Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Law
(10,484 words)

1. Definition

In the Middle Ages, law (Latin ius, French droit, German Recht - the German term, like English “right,” is a substantivization of the adjective reht meaning “right,” “straight,” “correct,” attested since the 8th century) - originally indicating a statute like Latin lex and French loi - was a divine disposition [53. 249 f.]. With few exc…

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Otto, Martin, “Law”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 01 April 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_031121>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20190801



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