The legal treatises of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were written in the thirteenth century, when most of the kingdom had been re-conquered by the Muslims. There are no treatises from the twelfth century, when the kingdom was at its height. The thirteenth-century jurists claimed that the kingdom had always had written laws, but they may have been making this up for political purposes. The treatises also discuss issues important to the noble class of which the jurists were a part: property rights and the feudal services owed to the king, as well as the proper way to plead their cases in court. But what do they say about criminal law, and laws for the lower classes? How were crimes tried and punished in the twelfth century, and did this differ from the laws recorded in the thirteenth century? Chapter one deals with the different treatises, and their claim that there was a set of laws called “Letres dou Sepulcre” in the twelfth century. The most important of the treatises for criminal law, the assizes of the burgess court, is examined in detail. Chapter two looks at the small number of laws that survive from the twelfth century, in charters, the canons of the Council of Nablus, and the chronicle of William of Tyre. Chapter three is a study of other descriptions of crusader law in the twelfth century, including those by Christian and Muslim pilgrims, and especially the observations of Usama ibn Munqidh. These accounts are tied together by the common theme of theft and the ways that thieves could be punished. Chapter four deals with cases mentioned by thirteenth-century sources, including theft, assault, and prostitution, but especially cases that led to trials by battle. The usefulness of such trials for dating some of the laws is also examined. The conclusion demonstrates that certain parts of the assizes relating to criminal law must have already existed in the twelfth century, and offers some tentative ideas about the specific origin of the laws. Avenues for future research are also introduced.

The legal treatises of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were written in the thirteenth century, when most of the kingdom had been re-conquered by the Muslims. There are no treatises from the twelfth century, when the kingdom was at its height. The thirteenth-century jurists claimed that the kingdom had always had written laws, but they may have been making this up for political purposes. The treatises also discuss issues important to the noble class of which the jurists were a part: property rights and the feudal services owed to the king, as well as the proper way to plead their cases in court. But what do they say about criminal law, and laws for the lower classes? How were crimes tried and punished in the twelfth century, and did this differ from the laws recorded in the thirteenth century? Chapter one deals with the different treatises, and their claim that there was a set of laws called “Letres dou Sepulcre” in the twelfth century. The most important of the treatises for criminal law, the assizes of the burgess court, is examined in detail. Chapter two looks at the small number of laws that survive from the twelfth century, in charters, the canons of the Council of Nablus, and the chronicle of William of Tyre. Chapter three is a study of other descriptions of crusader law in the twelfth century, including those by Christian and Muslim pilgrims, and especially the observations of Usama ibn Munqidh. These accounts are tied together by the common theme of theft and the ways that thieves could be punished. Chapter four deals with cases mentioned by thirteenth-century sources, including theft, assault, and prostitution, but especially cases that led to trials by battle. The usefulness of such trials for dating some of the laws is also examined. The conclusion demonstrates that certain parts of the assizes relating to criminal law must have already existed in the twelfth century, and offers some tentative ideas about the specific origin of the laws. Avenues for future research are also introduced.

The Middle English lyric, “Sir John Doth Play,” narrated in the female voice clearly depicts rape by a male authority figure and the narrator’s distress over her unplanned pregnancy, yet has been repeatedly interpreted and introduced by critics as a love song portraying the interaction of a seductive village priest and a gullible maiden. As such, the lyric provides a unique perspective on the patriarchal nature of the twentieth century and the value of critically re-examining literature rather than canonizing accepted interpretations of literary work.

