Interpretation and Meaning in the Renaissance The Case of Law [Paperback]

This book investigates theories of interpretation and meaning in Renaissance jurisprudence.This book examines Renaissance modes of interpretation as they arise in legal contexts, and relates them to modern debates about meaning and its determination. Renaissance legal thought is also compared to modern discussions of interpretation.This book examines Renaissance modes of interpretation as they arise in legal contexts, and relates them to modern debates about meaning and its determination. Renaissance legal thought is also compared to modern discussions of interpretation.This book examines Renaissance modes of interpretation as they arise in legal contexts, and relates them to modern debates about meaning and its determination. By placing legal hermeneutic theories in their institutional and pedagogical contexts, the author is able to give an account of Renaissance thought showing how it operates in its own terms, and in relation to the thought of the medieval period. Renaissance legal thought is also compared to modern discussions of interpretation, allowing a critical examination of its coherence and consistency.List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; Notes on the presentation of the text; Introduction; 1. Contexts; 2. Interpretation and the arts course; 3. Theories of interpretation and meaning; 4. Parallels and examples; Conclusion; Bibliography of primary sources; Index of citations from the Corpus Juris Civilis; Index of names; Index of terms. ...one must recognize the achievement of this book in restoring the field of Renaissance jurisprudence once more within the bounds of intellectual history, especially at a time that has largely forgotten how vast the sea of the oceanus iuris is; and at a number of points at issue he has thrown clearer light on both contemporary theories of language and those of the Renaissance. Sixteenth Century Journal Maclean has written a remarkably learned and penetrating study of legal interpretation. Times Literary Supplementl“+