Lotharian legend
Disproven theory concerning the application of Roman law / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lotharian legend[lower-greek 1] (German: Lotharische Legende) was a German 16th-century theory which purported to explain why Roman law as outlined in the Byzantine Corpus Iuris Civilis was the law of the Holy Roman Empire (as the ius commune). According to this theory – which was conclusively disproven by Hermann Conring in 1643 – the Holy Roman Emperor Lothair III had commanded in 1137 that Roman law was the law of his empire.[1]
Today, the German Lutheran reformer and theologian Philip Melanchthon is acknowledged as the creator of this legend.[3]