Între două „oglinzi”: Dreptul de Magdeburg
Between two „mirrors”: The Magdeburg Law

Summary/Abstract: During the Middle Ages, the large scale movements of population represented one of the most complex social processes, with extended economic and cultural implications. In this context, the German colonists who travelled from west to east contributed in a significant manner to the transfer of the German medieval law. Due to the high prestige of the customary rules and the written norms, the German law was often considered to be a perfect model. Furthermore, this ancient type of law started to be extensively applied in Eastern Europe, especially in the new colonies. Although the early German law was based on the ancient customs, it also included a small number of written norms. As society evolved, the custom alone proved to be insufficient and the number of written norms increased, in order to better respond to the needs of the community. The necessity of a better understanding and interpretation of law facilitated the creation of the new legal compilations, in the form of so called mirrors. In the German speaking communities, two of the most used and prestigious compilations were the Sachsenpiegel and the Schwabenspiegel. The text of those law books consists mainly of private law norms and a set of procedural rules. Besides the above mentioned norms, the books include criminal norms which offer a complex perspective on the punishment system applied by the German communities. On the other hand, the medieval German law included the town law and maybe the most significant example in this regard is offered by the town of Margdeburg. From this point of view, the aim of this article is to provide the reader with a complex analysis of the relationship between the two written mirrors and the Magdeburg law.

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