Theodosian Code

Audience

The Theodosian Code applied equally to everyone in the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. Its principal audience was the magistrates and lawyers who had to litigate on its basis. It was also of interest to the large landowners and wealthy members of merchant guilds, who made up the bulk of litigants. The greater mass of ordinary Romans would probably have had contact with the legal system only in criminal cases, and though the code certainly addresses them, defendants in such cases (such as thievery or murder committed during a drunken brawl) would probably not have had legal representation or have been familiarized with the law by the court. The code was especially intended for circulation in the West, where the legal system was in a shambles compared with that of the East.

Although it was technically not part of the code, a rescript of Valentinian is attached to the beginning of most complete manuscripts; it is essentially an edict about the code's publication. Booksellers could make copies of the code only if they had obtained a government license to do so; if they were found to have made imperfect or falsified copies (for the purpose of interfering with justice), the penalty was a large fine or death. The code certainly was copied and distributed widely. It exists in hundreds of manuscripts, some of which survive from as early as 500 CE, and these are especially good copies in terms of both the quality of the workmanship and the accuracy of the text. No complete manuscript survives, however; it is clear that books containing the whole text were rare, and most copies consisted of only single pages intended as reference guides for rescripts on a particular subject. It is also evident that many of the individual rescripts have dropped out the text as it survives now.