Baldus de Ubaldis (Italian: ''Baldo degli Ubaldi''; 1327 – 28 April 1400) was an Italian jurist, and a leading figure in

Medieval Roman Law Medieval Roman law is the continuation and development of ancient Roman law that developed in the European Late Middle Ages. Based on the ancient text of Roman law, ''Corpus iuris civilis'', it added many new concepts, and formed the basis of the la ...

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 part o ...

in 1327, and studied civil law there under Bartolus de Saxoferrato, 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 centuri ...

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, 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 150 different nat ...

, where he taught law for three years, after which he was advanced to a professorship at

, where he remained for thirty-three years, and he had among his students Francesco Albergotti. He subsequently taught law at

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

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 capit ...

, the rivals to

. During his period at Pavia he sometimes also taught at Piacenza. He died at

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 Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pop ...

, and whose immediate successor, Urban VI, 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. 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 Avignon, ...

were also among his pupils.

Works

Many of Baldus' works are incomplete. He left voluminous commentaries on the ''Pandects'' and on the ''

Codex Justinianus The Code of Justinian ( la, Codex Justinianus, or ) is one part of the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'', the codification of Roman law ordered early in the 6th century AD by Justinian I, who was Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople. Two other units, t ...

''. 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 th ...

'', a twelfth-century compilation of

feudal law Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

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 sometimes ...

, 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

External links