Orthodoxy and the Courts in Late Antiquity

by Humfress, Caroline

• ISBN13: 9780198208419
• ISBN10: 0198208413
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-12-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This book approaches the subject of late Roman law from the perspective of legal practice revealed in courtroom processes, as well as more 'informal' types of dispute settlement. From at least the early fourth century, leading bishops, ecclesiastics, and Christian polemicists participated in avibrant culture of forensic argument, with far-reaching effects on theological debate, the development of ecclesiastical authority, and the elaboration of early 'Canon law'. One of the most innovative aspects of late Roman law was the creation and application of new legal categories used in theprosecution of 'heretics'. Leading Christian polemicists not only used techniques of argument learnt in the late Roman rhetorical schools to help position the Church within the structure of Empire, they also used those techniques in cases involving accusations against 'heretics'- thus defining anddeveloping the concept of Christian orthodoxy itself.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Forensic Practitioners and the Development of Late Roman Law
Introduction and Background	p. 9
Litigation and Late Roman Judges	p. 29
Legal Experts and the Late Roman Courts	p. 62
Late Roman Advocates	p. 93
Forensic Practitioners in the Service of the Late Antique Church
Introduction and Background	p. 135
Ecclesiastics as Forensic Practitioners	p. 153
Forensic Expertise and the Development of Early 'Canon Law'	p. 196
Orthodology, Heresy, and the Courts
Defining Heresy and Orthodoxy	p. 217
Heresy and the Courts	p. 243
Conclusion	p. 269
Advocates in the Eastern Empire	p. 273
Advocates in the Western Empire	p. 285
Bibliography	p. 292
Index	p. 321
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