The call for applications for the 10thedition of the " Introduction aux sources du droit romain " workshop is now open.
The workshop will take place from June 15 to 19 2026 at the École française de Rome.
The deadline for applications is January15 , 2026.
Law is an essential component of the Roman world. The study of legal texts highlights the argumentative logic specific to the law and identifies the values that govern the decisions of jurists and legislators, but also enables us to get closer to a certain number of historical realities. These varied sources (literary, epigraphic, papyrological) reveal the evolution of legal thought, the principles of the law and how it was applied. They also reveal economic data, lifestyles and social practices. Legal texts thus constitute a rich and useful source of documentation for historians, which is in part waiting to be exploited. But a question of method arises: to what extent can legal texts be considered a reliable mirror of economic, social and political realities? Above all, how can we find our way through the variety of sources, genres and editions of legal texts?
Founded by Jean-Louis Ferrary, Dario Mantovani and Hélène Ménard in 2017, the workshop aims to familiarize participants with the main texts of Roman law and the methodological issues they raise, based on their direct and ongoing reading. The first field of exploration will be legal literature, starting with the Digest: we'll be looking at what it means to be a jurist in Rome, how law is made, the nature of the different literary genres, and the reference editions. Imperial constitutions, based on the Mosaicarum et Romanarum legum Collatio and the Codes, will form the second field of study.
Sessions will be held in the conference and seminar rooms of Piazza Navona and in the Volterra Library. Constituted from the deposit entrusted to the École Française de Rome by the great Romanist Edoardo Volterra, its extraordinary ancient and modern holdings will enable us to reflect on the transmission of ancient texts and their passage through European culture. The study of Roman law, in the form of the books on the shelves of the Volterra library, will make visible and immediately accessible a journey through the history of historiography.
The course will be taught by Dario Mantovani and Hélène Ménard. A guest lecturer, chosen each year from among researchers involved in an international research project, a publishing project or with specific, complementary expertise, will be invited to illustrate his or her research and introduce students to the presentation of innovative projects. Federico Battaglia, professore associato at the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, a specialist in the relationship between Roman law and rhetoric and coordinator of the EuRheSHis project - European Legal Rhetorical Studies and History: Discourse and speech in the social construction of justice, will take part in the 2026 edition.
The final session on Friday June 19 will be devoted to the practical application by participants, organized in groups, of the methods acquired on the analysis of legal sources.
The workshop is aimed at young researchers (Masters, Ph 2nd year, PhD students, post-doctoral fellows), specialists in Roman and medieval history, philology or law, and more generally any young researcher wishing to familiarize themselves with the sources of Roman law for their research topic or to develop their knowledge of a documentation of prime importance.
It will take place over five days (Monday to Friday). Sessions will run from 9.30am to 12.30pm, then from 2.30pm to 5.30pm. The languages used by participants and lecturers will be Italian and French. A B2/C1 level is required in both languages.
The École française de Rome provides scholarships to cover accommodation costs; participants are responsible for their own travel expenses. The workshop is also supported by the "Law, Culture and Society in Ancient Rome" Chair, Collège de France, and the Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3.
Coordinators:
- Dario Mantovani, Collège de France
- Hélène Ménard, University of Montpellier Paul-Valéry, EA 4424 - CRISES
Applications must be submitted by January 15, 2026 12 h (Rome time) via the form indicated in the link below. Applicants must send :
- a curriculum vitae, explicitly indicating language skills in French and Italian, as well as Latin
- a carefully argued letter of motivation
Contact
Secretariat for Ancient Studies at the École française de Rome: secrant(at)efrome.it
