The earliest history of Roman law is lost forever. Rome existed already as an Etruscan town in the eight century B.C. The first known source of Roman law are the Laws of the Twelve Tables from the mid-fifth century B.C., written in early Latin. After the period of the kings two consuls and the Senate governed Rome. Only few people knew something of the law before the Twelve Tables were erected to provide some legal security. Members of well-to-do families, most of them patricians and senators, gave juridical advice when asked for. The Senate itself proposed laws or voted on proposals of the consuls. More is known about the period of the Late Republic (200-30 B.C.). The praetor, one of the Roman magistrates, published each year his edict in which he announced how he would apply the laws. The censors had a legal task, too, the upholding of mores. Legal experts started to write books. Rome had grown already from a tiny city state into a vast reign.
During the Principate great jurists were active, who were sometimes employed by the emperor. Famous among them were Ulpian, Papinian, Paul and Julian. The mysterious Gaius wrote an introductory law book, the Institutes, almost the only completely surviving manual. The letters of governor Pliny show some of the legal questions he posed to the emperor. The praetorial edict became fixed. Emperor Theodosian tried to impose some legal order with his code of law. During the confusing times of the Late Imperium Justinian (early sixth century) tried to unify law by codification on all levels. Imperial decrees were collected and edited into a new Code, followed by later decrees, the Novellae. Justinian also charged a committee with making an anthology of the classical Roman lawyers. To crown his achievement, Justinian decreed a manual of law compulsory for all legal education. His Institutes are written using Gaius' Institutes. The Justinian codification was the starting point for the new study, renewal and revival of Roman law during the Middle Ages.
