(CE:571a-572a)
CODEX THEODOSIANUS, Roman imperial law code,
published on 15 February 438 on the authority of Emperor
Theodosius II, with a covering constitution addressed to the
pretorian prefect of the East (Novella Theodosiana I). It had been
approved by the Western emperor, Valentinian III, during his stay in
Constantinople in October 437 when he married the daughter of
Theodosius II.
The reason for the publication of the code was practical. Texts of
imperial laws had become confused, repetitive, and sometimes self-contradictory.
For years there had been complaints and demands for
reform (see Thompson, 1979, p. 21). Lawyers were becoming
ignorant of the law.
Theodosius II was interested in legal matters. On 26 February
425 he established professorial chairs for the teaching of literary
sciences and law in Constantinople (Codex Theodosianus xiv.9.3).
This was followed on 27 March 429 by a project aimed at updating
and revising the existing Codex Gregorianus and Codex
Hermogenianus (Codex Theodosianus i.1.5). The work proved
impossible to carry out, and on 20 December 435 a simpler scheme
was decided upon, designed to codify general enactments of
Constantine (taken to mean after his defeat of Maxentius on 28
October 312). Legislation was divided into sixteen sections
according to general subject, the first, for instance, relating to the
emperor's decrees, the seventh to military affairs, and the sixteenth
to legislation relating to the church. The emperor's hand may be seen
in the tendency, wherever possible, toward conciseness and brevity.
The Codex Theodosianus stands as a lasting monument to his reign
and to the personal authority, sometimes underestimated, that he
exercised.
There are fewer laws directed to officials in Egypt and
Alexandria than might be anticipated, given the importance of the
province to the empire. The code, however, provides some
important information concerning social life in fourth-century
Egypt. In particular, the series of laws De patrociniis vicorium
(Codex Theodosianus xi.24.1-6) throws light on the system of
landholding in force in Egypt in the fourth century, mainly
comprising small to medium landholders, and the threat to this
system posed by the development of patronage. Patronage laid the
client open to abuses, and it also stood to deprive the state of
revenue. Another series of laws defines the status and immunities of
members of the Senate of Alexandria two years before the
publication of the code (Codex Theodosianus xii.1.189-92, June-
August 436).
W. H. C. FREND
