Profile Major Works Resources

Friedrich Carl von Savigny, 1779-1861.

Magisterial German jurist, founder of the "historical school" of jurisprudence. 

A native of Frankfurt (Hessen), descending from a family of French Protestants, Friedrich Carl von Savigny studied at Marburg and Göttingen.  He went on to become professor of civil law at the University of Berlin, from 1810 to 1842, and a judge on the Prussian court of appeals.  He subsequently served in the Prussian cabinet as the minister for the revision of laws from 1843 until 1848.

F.C. von Savigny is perhaps best known for his 1814 pamphlet disputing proposals to codify German civil law, which had arisen in the aftermath of the Napoleonic wars.  Savigny formulated an "organic" theory of legal and social co-evolution, arguing that an "idealist" or "rationalist" system of law, "imposed" from above, would inevitably fail to take root.  As a result, Savigny argued that a "scientific" jurisprudence must necessarily be approached with a historical sense, first and foremost, to understand the interface between legal institutions and the Volksgeist (the spirit of a nation) in operation at that particular time and place.  A systematic sense is useful, but only afterwards.   

At the University of Berlin, Savigny challenged the dominance of the philosopher Georg W.F. Hegel and his followers.  While Hegel had regarded history as an unfolding progress of ideas, Savigny emphasized the differences in historical periods. Savigny was highly influential on the German historical school of economics.

In jurisprudential circles, Savigny is also famous for his treatise on possessions (1803), his monumental critical history of Roman Law in the Middle Ages (1815-31) and his examination of modern Roman law (1840-49).

 

  

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Major Works of Friedrich Carl von Savigny

  • Das Rechts des Besitzes: eine civilistische Abhandlung, 1803 [bk] [1818 3rd ed; 1822 4th ed, 1837 6th ed.; 1865 7th ed] [English trans. Treatise on Possession: Or, the jus possessionis of the civil law, 1848 bk] [Italian 1839 trans, bk]
  • Verbesserungen und Zusätze zur ersten Ausgabe der Abhandlung vom Besitz, 1806 [bk]
  • Von Beruf unserer Zeit für Gesetzgebung und Rechtswissenschaft, 1814.[bk] [1828 2nd ed; 1840 3rd ed] [English 1831 trans. Of the vocation of our age for legislation and jurisprudence,  bk] [Italian 1857 trans, bk]
  • Geschichte des Römanischen Rechts im Mittelalters, 1815-31
  • System des heutigen Römischen Rechts, 1840-49
    • 1840: v.1, v.2, v.3, 1841: .v.4, v.5, 1847: v.6, 1848 v.7, 1849: v.8
    •  [English trans. System of Modern Roman Law, 1867 v.1]
    • [English trans. of 2nd book, Jural Relations, or the Roman law of persons, as subjects of jural relations, 1884  [bk]
  • [English trans. A Treatise on the Conflict of Laws, and the limits of their operation in respect of place and time, 1869 bk]
  • Vermischte Schriften, 1850 (cont) v.1, v.2,  v.3, v.4, v.5
  • Das Obligationenrecht als Theil des heutigen römischen Rechts, 1851 v.1, 1853: v.2,

 
HET

 
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Resources on Friedrich Karl von Savigny

  • "Savigny, F.C. von" in C. Coquelin and G.U. Guillaumin, editors, 1852, Dictionnaire de l'économie politique [1864 ed.]
  • "Savigny, F.C. von" in R.H. Inglis Palgrave, editor, 1894-1899, Dictionary of Political Economy [1918 ed.]
  • "Savigny, F.C. von" in 1911 Britannica
  • "Friedrich Carl von Savigny" by James E.G. de Montmorency, 1914, in J. Macdonnell and Manson, eds., Great Jurists of the World, p.561
  • "Friedrich Carl von Savigny, the legal method and the modernity of law" at Juridica International [online]
  • "Savigny, German lawgiver" by Luis Kutner, 1972 at Marquette Law Review [pdf]
  • "Savigny: the Volksgeist and Law" by Andrew Hamilton, 2011 (blog)
  • Savigny entry in Deutsche Biographie
  • "Savigny, F.C. von" by Dieter Norr, Neue Deutsche Biographie
  • Savigny entries at Oxford Reference
  • Savigny entry at Britannica
  • Wikipedia

 

 
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