Lex Ripuaria
7th-century collection of Frankish law
The Lex Ripuaria, also spelled Lex Ribuaria, is a 7th-century collection of Germanic law, the laws of the Ripuarian Franks. It is a major influence on the Lex Saxonum of AD 802. The Lex Ripuaria originated about 630 around Cologne and has been described as a later development of the Frankish laws known from Lex Salica.
The 35 surviving manuscripts, as well as those now lost which served as the basis of the old editions, do not go back beyond the time of Charlemagne. In all these manuscripts the text is identical, but it is a revised text - in other words, we have only a lex emendata. On analysis, the law of the Ripuarians, which contains 89 chapters, falls into three heterogeneous divisions. Chapters 1-31 consist of a scale of compositions; but, although the fines are calculated, not on the unit of 15 solidi, as in the Salic Law, but on that of 18 solidi, it is clear that this part is already influenced by the Salic Law. Chapters 32-64 are taken directly from the Salic Law; the provisions follow the same arrangement; the unit of the compositions is 15 solidi; but capitularies are interpolated relating to the affranchisement and sale of immovable property. Chapters 65-89 consist of provisions of various kinds, some taken from lost capitularies and from the Salic Law, and others of unknown origin.
The compilation apparently goes back to the reign of Dagobert I (629-639), to a time when the power of the mayors of the palace was still minimal, since we read of a mayor being threatened with the death penalty for taking bribes in the course of his judicial duties.
The public source identifies “Lex Ripuaria” as 7th-century collection of Frankish law. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Ripuaria, 7th-century and Frankish.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 29, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q2384304. VIAF identifies the subject as 182693245. The Library of Congress control number is n85161277. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Lex Ripuaria” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.