On Collatio Mosaicarum et Romanarum legum: Its Author, Sources and Purpose

Abstract

The Collatio is the first work of comparative law in Western history, and its author is unknown, but it is certain that it was by no means a pagan, but a Jew. Written between 390 and 438, it brings together the provisions of the Mosaic Law and its corresponding Roman law, which focuses on the Ten Commandments of Moses, and the provisions of the Roman law, which are mainly derived from excerpts of the Five Jurists, the Codes and the Imperial Decrees. Of the sixteen titles in the Collatio, the first fifteen essentially unfold and organize the material around the Ten Commandments of Moses. Based on the proof of the homogeneity of Roman and Mosaic Law, in the last title, the author emphasizes the advanced nature of Mosaic Law in the hope that by doing so, the rulers of the Roman Empire, especially its legislators, will respect Jewish tradition and the Mosaic Law. The book is nominally a work of comparative law, but is essentially an apologetic work.