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Codex Gregorianus and
Codex Hermogenianus
SIMON CORCORAN
The Codex Gregorianus and Codex Her-
mogenianus were collections of imperial
rescripts compiled in the reign of DIOCLETIAN.
As the earliest Roman legal works created in the
new “codex” format (as opposed to rolls), they
also served as models for later imperial codes
(CT 1.1.5; CJ Const. Haec), from which comes
the practice of referring to definitive legal com-
pilations as “codes.” Aside from some recently
identified fragments (Corcoran and Salway
2010), neither code exists today. Their nature
and content have to be deduced from edited
excerpts reused in later legal works, principally
the CODEX JUSTINIANUS. Each code consisted
solely of imperial constitutions arranged chro-
nologically under thematic titles, whose struc-
ture reflected the Praetor’s Edict and earlier
juristic writings. The subject matter was
mainly private law, with limited coverage of
public or criminal law.
The Gregorianus consisted of at least
thirteen books and contained principally
private rescripts, but also some letters and
edicts, from Hadrian down to the reign of
Diocletian. The Hermogenianus consisted of a
single book, comprising almost solely private
rescripts of the years 293 and 294. Its compiler
was the jurist Aurelius Hermogenianus, who
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 1595–1596.
© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah13041
used the rescripts he himself wrote as magister
libellorum (master of petitions) to Diocletian.
This makes the code appear at least semi-
official. Although Gregorius, about whom
nothing is known, has sometimes also been
identified as magister libellorum, he may rather
have been working outside the court. The
scatter of material of the 290s attributable to
one or the other code makes their publication
sequence uncertain. The Gregorianus was
perhaps published ca. 292 CE, followed by the
Hermogenianus ca. 295, with several later
“editions.” However, a single edition each in
the mid- to late 290s is also possible. The codes
mark the end of authoritative juristic writing
and the establishment of an imperial monopoly
of legal interpretation.
REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
Corcoran, S. (2000) The empire of the tetrarchs:
imperial pronouncements and government AD
284–324: 25–42 and 85–94, rev. ed.
Oxford.
Corcoran, S. and Salway, B. (2010) “A lost law-code
rediscovered? The Fragmenta Londiniensia
Anteiustiniana.” In Zeitschrift der Savigny
Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: romanistische
Abteilung 127: 677–8.
Honoré, T. (1994) Emperors and lawyers: 139–85,
2nd ed. Oxford.
Krüger, P. et al. (1890) Collectio librorum iuris
anteiustiniani III: 236–45. Berlin (reconstruction
of the two codes).