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Article: Laying Down the Law: A Study of the Theodosian Code.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- The Historian
- Article date:
- June 22, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Phi Alpha Theta, History Honor Society, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Laying Down the Law: A Study of the Theodosian Code. By John F. Matthews. (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000. Pp. xv, 314. $40.00.)
This is one of many significant recent books, far too many to cite here, dealing with late antique law in general and the Theodosian Code in particular. In his preface, John F. Matthews reminds us that the Theodosian compilation project lasted from A.D. 429 until 437. As it stands, it contains over 2,500 texts issued between 313 and 437. It was "the first fully official collection of such legislation ever made" (vii). Matthews proposes to discuss "the Code as an intellectual enterprise rather than ... the contemporary world ...