From Bible to Law in the Early Middle Ages. Adaptations of the Old Testament in the Collectio Hibernensis and King Alfred’s Law-Book

Two law books of the early Middle Ages stand out for their heavy reliance on the Old Testament, which was rarely quoted in legal texts of the period. The Irish Hibernensis and King Alfred’s Domboc drew not only on the Old Testament itself, but also on adapted biblical verses. An investigation into the literary roots of these legal compilations uncovers parabiblical material which formed part of a literate discourse that spanned Ireland, Wessex and Reims, raising questions about the extent to which contemporary scholars regarded the Bible as a fixed and immutable text.