Answer to Question #240056 in History for Judas

Question

Name one difference between the study method of the glossators and that of the post-glossators.

Answer 1

The glossators laid the foundation for the study of Roman law in Europe at a time when increasing commercial relations among individuals and among states were soon to necessitate an advanced legal system. Whether they were concerned with these trends or even with the current legal needs of their day is open to doubt. Their discussions tended to be academic rather than practical. It was the task of their successors of the 14th century, the commentators or postglossators, to effect a closer liaison between the revived Roman law and the law of the Italian cities and to find a way to apply Roman law to the practical legal needs of the day.The Commentators went beyond the glossators, who had treated each text separately. The commentators instead wrote prose commentaries on the texts (rather like lectures,) working through, book by book, through the Digest. Rather than simply taking individual Roman law texts at face value, making it useful for practical application involved considering the rationale and principles behind the law.