How was the Code of Justinian rediscovered in medieval Italy?

Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, the Code of Justinian—also known as the Corpus Juris Civilis—was largely forgotten in Western territories.12

The code was rediscovered in Italy during the late 11th century, around the time the University of Bologna was founded in 1088. Scholars at the university, most notably Irnerius, began focusing on the Digesta and Institutiones components of the work. These legal experts, known as glossators, provided explanations in the margins of the manuscripts to help interpret the Latin texts.12

This reintroduction of Roman law sparked a widespread interest in "learned law" across Europe, leading to the establishment of the legal profession and the creation of universities that taught civil and canon law. Students at the University of Bologna subsequently circulated these rediscovered texts throughout their respective countries, laying the foundations for the Western legal tradition.21