1) According to the prologue, what was the purpose
of creating this code?
According to the prologue, the purpose of creating this Code was to ensure that the empire would be peaceful and prosperous. The Byzantines did not want to have to have disputations and wars with other empires, “We adorn peace and maintain the Constitution of the State, and have such confidence in the protection of Almighty God that We do not depend upon Our arms, or upon Our soldiers, or upon those who conduct Our Wars…” This quote shows how the Byzantines wanted to avoid war and create a peaceful state, to avoid wars. The Byzantines devised this Code, so that the chance of such a war occurring would be slim to none. The Byzantines had originally adapted the Roman Code of Law, since they had been one complete empire prior to the split-up of the Roman Empire. However, the Byzantines fond fault with many parts of the Roman Code of Law and created a new Law Code to clarify its meaning, “…having had removed all that is superfluous in resemblance and all iniquitous discord, they may afford to all men the ready assistance of true meaning”. This shows that the Byzantines had created this new Law Code to both bring peace and prosperity to their empire by constructing a strict body of laws to which the citizens would have to abide (thus, making the empire centralized) and also to clarify the Roman Law Code they had adopted from the Eastern Roman Empire.
2) What does this text cite as the source of Roman law?
This text cites the Lex
Regia as the source of Roman law. The Lex Regia was an ancient Roman source of
law codes. In this body of laws, most
power is given to the ruler, the emperor.
The emperor is authoritative and has complete power over everyone else,
“all the rights and power of the Roman people were transferred to the Emperor,
We do not derive Our authority from that of other different compilations, but
wish that it shall all be entirely Ours…”
This shows that the Lex Regia was the ultimate source of Roman law. This can be seen in the fact that Byzantine emperors and rulers had absolute power, which followed the guiding principle of
the Lex Regia.
3) What, if anything, does this text teach us about Byzantine society?
This text gives the reader much insight as to how the
Byzantine society was run, what ethics and morals they believed in, as well as
the laws that governed society. The
first paragraph of this document shows the reader that the Byzantine Empire was
very religious and Christian. The words
“God,” “Celestial Majesty,” and “Almighty God” signify the importance and
prevalence of Christianity in the Byzantine Empire. Christianity was also important to the
Byzantine Empire in that it played a major role in determining Byzantine Law, “
[we] place Our reliance upon the providence of the Holy Trinity, from which are
derived the elements of the entire world and their disposition throughout the
globe.” This document also gives an
accurate insight as to the moral standpoint of Byzantine inhabitants. From this article, we learn that the
Byzantines were fair rulers, who placed justice above all else, “Justice is the
set and constant purpose which gives to every man his due. jurisprudence is the
knowledge of things divine and human, the science of the just and the unjust…”. This shows that justice and equality were integral
to the maintenance of the Byzantine Empire.
Lastly, this document shows how Byzantium laws functioned in the running of Byzantine society. Byzantine law
distinguished the societal classes, mainly emphasizing the difference between
the wealthy nobles and the middle-class peasants. The author writes, “Hence comes the union of
male and female, which we call marriage; hence the procreation and rearing of children, for this is a law by the knowledge of which we see even the lower
animals are distinguished,” which shows that society was based on both class
and gender, and that the “lower animals” of society, the peasants, had less
power than did the more wealthy nobles, landowners, and aristocracy.
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