The early modern differentiae iuris civilis et canonici and ius commune

Abstract

The early modern differentiae iuris civilis et canonici constituted part of a genre that was emblematic of the “new ius commune”, the early modern learned law which discussed the scope and relevance of late medieval ius commune for the then-current legal system. The authors of differentiae have not articulated a coherent meaning of the term “ius commune”, and have only occasionally applied it with a slightly novel approach in their reasoning aimed at reconciling the discrepancies between the two bodies of law. Nevertheless, the early modern differentiae may be perceived as a legal genre that had the internal coherence of ius commune as one of its objectives.

Keywords

• ius commune
• canon law
• Roman law
• Comparative legal method
• early modern period