The History of the Roman or Civil Law

Through the influence of Doctors' Commons and the universities the civilians played an important role in the development of English law, especially in the fields of commercial, estate and admiralty law. Despite its value, study of the civil law had entered a moribund phase by the eighteenth century. Several student handbooks attempted to correct this deficiency, and Beaver's translation of Ferriere's treatise is among the best. Accompanied by Duck's learned essay that connects the civil law to the common law, the work is among the first in English to establish the confluence of these legal traditions.

Also included is Beaver's translation of The History of the Origine of the French Laws, Translated from the French by J.B. Esq., Shewing, the Analogy of the Laws of the Antient Gauls and Britons. First published anonymously in 1703, it has been attributed to Ferriere, Gabriel Argou and Claude Fleury.

Claude Joseph de Ferriere [ca. 1680-ca. 1750] was a well known French jurisconsult, dean of the Faculty of Law in Paris and the author of legal treatises and an important legal dictionary, Dictionnaire de Droit et de Pratique.

CONTENTS
Chap. I. Of the Different Forms of Government in Rome
Chap. II. Of the Roman Law under the Regal Government
Chap. III. Of the Free State of Rome in its Infancy, and the Creation of consuls
Chap. IV. Of the Creation of Tribunes of the People
Chap. V. Of the Decemviri, and Law of the Twelve Tables
Chap. VI. Of the Consequences that attended the Law of the Twelve Tables
Chap. VII. Of the Laws
Chap. VIII. Of the Plebiscita
Chap. IX. Of the Interpretation of the Lawyers
Chap. X. Of the Prætor's Edicts
Chap. XI. Of the Roman Law under the Emperors
Chap. XII. The Succession of the Emperors to Justinian
Chap. XIII. Of the Emperor Justinian
Chap. XIV. Of the Roman Senate
Chap. XV. Of the Senatus-Consulta
Chap. XVI. Of the Lawyers Answers
Chap. XVII. Of the most Celebrated Roman Lawyers
Chap. XVIII. Of the Law-Books before Justinian's Time
Chap. XIX. Of Justinian's Code
Chap. XX. Of the Digests or Pandects
Chap. XXI. Of Justinian's Institutes
Chap. XXII. Of the Second Edition of Justinian's Code
Chap. XXIII. Of Justinian's latter Constitutions, called Novels
Chap. XXIV. Of the Law obscrv'd in the East, after Justinian's Death
Chap. XXV. Of the Law obscrv'd in the West, after Justinian's Death
Chap. XXVI. Of the Use of the Roman Law in France
Chap. XXVII. The Decretal Epistle Super-specula explain'd
Chap. XXVIII. The Sixty ninth Article of the Ordonnance of Blois explain'd
Chap. XXIX. Of the Excellency of the Roman Law
Chap. XXX. Of the most celebrated Interpreters of the Roman Law
Chap. XXXI. Of the Dispositions requir'd for the Study of the Roman Law
Chap. XXXII. Of the Method to be observ'd in studying the Roman Law
Chap. XXXIII. Of the Quotations and Abbreviations