Juristic Papyrology

Inroduction to (Juristic) Papyrology, Münster 16.06.2023

Introduction to (Juristic) Papyrology

Papyrologische Spring School Münster 29.03.2023

Juristic Papyrology – Plurality of Laws

Reader

Palermo 21.10–16.11.2018

A draft syllabus  [16 meetings, 3 lective hours each)

Course objectives:

The course aims at introduction of a student to juristic papyrology, i.e. the study of legal practice in the Greek and Roman World. It touches upon history of mentality, understood as a reconstruction of legal awareness of ordinary people of Antiquity. It provides a student with an array of sources, usually not studied at the Law Faculties: the documents of actually concluded legal acts and invites him/her to their interpretation. In doing so the course should make students aware of the discrepancies between the ‘official’ law and its application, channels of the legal education, and finally, the role law plays in the lives of ordinary people.

The chronological outline of the course covers the time-span from the earliest Greek document in Egypt, a marriage contract P. Eleph.1 to the demise of Greek documentary language of the Arab era. Thus Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine documents will be treated, with focus to the Roman (Augustus – Diocletatian), and Byzantine (the 4th centry and the Justinianic period). The sources provenance is mostly Greek-writing Egypt, but when necessary texts from other regions of the Mediterranean and Roman Empire will be used (the Archive of Babatha, Campanian and Dacian wax tablets, texts from Dura, Nessana and Petra).

Method:

Lectures with active students’ participation. The theoretical part shall be taught (especially in the introductory module); the main part of the course shall consist in reading and interpretation of the preselected texts in English translation, which shall be introduced and put in context by the teacher.

Learning outcomes:

Upon completion of the course the student will

Syllabus:

Module I: Introduction

Texts:

Module II: The law of the papyri

Presentation on Roman Marriage Texts

Presentation on Roman Divorce  Texts

Texts:

Texts:

Texts of the analysed Papyri

Presentation on The Papyri

Module III: Ancient Legal Pluralism

6. A sum-up: what law to apply?

Texts:

Auxiliary:


Evaluation:

The mark shall be assigned on the scale 0–30 upon the following conditions:

40 % of the final mark: active class participation (continuous evaluation): class preparation (sending in commented texts), discussion of the texts, raising questions will be assessed during the course. At each particular instance a student shall be informed about his/her performance.

60 %: the final exam mark: The exam shall consist of a theoretical question and a in-depth discussion of one of the texts studied in the class (assigned randomly).