Baldus de Ubaldis (Italian: ''Baldo degli Ubaldi''; 1327 – 28 April 1400) was an Italian jurist, and a leading figure in
Medieval Roman Law and the school of
Postglossators
The postglossators or commentators formed a European legal school which arose in Italy and France in the fourteenth century. They form the highest point of development of medieval Roman law.
The school of the ''glossators'' in Bologna lost its v ...
.
Life
A member of the noble family of the Ubaldi (Baldeschi), Baldus was born at
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...
in 1327, and studied civil law there under
Bartolus de Saxoferrato
Bartolus de Saxoferrato (Italian: ''Bartolo da Sassoferrato''; 131313 July 1357) was an Italian law professor and one of the most prominent continental jurists of Medieval Roman Law. He belonged to the school known as the commentators or postglos ...
, being admitted to the degree of doctor of civil law at the early age of seventeen.
Federicus Petrucius of
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
is said to have been the master under whom he studied
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
.
On his promotion to the doctorate he went to
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
, where he taught law for three years, after which he was advanced to a professorship at
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...
, where he remained for thirty-three years, and he had among his students
Francesco Albergotti.
He subsequently taught law at
Pisa,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
,
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
and
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
, the rivals to
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
. During his period at Pavia he sometimes also taught at
Piacenza
Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...
. He died at
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
on 28 April 1400 and was buried in the
church of San Francesco.
Baldus was the master of Pierre Roger de Beaufort, who became pope under the title of
Gregory XI, and whose immediate successor,
Urban VI
Pope Urban VI ( la, Urbanus VI; it, Urbano VI; c. 1318 – 15 October 1389), born Bartolomeo Prignano (), was head of the Catholic Church from 8 April 1378 to his death in October 1389. He was the most recent pope to be elected from outside the ...
, summoned Baldus to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to assist him by his consultations in 1380 against the anti-pope
Clement VII
Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
. Baldus' view on the legal issues relating to the schism are laid down in the so-called ''Questio de schismate''. Cardinal
Francesco Zabarella
Francesco Zabarella (10 August 1360 – 26 September 1417) was an Italian cardinal and canonist.
Appointment as bishop
Born in Padua, he studied jurisprudence at Bologna and at Florence, where he graduated in 1385. He taught Canon law at Florence ...
and
Paulus Castrensis
Paulus Castrensis was an Italian jurist of the 14th century.
Life
He studied under Baldus de Ubaldis at Perugia, and was a fellow-pupil with Cardinal de Zabarella. He was admitted to the degree of doctor of civil law in the University of Avigno ...
were also among his pupils.
Works
![Baldo degli ubaldi11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Baldo_degli_ubaldi11.jpg)
Many of Baldus' works are incomplete. He left voluminous commentaries on the
''Pandects'' and on the ''
Codex Justinianus''. His Commentary on the ''
Libri Feudorum
The ''Libri Feudorum'' is a twelfth-century collection by Pillius Medicinensis, originating in Lombardy, of feudal customs. The work gained wide acceptance as a statement of the various rules governing the relation of lord and vassal.
Later in the ...
'', a twelfth-century compilation of
feudal law provisions, is considered to be one of his best works. He also commented on the canon law compilations of
decretals
Decretals ( la, litterae decretales) are letters of a pope that formulate decisions in ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church.McGurk. ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms''. p. 10
They are generally given in answer to consultations but are sometime ...
, the ''Liber Extra'' and the ''Liber Sextus''. In addition to these commentaries, Baldus wrote a number of treatises on specialised legal topics. His major effort, however, went into the writing of some 3,000 ''consilia'' (legal opinions). No other medieval lawyer has so many consilia preserved.
Baldus's work on the law of evidence and the gradations of proof was a high point of medieval thought in the discipline and remained the standard treatment of the subject for centuries.
Publications
* ''De syndicatu officialium''
* ''De duobus fratribus''
* ''De significatione verborum''
* ''De pace Constantiae''
* ''De feudis''
* ''Summula respiciens facta mercatorum''.
* ''Commentaria in digestum vetus'', 1549.
* ''Consiliorum sive responsorum'', 1575.
*
Family
Baldus had two brothers, Angelus (13281400) and Petrus (13351400). It is probably due to confusion between Baldus and his brother Petrus that the famous jurist's name is sometimes given as Petrus Baldus de Ubaldis.
References
*
Further reading
* J. Canning, ''The Political Thought of Baldus de Ubaldis'' (Cambridge University Press, 1987)
* J. Franklin, ''The Science of Conjecture: Evidence and Probability Before Pascal'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001) ch. 2
* "VI Centenario della morte di Baldo degli Ubaldi," "Ius commune," 27 (2000).
* "VI Centenario della morte di Baldo degli Ubaldi 1400-2000," eds. Carla Frova, Maria Grazia Nico Ottaviani, and Stefania Zucchini (Perugia: Università degli Studi, 2005).
* G. Hamza, "Entstehung und Entwicklung der modernen Privatrechtsordnungen und die römischrechtliche Tradition" (Eotvos Universitätsverlag, Budapest, 2009) p. 78-89.
* G. Hamza, "Origine e sviluppo degli ordinamenti giusprivatistici moderni in base alla tradizione del diritto romano" (Andavira Editora, Santiago de Compostela, 2013) p. 79-86.
External links
*
Biography by Ken Pennington at Catholic University of America*
*Daniel Schwenzer,
Guide to Baldo degli Ubaldi, Consilia de Iure. Manuscript, circa 1420at th
University of Chicago Special CollectionsComplete works and editions by Baldus de Ubaldis at ParalipomenaIuris
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldus De Ubaldis
1327 births
1400 deaths
14th-century Italian jurists
People from Perugia
14th-century Latin writers
University of Bologna faculty
University of Perugia faculty
University of Pisa faculty