The Invention of Law in the West

“The wide sweep and deeply humanistic approach of The Invention of Law in the West—with its emphasis on the primary sources and concise critical synthesis of much previous scholarship—make this ambitious volume perhaps the best attempt yet by any scholar to animate the venerable yet highly complex, technically demanding and intellectually isolated field of Roman law for a wider readership… It indisputably marks a new and welcome opening in its field.”—T. Corey Brennan, The Times Literary Supplement

“Everyone recognizes that during the early Roman Empire law emerged as a professionalized and vital part of statecraft, but few understand the wrenching intellectual controversy that accompanied the transformation. Aldo Schiavone’s terrific book brings this historic debate into dazzling focus.”—Bruce Frier, University of Michigan