Mantua, were members of the Lombard League of 1167.]

THE ITALIAN CITIES REVIVE THE STUDY OF ROMAN LAW. As was stated above,
Roman legal usages and some knowledge of Roman law had never quite died
out in these Italian cities. But, while regarded with reverence, the law
was not much understood, little study was given to it, and important parts
of it were neglected and forgotten. The struggle with the ruling bishops
in the second half of the eleventh century, and the discussions which
arose during the investiture conflict, caused new attention to be given to
legal questions, and both the study of Roman (civil) and Church (canon)
law were revived. The Italian cities stood with the Papacy in the
struggles with the German kings, and, in 1167, those in the Valley of the
Po formed what was known as the _Lombard League_ for defense. Under the
pressure of German oppression they now began a careful study of the known
Roman law in an effort to discover some charter, edict, or grant of power
upon which they could base their claim for independent legal rights. The
result was that the study of Roman law was given an emphasis unknown in
Italy since the days of the old Empire. What had been preserved during the
period of disorder at last came to be understood, additional books of the
law were discovered, and men suddenly awoke to a realization that what had
been before considered as of little value actually contained much that was
worth studying, as well as many principles of importance that were
applicable to the conditions and problems of the time.

[Illustration: FIG. 55. FRAGMENT FROM THE RECOVERED "DIGEST" OF JUSTINIAN
Capitals and small letters are here used, but note the difficulty of
reading without spacing or punctuation.]

The great student and teacher of law of the period was Irnerius of Bologna
(c. 1070-1137), who began to lecture on the _Code_ and the _Institutes_ of