Roman Law in Context (Key Themes in Ancient History) [Paperback]

David Johnston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0521639611 | ISBN-13: 978-0521639613

This book explains the rules of Roman law in the light of the society and economy in which it operated. The main topics discussed are the family and inheritance, property and the use of land, commercial transactions and the management of businesses, litigation and how easily the Roman citizen could assert his or her legal rights in practice. The book involves a minimum of legal technicality and is intended to be accessible to students and teachers of Roman history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Johnston has produced an attractive volume that effectively balances the needs of the series in which it appears with the author's desire to provide a fresh look at Roman law..." Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Book Description

This book explains the rules of Roman law in the light of the society and economy in which it operated. The main topics discussed are: the family and inheritance; property and the use of land; commercial transactions and the management of businesses; litigation and how easily the Roman citizen could assert his or her legal rights in practice. The book involves the minimum of legal technicality and is intended to be accessible to students and teachers of Roman history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (September 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521639611
• ISBN-13: 978-0521639613
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #951,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very informative, but somewhat dry book, March 12, 2002

By 

Marco J. Jimenez (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roman Law in Context (Key Themes in Ancient History) (Paperback)

Johnston's book is basically organized into three sections, thought there is no mention of this structure in the table of contents. The first section introduces the reader to the sources of Roman law (how the law was made, and who made it). The second section discusses the substantive law of family, property, and contracts. The third section discusses litigation (or how the laws discussed in section two worked in practice). At the end of the book, there is a very good glossary of Roman legal terms, followed by an extremely helpful discussion of the Roman legal literature for the serious student of Roman Law to pursue.

Johnston's book does a great job of packing a lot of information into very few pages, but often at the expense of several rereads by the reader. The information is accurate and well-researched, thought it could have been presented better (see next paragraph). However, whether you're new to Roman law, or have studied the subject in depth, you will come away with a better grasp of Rome's legal system, her institutions, and her laws.

Now, for the criticism. I believe that Johnston's book would have been much better if he would have followed his discussion of the sources of Roman law (section I) with the section on litigation (section III, which discusses how the law operated in practice), followed then by a discussion of the substantive law. Johnston's organization, by not doing this, presented the reader with an entire book of disparate and seemingly disjunctive technical material without a mechanism for synthesizing it until the reader reached Johnston's last chapter on litigation. This was the chapter that tied everything together, and it should have been discussed earlier. Only upon reading this last chapter did I finally understood why everything Johnston had told me before was important, and because of this, it looks like I'll be reading this book again to fully appreciate the impact of the previous chapters.

Therefore, I would recommend reading chapter one, then the last chapter, and then the material on the substantive law following the first chapter. Doing so, I guarantee, will save you a lot of head scratching and will enable you to appreciate this book, which is otherwise very good.

Personally, while this book is accessible to the beginner, I would recommend that a reader unfamiliar with Roman law begin with Nicholas' "An Introduction to Roman Law" or Crook's "Law and Life of Rome," both of which are excellent and will better prepare you for Johnston's book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lucid and inviting, September 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Roman Law in Context (Key Themes in Ancient History) (Paperback)

It is hard to imagine a better introduction to the grand world of Roman law and legal history. This is a scholarly and also beautifully written essay on the most interesting cultural creation of the Romans, their law. Recommended most highly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Roman Law" But Little "Context", December 21, 2004

By 

Reader (Arlington, Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Roman Law in Context (Key Themes in Ancient History) (Paperback)

The good news about "Roman Law in Context" is that it's short, clear, and gives a good overview of Roman law in core areas like family law, sales, property, and litigation. The bad news is that the book stays narrowly focused on technical legal doctrines, only sketching the law's social and political context. Bottomline: this is a great book for someone, perhaps a law student or non-legal historian of Rome, who wants a quick guide to Roman legal rules. But it's not such a great book for laymen who are interested in learning more about life in ancient Rome.