Outline of Roman History from Romulus to Justinian (1890)

Many students are familiar with the landmarks of Roman jurisprudence but know little about their background. This is unfortunate because these texts lose a great deal of their meaning when they are extracted from their original social and cultural context. Nasmith’s Outline addresses this problem directly by making “that which is understood as Roman history go hand in hand with chronological changes in Roman law, and to furnish the reader and myself with an outline of pegs so arranged as to enable us easily and accurately to store our future acquisitions” (vi). Nasmith’s tone is utilitarian, but his work is quite sophisticated. What is more, it is a significant work of cultural history based on a study of legal institutions. xix, 618 pp.