Christoph Heinrich Freiesleben (1677-1733)

CORPUS JURIS CIVILIS ACADEMICUM IN SUAS PARTES DISTRIBUTUM

Altenburg and Leipzig, 1721
Format 4°, 26x16 cm. 1278 numbered pages, in Latin. Title page printed in black and red. Published by Johann Ludwig Richter and the Lanckisch heirs in Altenburg and Leipzig in 1721 - first edition. Full vellum binding with rich blind-tooled decoration and 2 fully preserved clasps, spine with 5 raised bands and a label, blue-grey edges, thumb tabs. Ownership inscriptions on the front flyleaf. This imposing Latin volume represents a Baroque edition of the Corpus Juris Civilis - the monumental codification of Roman law compiled in the 6th century under Emperor Justinian I. The version designated Academicum was specifically arranged and annotated for the needs of university study and 18th-century legal practice. It contains the key parts of the Roman-law tradition, including the Digest, the Code, and the Institutes. The book is highly prized, as Roman law forms the very foundation of modern European continental law. For students and scholars of Enlightenment Europe, it was an absolutely essential textbook and legal authority. Today this edition holds enormous historical and collectible value as a direct witness to how ancient legal wisdom was preserved over the centuries and shaped European civilization, morality, and justice. An exceptionally well-preserved copy.