"We doubted of Ulpian, and are now more perplexed with Bartolus and Baldus." -Montaigne, Essays, III. 13 (1580) Bartolus of Sassoferrato (1913) by Cecil N. Sidney Woolf was originally written as a dissertation when he was a fellow at Cambridge University and expanded into a book that same year. This biography explores the theories and ideas of the distinguished Italian law professor and noted jurist of Medieval Roman Law. Woolf quotes much of Bartolus' writing which is considered to be the foundation of civil law. Bartolus earned high status among lawyers, sparking the adage: no one is a good jurist unless he is a Bartolist. Readers with an interest in great jurists must add this book to their personal collection.

The medieval jurist Bartolus of Sassoferrato (d. 1357) has long been accorded seminal importance by historians of political thought. This volume provides the first complete English translation of his three most celebrated tracts: On Guelfs and Ghibellines, On the Government of a City, and On the Tyrant, which constituted the first consolidated response by a medieval lawyer to the problem of tyranny in the city republics of central and northern Italy. Crucial sections of Bartolus' academic commentaries on Roman law are also translated in an appendix. George Garnett and Magnus Ryan make the writings of Bartolus accessible to an expanded audience, situating his political theory in its original context and explaining his arguments. Footnotes to the translation explain all Bartolus' references to normative sources, legal and otherwise, and a detailed glossary of legal terms and institutions is provided. This translation allows readers to understand how Bartolus mobilised the Roman and canon laws to address immediate political developments, and why he was the most famous and enduringly influential medieval lawyer.

Bartolo da Sassoferrato (1314-57) is considered the preeminent jurist of the late Middle Ages, & his DE INSIGNIIS ET ARMIS is hailed as the foundational treatment of the heraldic arms & insignia central to the proper ranking of late medieval & early modern aristocracies. It quickly became an authoritative & influential source for all later works on heraldic questions & is still cited in contemporary manuals. The tract also includes a groundbreaking discussion of the use, ownership, & transfer of trademarks. Attacked by humanists as an example of barbaric Latinity, the tract was subjected to a notorious assault by Lorenzo Valla. The authors provide not only a reliable critical edition & first English translation of the tract, as well as a translation of Valla's polemic, but also a challenging & engaging reassessment of its composition, contents, historical context, & reception. This meticulously crafted volume is essential reading for students of the Italian city-states, art history, legal history, & heraldry. $30.00 HARDCOVER, 200 PAGES, ILLUSTRATED. To order this book, write to: Robbins Collection Publications, Boalt Hall, School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-2499. Phone: (510) 642-3064, FAX: (510) 643-8770.