PREFACE TO THE READER.

Francis Duarenus advanced the project, as he wrote summaries for the Pandects. To this edition were added the Novel Constitutions New laws issued by Justinian, which were collated and restored to their original integrity according to the excellent Greek exemplar of Henricus Scrimgerus (who, in the year 1558, had prepared an edition at the house of Henricus Stephanus from the manuscript of Cardinal Bessarion). The books of the Institutes were corrected through an inspection of manuscripts and the development of the Digests, and were adorned with the perpetual notes of Russardus, so that the entire work was first published at Lyon in the year 1561 in folio, later repeated in octavo at Antwerp by Christophorus Plantinus in the year 1567. Russardus had expended singular effort in amending the Codex, which he compared most diligently with fifteen exemplars, among which he lists these beyond the others: one which Johannes Lucius, Procurator to Queen Catherine, had supplied him; two which he had received from Guilielmus Abatus, a Parisian Senator; three from Joannes Grænetius, a Royal Councilor among the Carnutenses; and those he confesses to have used by the benefit of Adrianus Pulvæus, a Parisian Advocate.

After Russardus, Antonius Contius applied his hand to the Body of Law, whose most polished edition stands printed in the year 1560 at Paris by Guilielmus Merlinus. In the year 1561, he restored Justinian's Institutes from the most ancient exemplars, in which Haloander had changed not a few things against the faith of antiquity. In the following year, 1562, he issued the books of the Digests corrected from the Pandectis Florentinis Florentine Pandects, with great care also applied to purging the errors of the Justinianic Codex. In that work, he filled two gaps under the title regarding the goods of the condemned and under the title regarding interdicts and the banished by means of the Basilics a Greek law collection, and he added many Greek Constitutions or their epitomes—more than 150—from the treasures of Cujacius and the collection of Antonius Augustinus, which he had issued at Ilerda. Finally, he examined the Novels, with Haloander as interpreter, according to the Scrimgerian edition, and he added some Novels to the tenth collation, which Jacobus de Belloviso is said to have collected long ago.

We also have, through the works of Contius, indexes of all the laws of the Digests and the Codex, as well as an index of the matters and words treated in the Pandects, composed by Renatus Aubertus, an Advocate in the supreme Court of Paris. This edition was also repeated in the year 1571 by Guilielmus Rouillius, a printer of Lyon. We approach the very elegant edition of Ludovicus Charonda, which the workshop of Christophorus Plantinus—a printer who excelled others in the knowledge and diligence of comparing matters—published in the year 1575. This edition follows that of Russardus in most things, to which were added brief notes by Charonda and other Jurisconsults, and among these, the erudite observations and emendations of Antonius Contius and Jacobus Cujacius. Many constitutions that were previously missing were restored to the Codex, with new arguments or summaries added. He had also inspected various Codices which Stephanus Aurelianus of Venice, a man endowed with admirable knowledge of languages and ancient law, had communicated. Added to the Codex are the Chronic Canons, as well as the Consular Fasti official list of Roman consuls corrected by Antonius Contius, according to whose mind the novel constitutions are also printed, with the Latin translation of the old interpreter retained and the interpretation of Gregorius Haloander added separately, which Ludovicus Russardus had edited, recognized by the emendation of Franciscus Duarenus. Furthermore, he restored three constitutions from P. Pithoeus, and since Contius had added the most recent constitutions of Justin, Tiberius, and Leo, he added others of other Emperors, specifically those which Enimundus Bonefidius had brought to light. The edition of Julius Pacius, which appeared at Lyon in the year 1580, must not be omitted.