Comprehensive and accessible, this book offers a concise synthesis of the evolution of the law in Western Europe, from ancient Rome to the beginning of the twentieth century. It situates law in the wider framework of Europe’s political, economic, social and cultural developments.

Rev. edition of : An introduction to European legal history.

This book discusses the history and institutional framework of the EU without becoming mired in the minutiae of 'black letter' law. It provides an accessible introduction for students to current critical academic commentary on European law.

R.C. Van Caenegem is one of the few legal historians to have crossed national boundaries successfully. His knowledge of the various codes and customs of the European Continent in general and the Low Countries in particular enables him to bring a fresh eye to the English Common law. Four of these nine essays have not been published in English before.

Offering the most thought-provoking introduction to EU law.Written in a highly readable narrative style, the book provides students with a succinct yet sophisticated analysis of the core aspects of the subject, while also equipping them with the tools for further exploration. Figures and tables clarify complex ideas and processes, and a guide to finding and reading EU judgments offers valuable practical support. This carefully structured guide brings clarity to a broad and multifaceted subject.

European law, including both civil law and common law, has gone through several major phases of expansion in the world. European legal history thus also is a history of legal transplants and cultural borrowings, which national legal histories as products of nineteenth-century historicism have until recently largely left unconsidered. The Handbook of European Legal History supplies its readers with an overview of the different phases of European legal history in the light of today's state-of-the-art research, by offering cutting-edge views on research questions currently emerging in international discussions. The Handbook takes a broad approach to its subject matter both nationally and systemically. Unlike traditional European legal histories, which tend to concentrate on "heartlands" of Europe (notably Italy and Germany), the Europe of the Handbook is more versatile and nuanced, taking into consideration the legal developments in Europe's geographical "fringes" such as Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. The Handbook covers all major time periods, from the ancient Greek law to the twenty-first century. Contributors include acknowledged leaders in the field as well as rising talents, representing a wide range of legal systems, methodologies, areas of expertise and research agendas.

What does Roman law offer today? This text gives an introduction to basic institutions of Roman law and a survey of European legal history from the fall of the Roman Empire up to the present day.

This historical introduction to the civil law tradition considers the political and cultural context of Europe's legal history from its Roman roots. Political, diplomatic and constitutional developments are discussed, and the impacts of major cultural movements, such as scholasticism, humanism, the Enlightenment and Romanticism, on law and jurisprudence are highlighted.