation and the administration of justice relied on the Roman currency. Penalties were fixed in amounts of Roman money. Judgements in private law matters must also be rendered in sums of Roman money (condemnatio pecuniaria). A number of Roman contracts required the fixing of a specific amount of money.
Given the overwhelming importance of money for the public sector as well as for everyday commerce, non-monetary transactions being marginalised, it is no wonder that Roman lawyers dealt with innumerable legal issues involving money.
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- The Creation of the Ius CommuneFrom Casus to Regula, pp. 219 - 246Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2010