The ''Edictum Theodorici'' is a set of laws that date from the 5th or 6th-century and that is one of the codes emanated by Germanic kings to settle issues between Romans and Germans in their kingdoms. It is composed of a preface, 155 chapters and a conclusion. Its dispositions are mostly taken from

Roman Law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...

, such as the ''

Codex Gregorianus The ''Codex Gregorianus'' (Eng. Gregorian Code) is the title of a collection of constitutions (legal pronouncements) of Roman emperors over a century and a half from the 130s to 290s AD. It is believed to have been produced around 291–4 but the e ...

'', the ''

Codex Hermogenianus The ''Codex Hermogenianus'' (Eng. Hermogenian Code) is the title of a collection of constitutions (legal pronouncements) of the Roman emperors of the first tetrarchy (Diocletian, Maximian Augusti, and Constantius and Galerius Caesars), mostly from ...

'' and the '' Codex Theodosianus''. Its authenticity, differently from before, is no longer in doubt. As for its character the edict is for the most part a restatement and a reworking of Roman legislation; its chief interest stands in implying, differently from most Romano-barbaric codes, a territorial rather than a personal form of power as its provisions treat Romans and Barbarians equally. Explicit differences are made only for

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, who are to have their own judges. The problem of the author of the code is one of the most complicated: since when the '' editio princeps'' was printed in 1579 due to

Pierre Pithou Pierre Pithou (1 November 1539 – 1 November 1596) was a French lawyer and scholar. He is also known as Petrus Pithoeus. Life He was born at Troyes. From childhood he loved literature, and his father Pierre encouraged this interest. Young ...

the text has been attributed to the

Ostrogothic The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

king

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...

, and the Italian origin of the code seems supported by chapter 111, where specific dispositions regarding

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 ...

are present. Notwithstanding this, the issue has become since 1953 highly controversial, and has been considered to have been emanated by the

Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...

king

Theodoric II Theodoric II, ''Teodorico'' in Spanish and Portuguese, ( 426 – early 466) was the eighth King of the Visigoths, from 453 to 466. Biography Theoderic II, son of Theodoric I, obtained the throne by killing his elder brother Thorismund. The Engli ...

, while other have given the paternity to Odoacer, with a number defending the traditional attribution.

References

* Escudero, José Antonio, ''Curso de Historia del Derecho, Fuentes e Instituciones Político-administrativas'', ed. Solana e Hijos, Madrid, 2003, . * Moorhead, John, ''Theoderic in Italy'', Oxford: Clarendon, 1992, pp. 75–77, {{Italic title Goths Roman law codes Medieval legal codes Latin prose texts Theodorici