Derecho y jurisprudencia en las fuentes de Isidoro de Sevilla

This paper aims to present a review of the “state of the art” concerning the problem of the legal sources (above all the ancient Roman law sources) used by Isidore of Seville in composing his works, mainly the Etymologies. First, the teaching of Law in the Early Middle Ages in the western former Roman Empire is briefly discussed, as well as how Isidore may have gained his his legal competence in the framework of the Medieval artes liberales. The content of the two principal works of Isidore which demonstrate knowledge of the Law (Etymologiae liber V de legibus and Differentiae liber I) is then described, and some comments are made about his methods of composition. To finish there is a brief description of the various works in Antiquity which could have inspired the writing of the juridical lemmata considered in the two books.