Roman Law in European History [Hardcover]

Peter Stein (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521643724 | ISBN-13: 978-0521643726 | Publication Date: May 13, 1999

Roman law has had a huge impact on European legal and political thought. Peter Stein, one of the world's leading legal historians, explains in this masterly short study how this came to be. He assesses the impact of Roman law in the ancient world, and its continued unifying influence throughout medieval and modern Europe. Roman Law in European History is unparalleled in depth, lucidity and authority, and should prove of enormous utility for teachers and students (at all levels) of legal history, comparative law and European Studies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fact-filled as this book is, with its myriad names, dates and book titles, the author never allows the reader to lose sight of the trends, tensions, and debates that shped the use of Roman law down through the centuries, ending with the civil codes of the modern European nation states. This is a welcome treatment and guide to its subject." The Classical Bulletin

"In Roman Law in European History, a master gives his readers both an introduction to the law of ancient Rome and an account of how that law lives on, well after the demise of the ancient society." David V. Snyder, H-Net Reviews

"...immensely useful and pleasurable reading.... The entire book will be welcome across many disciplines, but especially to historians and those interested in European culture and its reception of the classical tradition." Religious Studies Review

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 148 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521643724
• ISBN-13: 978-0521643726
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,262,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too big a subject to be cut down to 137 pp., March 5, 2005

By 

Felix Sonderkammer (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Roman Law in European History (Paperback)

Stein is an obvious expert on the subject matter and explained things deftly but briefly. He covered 2500 years of very eventful, complicated, and important intellectual, political, and legal history and millions of pages of primary material in 137 pages. It should be obvious that such a book can at best be only a primer and at worst only confusing.

I found the book to be a lot of both. The book is fascinating in what it tells and its brevity whets one's appetite for more. There are extensive suggestions for further reading. However, the myriad of names, terms, and dates is simply too much even for a primer. Stein cannot avoid mentioning this or that minor figure or anonymous text. I imagine the idea of such a brief introduction to such an immense subject is to gain a wide audience and give the student a quick and shallow overview. That is a laudable idea, but 137 pages is just not enough. The book's impact is seriously weakened by too much that is only mentioned without proper explanation. Confusion results from such a wave of names and dates with too little to help one appreciate them. The book's size should at least be doubled. The subject simply cannot be properly dealt with in so little space.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short and Accurate., December 8, 2009

By 

J. Fh "JC" (Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Roman Law in European History (Paperback)

This book is very synthetic. A very good summary about Roman Law for someone that has little time and wants accurate information.

I don't recommend it if you are looking for a very detailed study of Roman Law.

On the other hand, if you already know a lot about it and want to read a short book that helps you organize many different ideas and that enables you to remember things that we naturally forget after time, this seems to be a great book.

If you don't know anything about Roman Law, it is also recommended. You can read this book in a day or two and gain a lot of vital information, in order to deepen your studies later. The author doesn't assume, in any moment during the book, that the reader already knows what he is explaining.