Summoned to the Roman Courts: Famous Trials from Antiquity

by Detlef Liebs, Rebecca L.R. Garber (Translator)

Summoned to the Roman Courts is the first work by Detlef Liebs, an internationally recognized expert on ancient Roman law, to be made available in English. Originally presented as a series of popular lectures, this book brings to life a thousand years of Roman history through sixteen studies of famous court cases―from the legendary trial of Horatius for the killing of his sister, to the trial of Jesus Christ, to that of the Christian leader Priscillian for heresy. Drawing on a wide variety of ancient sources, the author not only paints a vivid picture of ancient Roman society, but also illuminates how ancient legal practices still profoundly affect how the law is implemented today.

Genres: History

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2012

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up using this excellent book for the Roman portion of my "Law & Literature in the Classical World" course. It's not a Roman law textbook, but has enough explanation of legal procedure and interpretation to make intelligible the activities of those involved. It also provides parva sed satis historical background when necessary. Students found it accessible and interesting in a way they never did Crook, which it more than adequately replaces. Definitely interesting to the non-specialist in Roman law (as I consider myself) with an engaging writing style and fascinating details. My criticisms are two. In more than one case, the background could have been expanded. Its brevity made it a little unclear to students and I ended up having to explain rather than discuss the reading more than I would have liked. Second, I often wanted students to read the original sources in translation and had to dig them out myself to connect with the readings. An appendix with at least the shorter sources in Latin and English would have been nice. Still, all in all, a book I am very happy to use again and recommend to anyone interested in Roman law in the context of larger Roman society.

[Inés Chamarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read. This book analyzes sixteen court cases from the Roman era -starting with the trial that arose at the end of the Horatii and Curatii duel (when the surviving Horatius killed his sister for mourning her fallen Curiatius fiancé), and ending with the trial and execution of the Priscillianist heretics at the end of the 4th century AD. Cases are chosen for impact on later legal development.

In all chapters, a summary of the case is presented, sources examined (with the original bilingual text generally found in the end notes), information given on the main characters of the story and the historical and legal context, the solution proposed at the time is analyzed in the light of Roman law, compared to modern methods of resolution or legal reasoning and some explanation given as to the impact that the ruling had in terms of creating or overturning precedent or creating a new policy.

The cases are pretty varied in terms of subject matter. Some are civil law cases related to inheritance, wardship, protection of buyers (I found chapter 4 absolute gold, to be honest, from my point of view as a practicing real estate lawyer). Several are criminal cases, dealing with murder, black magic, and more complex issues such as Ovid's banishment. Several deal with the rise of Christianity, starting with the trial of Jesus, going through Nero, Pliny the Younger and then the Donatist and Priscillianist heresies. Sometimes the interest is in a legal subtlety, sometimes in the procedure followed.

I am not sure who this book would appeal to in its entirety. I am a lawyer and also have a degree in History, specialized in Roman History, and I found it fascinating. Anyone interested in Roman law will love it. A historian without a background in law may find some of the reasoning difficult to follow. A general reader may do what I usually do for science books and enjoy it as you go ignoring the occasional formula.