In this episode, host and guest delve into the challenges and fascination of late Roman law and codification. Professor Peter Riedlberger—a leading historian of Late Antiquity at the University of Bamberg and principal investigator of two ERC projects (Acts of the Ecumenical Councils and AntCoCo: Understanding Late Antique Top-Down Communication)—explains how imperial constitutions and codices such as the Codex Theodosianus were produced, transmitted, and interpreted.
Riedlberger discusses his approach that combines philology, legal history, and digital humanities, revealing how Late Antique laws were both normative texts and rhetorical performances meant to convey imperial authority. The conversation touches on the chaotic reality of legislation, the persistence of repetition and ambiguity even after codification, and the ways his ERC team reconstructs full constitutions from inscriptions, papyri, and manuscripts rather than relying solely on later excerpts.
The episode frames codification not as an endpoint but as an evolving process of communication—showing how digital tools like Amanuensis and Cursor are transforming the study of ancient law.
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