The Twelve Tables

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 42K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Twelve Tables by Paul R. Coleman-NortonAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: K: Law in general, Comparative and uniform law, Jurisprudence, Release Date: Jan 24, 2005

Editor's review

This book is an English translation of the Twelve Tables, the written codification of early customary law in the Roman Republic, widely regarded as a key starting point of the Roman legal tradition. The translation presents the scattered provisions in English, helping readers understand how ancient Rome arranged its law on procedure, debt, family, inheritance, and property. Its value lies not in the completeness of the code but in showing how early law moved from custom to written statute and from patrician monopoly of interpretation to public promulgation, which is of foundational importance for understanding Western legal history and Roman social structure. The translation is short and the provisions concise, making it suitable as introductory material for courses in legal history and as further reading for those interested in ancient Roman institutions. Readers should keep in mind the social conflicts of the early Republic and note the class relations and procedural ideas reflected in the provisions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and teachers of legal history or Roman law courses
Readers interested in ancient Roman institutions and social structure
Researchers who need the English text of the Twelve Tables for reference
General readers who wish to understand the early forms of the Western legal tradition

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic explanations in the manner of a modern law textbook
Specialist researchers who need detailed annotations and scholarly editions
Readers with no interest in ancient legal provisions who only want historical stories

Reading tips

First understand the background of the conflict between patricians and plebeians in the early Republic, then read the provisions
Read by topic—procedure, debt, family, inheritance—and take simple notes
Read alongside a general history of Roman law to grasp the institutional significance of the provisions
After finishing, return to the preface or introduction to check your understanding of the background

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does this translation contain the complete text of the Twelve Tables?

The translation is compiled and translated from surviving fragments of the provisions, covering the extant and verifiable content of the Twelve Tables. Because the full original law was not preserved intact, the translation presents provisions compiled by later hands, and readers should regard it as an English rendering of a fragmentary text.

Can I read this book without a legal background?

Yes, the provisions themselves are concise, but some procedures and terms require background knowledge. It is advisable to read the introduction or introductory material on legal history first to understand early Roman procedure and family law, which will make reading the provisions one by one easier.

Is this book suitable as a textbook for a legal history course?

It is suitable as supplementary reading. It provides the English text of the original provisions, convenient for classroom discussion and comparison, but systematic explanation still requires a textbook and instructor's annotations; it should not be used as the sole textbook.

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