General Note on the Bibliography
As mentioned in the preface, at the end of every chapter—and in some cases after a specific section—we provide a select bibliography. The bibliography is divided into: i. primary sources, including editions and translations, and ii. secondary literature. The proposed bibliographies are by no means exhaustive.
For all chapters of the present study, the following two books addressing the sources of Byzantine law are invaluable:
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Troianos, Pèges = Quellen.
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Van der Wal and Lokin, Delineatio.
The following bibliographical resources remain useful despite their age:
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Pieler, P.E. ‘Byzantinische Rechtsliteratur’, in H. Hunger, Die hochsprachliche profane Literatur der Byzantiner, vol. 2. Munich: 1978, pp. 341–480. Pieler’s study has been updated and translated into modern Greek by E. Papagianni and Sp. Troianos, which can be found in the Greek edition of Hunger’s book, as follows: P.E. Pieler, ‘
Νομικὴ Φιλολογία ’, in H. Hunger,Βυζαντινὴ λογοτεχνία .Ἡ λόγια κοσμικὴ γραμματεία τῶν Βυζαντινῶν , vol. 3 (Athens: 1994), pp. 183–379. Finally, K.E. Zachariä von Lingenthal, Geschichte des griechisch-römischen Rechts (Berlin: 1892; repr. Aalen: 1955) remains indispensable.
The following contributions represent general works on Byzantine law:
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Lokin, J.H.A. and Th.E. van Bochove. ‘Compilazione—educazione—purificazione. Dalla legislazione di Giustiniano ai Basilica cum scholiis’, in J.H.A. Lokin and B.H. Stolte, eds. Introduzione al diritto bizantino. Da Giustiniano a Basilici. Pavia: 2011, pp. 99–146.
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Morolli Ceccarelli D. Il diritto dell’ impero romano d’Oriente: Introduzione alle fonti e ai protagonisti, Rome: 2016.
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Pitsakes, C. ‘Byzantine Law: A Constituent of European Legal Tradition’, in Sp. Flogaitis and A. Pantelis, eds. The Eastern Roman Empire and the Birth of the Idea of State of Europe. London: 2005, pp. 251–289.
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Scheltema, H.J. ‘Byzantine Law’, in J.M. Hussey, ed. The Cambridge Medieval History, vol. 4: The Byzantine Empire, part II: Government, Church and Civilisation. Cambridge: 1967, pp. 55–77, repr. in Scheltema, Opera Minora (see abbreviations), pp. 38–57.
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Simon, D. ‘Anfang und Ende der byzantinischen Rechtgeschichte’,
FM , 8 (2021), pp. 1–23. -
Stolte, B.H. ‘Byzantine Law: The Law of the New Rome’, in H. Pihlajamäki, M.D. Dubber, and M. Godfrey, eds. The Oxford Handbook of European Legal History. Oxford: 2018, pp. 229–248.
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Stolte, B.H. ‘Legal Thought’, in A. Kaldellis and N. Siniossoglou, eds. The Cambridge Intellectual History of Byzantium. Cambridge: 2017, pp. 141–166.
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Stolte, B.H. ‘The Law of New Rome: Byzantine Law’, in D. Johnston, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Roman Law. Cambridge: 2015, pp. 355–373.
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Stolte, B.H. ‘Justice: Legal Literature’, in E. Jeffreys et al., eds. The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies. Oxford: 2008, pp. 691–698.
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Stolte, B.H. ‘Is Byzantine Law Roman Law?’, Acta Byzantina Fennica, n.s., 2 (2005), pp. 111–126.
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Stolte, B.H. ‘Balancing Byzantine Law’,
FM , 11 (2005), pp. 57–75.
Useful too are the contributions of E. Papagianni to J.N. Dillon, ed., and D.A. Smart, trans. Brill’s New Pauly Supplements II—Volume 10: History and Culture of Byzantium, published online: 2018 (orig. as M. Landfester, J. Rupke and H. Schneider, eds. Byzanz: Historisch-kulturwissenschaftliches Handbuch. Der Neue Pauly—Supplemente, 2, ed. F. Daim. Stuttgart: 2016). Papagianni’s contributions include the following:
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4.1. Byzantine law: a new legal system on an ancient foundation
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4.2. Canon law and its status in the Byzantine legal system
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4.3. Legislation
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4.4. Courts and justice
It is also highly recommended that you consult the following bibliography, compiled by Th.E. van Bochove, which is available online and is (ir)regularly updated by its author:
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Van Bochove, Th.E., A Bibliography of Byzantine Law, A: Books on Byzantine Law, New, Revised and Augmented Edition, published 5 January 2021 on Academia.edu (
https://www.academia.edu/45025705/A_Bibliography_of_Byzantine_Law ) -
Van Bochove, Th.E., Bibliography of Byzantine Law, B: Articles on Roman and Byzantine Law, History and Culture, new, extended version published 10th June 2021 on Academia.edu (
https://www.academia.edu/49198096/Bibliography_of_Byzantine_Law_B_Articles_on_Roman_and_Byzantine_Law_History_and_Culture_New_extended_version )
Both these bibliographies can also be found at the author’s personal website:
Van Bochove has also collected and categorised into sections (and subsections) the bibliography related to the Basilica. His Basilica bibliography is available online by
Finally, the journal Subseciva Groningana. Studies in Roman and Byzantine Law focuses on Byzantine law, and all ten volumes that have been published up to now are available online at the following link: