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James A Brundage, THE MEDIEVAL ORIGINS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION: CANONISTS, CIVILIANS AND COURTS Chicago: University of Chicago Press (www.press.uchicago.edu), 2008. xvii + 607 pp. ISBN 9780226077598. £34.

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date01 January 2010
AuthorPaul du Plessis
Pages174-175
Date01 January 2010
DOI10.3366/E136498090900119X

In this beautifully written book, Brundage traces the history of the legal profession from its origins in ancient Rome to its revival and resurgence in the later Middle Ages. The central premise is that the legal profession, based on the Roman conception of the jurist, while initially in decline after the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, resurfaced during the later medieval period owing to a renewed interest in Roman law combined with the rise of canon law. Brundage argues that the impetus for this development came initially from the medieval church and the professional identity which had evolved among canonists which was then copied by secular lawyers and courts.

In chapters 1 and 2, Brundage explores the Roman concept of a jurist and the demise of the Roman legal profession in the fifth century CE. These chapters make an important contribution to the growing body of academic writing on jurists and the courts in the Roman Empire, and fit in well with related works such as that of Caroline Humfress on Orthodoxy and the Courts in Late Antiquity (reviewed above). Chapter 3 examines the circumstances which led to a renewed interest in Roman law during the later medieval period and the rise of canon law. While this is not a new idea, Brundage treats it with great skill and with meticulous attention, thus demonstrating the complex set of social, economic and religious conditions which conspired together to bring about a resurgent interest in learning and the growth of universities in medieval Europe. This theme is further explored in chapter 4 where Brundage examines the rise of church courts and the emergence of a legal profession amongst canonists. This is an insightful chapter as it demonstrates the importance of the church in medieval Europe and its dominance in many areas of law. In chapters 5 and 6...

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