Las Siete Partidas

Title page of a print from 1555

Alfons X and the Partidas page

Las Siete Partidas (seven-part code) or simply Partidas was a Castilian code of law since the reign of Alfonso X of Castile (1252-1284), which was created with the intention of having uniform, standardized regulations for the empire. The codified text was originally called Libro de las Leyes (Old Spanish: Livro de las Legies (Code of Law)). It was not until the 14th century that it got its current name, based on the sections into which it is divided.

The Spanish Siete Partidas is considered to be the most important contribution to legal history . It is unclear to what extent the Roman law taught at the universities had an influence; at any rate, there was no codification of it. The Partidas were of great importance in Latin America , where it was valid for centuries until around 1800. Although the Code focuses on the legal issues, it has also been described as a "humanistic encyclopedia" as it also covers philosophical , moral and theological subjects including Greco-Roman , Judeo-Christian and Islamic viewpoints.

background

According to one of the oldest versions of the Partidas , it was written between June 26, 1256 and August 28, 1265 by a commission of the most important Castilian jurists of the time under the personal direction of Alfonso X. However, other periods have also been suggested: 1254 to 1261; 1256 to 1263; 1251 to 1265; In any case, historians believe it wasn't finished before 1265.

The traditional view shared by historian Francisco Martinez Marina and philologist Antonio Solalinde is that the Siete Partidas was written by a legal commission and that Alfonso X's involvement was likely limited to defining the aims of the text and the addressees, as well as personally control the work of the commission. The commission is said to have consisted of: Mr. Jacobo, a legal scholar; Juan Alfonso, a notary from Leon ; a certain Mr. Roldan; and Fernando Martinez de Zamora (one of the first Castilian lawyers).

During the 18th century it was popularly believed that the Partidas were written by Alfonso X on his own. This position was supported by the Jesuit historian and scribe Andres Marco Burriel (Father Burriel). Nonetheless, a significant debate arose regarding the author of the work in connection with Alfonso X. Other texts of the same period (1254–1256) were usually ascribed to Alfonso X: such as el Setenario, Fuero Real , and the Especulo emphasize similarities with each other and with the Partidas. Despite scientific efforts to determine the relationships and purpose of the texts, no consensus was reached.

swell

Boisard, Marcel A., (July 1980), "On the probable influence of Islam on Western Public and International Law", International Journal of Middle East Studies 11 (4): 429-450 [435-6]
University of Pennsylvania Press (1989); Joseph F. O'Callaghan (1999) The Cortes of Castile-Leon; Chapt. 9, The Cortes and the Government of Realm Found May 21, 2006

Individual evidence

^ Jan Dirk Harke : Roman law. From the classical period to the modern codifications . Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-57405-4 ( floor plans of the law ), § 2, no. 9.

[1] Jan Dirk Harke : Roman law. From the classical period to the modern codifications . Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-57405-4 ( floor plans of the law ), § 2, no. 9.