Précis de droit romain

What it is

This is a French book on Roman law by Calixte Accarias, a professor at the Faculty of Law in Paris. The third edition was published in Paris in 1879. It contains the Latin text, a French translation and an explanation of Justinian's Institutes, along with tables of contents and subject indexes. A digitized copy is held by the Internet Archive.

Why it matters

Justinian ordered the compilation of Roman law, and the Institutes were one of its parts. Accarias's book shows how scholars in the nineteenth century studied and explained that law. It reveals how later readers received Justinian's legal work rather than how it was used in his own time.

Look closer

• Why might a French law professor in 1879 publish a Latin text with commentary?
• What does the book's title page tell you about who it was written for?
• What questions would you need to ask to judge how closely this study follows the original law?