Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2012
Abstract
This short reaction piece to an article by Emily Kadens asks why a long-refuted story of an alleged uniform medieval lex mercatoria is still being maintained. The answer is that the story serves not as an actual history but instead as a foundation myth. Attempts to falsify the myth with historical data are therefore futile: the myth derives its value not from its truth value but from its symbolic power.
Citation
Ralf Michaels, Legal Medievalism in Lex Mercatoria Scholarship, 90 Texas Law Review See Also 259-268 (2012) (response to Emily Kadens, The Myth of the Customary Law Merchant, 90 Texas Law Review 1153-1206 (2012))
Library of Congress Subject Headings
Law merchant, Middle Ages, Lex mercatoria, Customary law
Included in
Commercial Law Commons, Common Law Commons, Legal History Commons
Available at: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2570