Le premier Moyen Âge a longtemps souffert d’une mauvaise réputation, celle d’être une période sombre et particulièrement violente. À l’appui de nouvelles grilles de lecture, la recherche a entrepris, au cours des dernières décennies, une réévaluation de sa justice. Mais ce champ d’études est encore lacunaire, et plus encore pour l’Aquitaine. La présente étude s’attache donc à reconstituer ses cadres institutionnels et sociétaux entre le début de la période carolingienne et la fin du XIIe siècle. Une étude d’anthropologie historique du droit permet, à partir de cas concrets, de démontrer les mécanismes par lesquels les conflits pouvaient être gérés, tout en dégageant les évolutions majeures qui s’observent dans les sources. Appréhender la justice altimédiévale passe par la reconstitution des structures, des procédures judiciaires et des stratégies sociales alors déployées pour trouver une solution aux différends. Il apparaît bien vite que les juges se sont appliqués à donner des réponses aux litiges en privilégiant les accords et la paix, plus que la coercition. Leur action se situe à la croisée du droit, du social et du religieux. Dans cette perspective, il est nécessaire de regarder le Moyen Âge, non pas du dehors avec des yeux modernes, mais du dedans pour comprendre les logiques qui en soutiennent toute la structure. Cette analyse donne l’occasion de mettre en lumière les manuscrits juridiques aquitains, dont une partie est encore inédite, pour reconsidérer l’efficacité de la justice altimédiévale. / The first Middle Ages have a bad reputation, because we think that the period is dark and particularly violent. A new scientific vision has emerged during the last few decades. We can now evaluate the exercise of justice. But this approach is incomplete, especially for Aquitaine. This thesis therefore aims to reconstitute its institutional and societal frameworks between the beginning of the Carolingian period and the end of the twelfth century. A study of historical anthropology of law allows, from concrete cases, to demonstrate the mechanisms by which conflicts could be managed, while highlighting the major evolutions that are observed in the sources. To understand altimedial justice, we must reconstruct structures, judicial procedures, social strategies. It is clear that judges have privileged agreements and peace. In this perspective, it is necessary to look at the Middle Ages, not from outside with modern eyes, but from within. This analysis provides an opportunity to highlight the legal manuscripts of Aquitaine, and to question the effectiveness of justice of the High Middle Ages.

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Abstract Many historians would like to discover a time of relative freedom, security and independence for women of the past. The Germanic era, from 400-1000 AD, was a time of stability, and security due to limitations the law placed upon the mundwald and the legal ability of women to possess property. The system of compensations that the Germans initiated in an effort to stop the blood feuds between Germanic families, served as a deterrent to men that might physically or sexually abuse women. The majority of the sources used in this work were the Germanic Codes generally dated from 498-1024 AD. Ancient Roman and Germanic sources provide background information about the individual tribes. Secondary sources provide a contrast to the ideas of this thesis, and information.

This paper presents an interpretation of an archaeological problem where Viking age treasure hoards on Gotland are discussed in relation to the provision of the morning gift in the medieval Guta law. There are around 700 treasure hoards found on Gotland and many of them contains what can be interpreted as female coded jewelry. In this essay Gender theory and the theory of performativity is used as a method to analyze treasure hoards with female coded jewelry and its purpose is to investigate jewelry in relation to gender. This study will take a closer look on eleven treasure hoards which have been selected based on jewelry identified as typically female. This might indicate that women were the ones who deposited their jewelry in the ground. The Guta law narrates women's political and social situation in the medieval society and it is possible that it can tell us about some social practices in the Viking society. This law is a great source to recount women’s rights and obligations when it comes to marriage and heritage. The law contains a provision about hogsl oc iþ which is interpreted to be the morning gift. The morning gift intended that a husband was to give his new wife a gift in relation to their marriage. The law stated that a woman had the right to her morning gift which could suggest that women could control this property and have ownership over it. This study investigates what the mentioned medieval law dictated in regard to what a morning gift should constitute of and if this have any connection to what can be found in Viking age treasure hoards. This study is performed by analyzing treasure hoards with jewelry identified as typically female, as well as analyzing the Guta Law which allow one interpretation of why there are so many deposited treasures on Gotland. The interpretation which is presented in this study is that women had ownership of their morning gift and they could have deposited it in the ground to protect themselves and their property.

The thesis is focused on the history of human rights, and their evolution since the time of ancient Greece and Rome to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. The aim of the work is to make reader acknowledged with major events which influenced the development of human rights. Described are the thoughts of philosophers and significant events that changed the course of development of human rights. There is depicted a situation in ancient Rome and Greece, the period of development of the Christian faith and the Middle Ages and significant modern milestones including French revolution and the emergence of Declaration of Human rights, the reign of Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II. who made o lots of reforms, or revolution of 1848 and finally the emergence of Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.