Lombard law

Italian history

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June 30, 2026

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Lombard law refers to the legal system of the Lombards, a Germanic people who established a kingdom in Italy from 568 to 774 CE. Initially, Lombard law, like other Germanic laws, was unwritten and based on custom. A significant written collection was the Edict of Rothari in 643, which codified existing customs and applied only to Lombards.12

Later kings, such as Liutprand, revised and expanded this code, adding new articles and abolishing certain fines. Lombard law distinguished between free and unfree persons and recognized a social hierarchy. The legal system evolved over time, influenced by Roman law, especially after the Lombard conquest of Italy. The Lombards gave their name to the northern Italian region of Lombardy.321

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The evidence of Lombard law reinforces this pattern. Rothari’s Edict and Liutprand’s laws look much like the legislation of the Franks and of other Germanic peoples; they deal, for example, with the carefully calculated compensations for various crimes of violence that aimed to replace violent feuds or at…
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The evidence of Lombard law reinforces this pattern. Rothari’s Edict and Liutprand’s laws look much like the legislation of the Franks and of other Germanic peoples; they deal, for example, with the carefully calculated compensations for various crimes of violence that aimed to replace violent feuds or at…
Read More