Ethnic Customs as the Foundations of Leges Barbarorum and Coutumes: A Socio-Political Essay

This article offers a comprehensive study of the genesis of customary law within the historical framework of the West Frankish State from 843 to 987. The author conducts an in-depth analysis of the socio-political and legal realities that emerged following the partition of Charlemagne's Empire and during the decline of the Carolingian dynasty. Adopting a systematic approach, the study identifies objective preconditions for the transition from a system of personal laws (personality of laws) to territorial legal customs. The article examines the intricate interaction between various legal strata: the Leges Barbarorum (barbarian laws), royal capitularies, and elements of vulgarized Roman law. The author demonstrates that their synthesis—amidst weakening central authority and incipient feudal fragmentation—laid the foundation for the legal consciousness of West Frankish society.