Code and Custom: Evidence of Widespread Tradition in Medieval Germanic Law
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Abstract
This thesis advances the study of Germanic cultural and legal discourse by drawing attention to the retention of customary law found within the constitutions promulgated by the peoples of Germanic ethnolinguistic origins during the Middle Ages. It argues that shared customs are apparent in the law codes issued by West and North Germanic kings on the Continent, in England, and in Scandinavia, and that those customs persisted for more than a millennium. The legal history of the Leges Barbarorum, the Anglo-Saxon dooms, and the Scandinavian laws is of profound historical importance, and the assorted law codes underscore an enduring Germanic culture spanning thousands of miles and more than ten centuries. By comparing institutional vocabulary and cultural standards among the many Germanic laws, an argument is made for a pan-Germanic consciousness rooted in shared ancient custom.