Law in the crisis of empire 379-455 AD: the Theodosian dynasty and its quaestors : with the Palingenesia of laws of the dynasty

Tony Honore

Oxford University Press, 1998 - History - 320 pages

This new book by an eminent legal scholar and author can be described in a number of ways: a work of reference; an essay in the study of style; a contribution to the prosopography of the late Roman quaestorship; and a reflection on the fall of the western (and on the survival of the eastern) Roman empire. Using an innovative method of analysis--already successfully employed in his acclaimed Emperors and Lawyers (OUP 1994)--the author examines the laws of a crucial phase of the later Roman empire (379-455 AD), a period during which the west collapsed while the east persisted. He allots the laws to their likely drafters and shows why the eastern Theodosian Code (429-438 AD), intended to restore the legal and administrative unity of the Roman empire, came too late to save the west. The book includes a Palingenesia--as stored on an accompanying floppy disk--allowing scholars to read the primary texts chronologically and judge the soundness of the arguments advanced.

Contents

• Law in the Age of Crisis: 1
• The First Decade 3793881: 33
• Flavianus and the Later Years 3883951: 58
• Arcadius 3944081 and Eutropius Quaestor: 77
• Towards the Code 4084371: 97
• Understanding the Theodosian Code: 123
• Beyond the Code 4384501: 154
• Western t aws and quaestors 8 Valentinian II and Maximus 3833921: 179
• Law in the Historia Augusta: 190
• The Milan Period 3954021: 212
• The Ravenna Period 4024231: 228
• Valentinian III and Galla Placidia 425437: 248
• The Later Years 4384551: 258
• List of Imperial Quaestors of the Theodosian Age: 275
• List of Legal Texts Cited with References to Palingenesia: 278
• Bihliography of Works Cited: 301
• Index: 315

About the author

Tony Honore was Regius Professor of Civil Law, University of Oxford, 1971-88; Fellow, 1971-89, Acting Warden, 1987-89, All Souls College, Oxford. Former Delegate of the Press, eminent and well-respected author.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Law in the crisis of empire 379-455 AD: the Theodosian dynasty and its quaestors : with the Palingenesia of laws of the dynasty; Law in the Crisis of Empire, 379-455 AD: The Theodosian Dynasty and Its Quaestors with a Palingenesia of Laws of the Dynasty, Tony Honoré
• Author: Tony Honore
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1998
• ISBN: 0198260784, 9780198260783
• Length: 320 pages
• Subjects: History / Ancient / Rome; Law / General