The Second Alan Watson Seminar was given by Professor Emanuele Conte of the Università degli Studi Roma Tre. Professor Conte’s title was “Legal Arguments. Medieval Origins of a European Invention”. In a rich and nuanced paper, Professor Conte emphasised the importance of  procedure to the first medieval Roman jurists, focusing initially on the work of Bulgarus,  his discussion of iudicium, and the opinion of law as what can be used before a public tribunal. Professor Conte discussed the Vulgate reading of D. 50.17.1 that allowed for the creative development of legal rules and argument, as well as reflecting on the work of Pierre de Blois and Pillius in developing his theme.

The first Alan Watson Seminar was given on 2 May 2014 by Dr Xavier Prévost, now Professor of Legal History at Bordeaux. Professor Prévost’s paper will appear as a chapter in J.W. Cairns and P. du Plessis (eds), Reassessing Legal Humanism and Its Claims: Petere Fontes?, Edinburgh 2015 (forthcoming).