Based on an ambitious study of all accessible records from the early decades of the Roman Empire to 1300, this work proposes that the Visigothic, Burgundian, Salic and other Germanic legal systems were based almost entirely on Roman law. This was a controversial argument because it challenged the prevailing consensus about Germanic law. Though scholars have subsequently disproved much of its argument, this book remains valuable for its stimulating insights and intricate discussion of source materials. lxi, 224 pp.