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The ''Codex Theodosianus'' (Eng. Theodosian Code) was a compilation of the laws of the Roman Empire under the Christian emperors since 312. A commission was established by Theodosius II and his co-emperor Valentinian III on 26 March 429〔"Codex Theodosianus" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 475. ISBN 0195046528〕〔(LacusCurtius • Roman Law — Theodosian Code (Smith's Dictionary, 1875) )〕 and the compilation was published by a constitution of 15 February 438. It went into force in the eastern and western parts of the empire on 1 January 439.〔 == Development == On March 26, 429, Emperor Theodosius II announced to the senate of Constantinople his intentions to form a committee to codify all of the laws (''leges'', singular ''lex'') from the reign of Constantine up to Theodosius II and Valentinian III. Twenty-two scholars, working in two teams, worked for nine years starting in 429 to assemble what was to become the Theodosian Code.〔Lenski, pg. 337-340〕 The chief overseer of the work was Antiochus Chuzon, a lawyer and a Prefect and Consul from Antioch.〔"Antiochus Chuzon" in ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary''. Online edition. Oxford University Press, 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2013.〕 Their product was a collection of 16 books containing more than 2,500 constitutions issued between 313 and 437. John F. Matthews illustrates the importance of Theodosius' Code when he said, "the Theodosian Code was the first occasion since the Twelve Tables on which a Roman government had attempted by public authority to collect and publish its ''leges''."〔Matthews, p. 17〕 The code covers political, socioeconomic, cultural and religious subjects of the 4th and 5th century in the Roman Empire.〔Matthews, pg. 10-18〕 A collection of imperial enactments called the ''Codex Gregorianus'' had been written in c. 291-4〔 and the ''Codex Hermogenianus'', a limited collection of rescripts from c. 295,〔 was published. Theodosius desired to create a code that would provide much greater insight into law during the later Empire (321-429). According to Peter Stein, "Theodosius was perturbed at the low state of legal skill in his empire of the East." He apparently started a school of law at Constantinople. In 429 he assigned a commission to collect all imperial constitutions since the time of Constantine.〔Peter Stein, pp. 37-38〕 The laws in the code span from 312-438, so by 438 the "volume of imperial law had become unmanageable".〔Susan Martin, p. 510〕 During the process of gathering the vast amount of material, often editors would have multiple copies of the same law. In addition to this, the source material the editors were drawing upon changed over time. Clifford Ando notes that according to Matthews, the editors "displayed a reliance on western provincial sources through the late 4th century and on central, eastern archives thereafter."〔Clifford Ando, p. 200〕 After six years an initial version was finished in 435, but it was not published, instead it was improved upon and expanded and finally finished in 438 and taken to the Senate in Rome and Constantinople. Matthews believes that the two attempts are not a result of a failed first attempt, but instead the second attempt shows "reiteration and refinement of the original goals at a new stage in the editorial process."〔Michael Alexander, p. 191〕 Others have put forth alternate theories to explain the lengthy editorial process and two different commissions. Boudewijn Sirks believes that "the code was compiled from imperial copy books found at Constantinople, Rome, or Ravenna, supplemented by material at a few private collections, and that the delays were caused by such problems as verifying the accuracy of the text and improving the legal coherence of the work."〔Michael Alexander, p. 191-193〕 The tone of the work reflected the rhetorical training that the drafters had received and Averil Cameron has described it as "verbose, moralizing and pretentious".〔Cameron, A. (1998) "Education and literary culture" in Cameron, A. and Garnsey, P. (eds.) ''The Cambridge ancient history: Vol. XIII The late empire, A.D. 337-425''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 683.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Codex Theodosianus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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