Ancien regime France did not have a unified law. Legal relations of the people were governed by a disorganized amalgam of norms, including provincial and local customs (coutumes), elements of Roman law and canon law, royal edicts and ordinances, and judicial decisions. All these sources of law coexisted with little apparent internal coherence. The multiplicity of laws and the fragmentation of jurisdiction were defining features of the monarchical era. Legal historians have focused on popular custom and its metamorphosis into customary law, which covered a broad spectrum of what we call today private law. This book sets forth the evolution of law in late medieval and early modern France, from the thirteenth through the end of the eighteenth century, with particular emphasis on the royal campaigns to record and reform customs in the sixteenth century. The codification of customs in the name of the king solidified the legislative authority of the crown, which was an essential element of the absolute monarchy. The achievements of legal humanism brought custom and Roman law together to lay the foundation for a unified French law. The Civil Code of 1804 was the culmination of these centuries of work. Juristic, political, and constitutional approaches to the early modern state allow an understanding of French history in a continuum.

About the Author
Marie Seong-Hak Kim is a historian and jurist. Her work concentrates on France, Korea, Japan, legal history, and comparative law. She is the recipient of the National Endowment of Humanities Fellowship, the Fulbright Senior Scholar Grant, and the Abe Foundation Fellowship. She was a Fellow of the Collegium de Lyon, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, the Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies, and the Kate Hamburger Kolleg Recht als Kultur. As a native of South Korea, she graduated from Ewha Womans University and received her PhD and JD from the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the Minnesota Bar.

Reviews
This stimulating book provides a thorough and detailed history of customs and of the construct of national law. * Loraine Chappuis, Journal of Modern History *



Book Information
ISBN 9780192845498
Author Marie Seong-Hak Kim
Format Hardback
Page Count 302
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 612g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 161mm * 21mm