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Why was the University of Bologna important in the revival of Roman law?

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Mosaic portrait of Emperor Justinian I with a jeweled crown and halo, from the 6th-century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. — Civil law Justinian I, detail of a 6th-century mosaic at the Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

The University of Bologna was instrumental in the revival of Roman law because it became the primary center for the study and systematic reintroduction of the Corpus juris civilis to the Western world.12

Following the rediscovery of Justinian’s legal compilations, such as the Digest and Institutes, scholars at Bologna—most notably Irnerius—began analyzing these ancient texts. Irnerius and his successors, known as "glossators," wrote marginal notes (glosses) to explain and interpret the Latin manuscripts, transforming them into a functional body of "learned law".32

This academic focus shifted legal practice away from the fragmented, uncodified customs of the early Middle Ages toward a structured, written legal system. By attracting students from across Europe who were already serving in church or state offices, the university disseminated these Roman legal principles, which eventually formed the foundation of the Western legal tradition and the civil law systems used globally today.214