The actual state of law in the Saxon-Magdeburg legal system: Taking as example the compilation of the municipal court register of Halle city

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K16973
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Fundamental law
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Sato Dan 京都大学, 法学研究科, 准教授 (30612387)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: ザクセン＝マクデブルク法 / マクデブルク法 / 中世都市法 / ハレ / 参審人 / 参審人文書 / 都市文書 / 中世中・東欧

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the Middle Ages, the so-called "Saxon-Magdeburg Law", an originally German municipal law, spread over the Central and East Europe. The medieval city Halle (Saxon-Anhalt) was known as one of the prominent cities which adopted the Saxon-Magdeburg Law. The municipal court of Halle has kept a court register for a period of some hundred years. The records of this register have been used by many scholars as an important historical material. However, some volumes of this register have not yet been edited. In this project, such volumes have been edited and analyzed thoroughly. In addition, a similar municipal register from a neighboring town has also been researched in a similar way. Based on this research, I have managed to present some concrete examples of legal practice in the medieval towns based on Saxon-Magdeburg Law. The final results of this research project have been published in the form of a book.

Free Research Field

西洋法制史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究によって、既存の校訂に見られた問題点が適示され、また部分的にはその修正がなされた。また内容的な分析を行うことで、都市における裁判制度の変容やローマ・学識法の浸透の経過、また大学における（法学）教育の影響などについて具体的な例が提示された。近隣の一小都市に関する一次史料の校訂と検討により「ザクセン=マクデブルク法」圏における法照会と法教示の実際の運用について具体的な像を描くことができた。
本研究の成果は、法制史（とりわけ都市法史）のみならず、隣接諸分野（歴史学、言語学）などの研究にも利用可能な史料基盤の拡充に資するものである。