Chapter 1
Words that rule the courtroom
Chapter 2
Bizarre rules and legal loopholes
Chapter 3
Ancient codes and historic justice
Chapter 4
The mechanics of a modern trial
Ch 3 · Ancient codes and historic justice
schopenhauer Ancient Legal Codes
An ancient stone beneath the desert sun Says you are innocent until the proof is done.
schopenhauer The Twelve Tables were the earliest attempt by the Romans to create a written, public code of law.
Fun Fact
Hammurabi's code: The Code of Hammurabi, carved onto a massive black stone pillar in 1750 BCE, is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length.
schopenhauer The Magna Carta of 1215 established the revolutionary principle that everyone, including the king, is subject to the law.
Glossary
lex talionis (noun)
The principle of retributive justice in which a punishment corresponds in degree and kind to the offense. King Hammurabi of Babylon carved this law of retaliation onto a stone stele around 1750 BCE.
The principle of retributive justice in which a punishment corresponds in degree and kind to the offense. King Hammurabi of Babylon carved this law of retaliation onto a stone stele around 1750 BCE.
BETA
schopenhauer Sort ancient accusations into their bizarre tests to discover how trials by ordeal decided guilt.
schopenhauer The Twelve Tables of Rome established the republic's first written laws.
Quiz
What was the name of the medieval trial system where a suspect's survival of physical pain proved innocence?
Quiz
In what year was the Magna Carta signed, limiting the power of the English king?
Quiz
What is the oldest known written legal code, predating Hammurabi's code by about three centuries?
Quiz
Which French leader established the civil code in 1804 that still influences legal systems worldwide?