Justice in Barbarian Societies Justice is the basis upon which the laws of a society are built. To examine a particular society in depth, it is imperative to appreciate their understanding of justice. There are certain limitations to understanding past societies. The best and most accurate way to surpass these limitations is by examining a society’s law. The law shows who and what were most important to these ancient people. Barbarian societies created a customary law, which ensured safety and governed the actions of the clan members. Barbarian societies were prevalent in Late Antiquity. The people were preliterate, which means through the 5th, 6th, and 7th centuries the law was only handed down orally. After the barbarians became Christianized, …show more content…
One of these crimes was home invasion death. This type of punishment yielded no mercy from the king . The barbarian societies thought of their homes as safe places so death by home invasion was unforgivable. Crimes concerning the king were one of the top offenses. The first section of rules from the Salic law was written about kings and the consequences that followed if a person was to wrong him. “If any one be summoned before the "Thing" by the king 's law, and do not come he shall be sentenced to 600 denars, which make 15 shillings” . Crimes concerning the church and church officials also required a larger bot as evidenced in the laws of the King of Kent, “The property of God and of the church, twelvefold; a bishop 's property, elevenfold; a priest 's property, ninefold; a deacon 's property, sixfold; a clerk 's property, threefold; churchfrith, twofold” . Although all clans did not agree on the monetary compensation amounts, they all enforced this new way of handling dilemmas. By being in a local setting, the people knew each other and their every day behaviors more immediately. Barbarian societies found that by having a personal customary law the people felt a moral pressure to act
What makes one culture “civilized” and another “savage?” Is there a standard for a culture to be truly civilized? Marlow once said, “In some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him--all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.” There are many cultures and between those cultures there are certain distinctions that make them “civilized” or “savage.” It’s is only according to one’s perspective that one can decide whether a society can be deemed “civilized” or “savage.
Before discussing justice in the epic, it is important to establish the meaning of the term. For our present purpose, justice will specifically apply to the social system of moral checks and balances. Acts that are valued in society are rewarded materially or emotionally. Acts that are devalued lead to punishment. Also, recipients of unmerited punishment receive compensation for their injuries.
Hunt discusses the way in which Ancient Greece and Rome forced many people into slavery and created many treatises in order to organize society by decree of ideology. Society had to be structured in order to properly operate, as Diamond conveys the idea that ideologies must be present for the society to have structural integrity. Once again, in chapter 14, Diamond discusses the importance of ideology as groups structure in bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. As groups progress and evolve their ideologies, society advances and allows prosperity and welfare among the people. On the contrary, Hunt discusses the importance of custom and tradition within medieval societies. Many of these societies lacked the central authority that allowed for organization, so many systems were based off the mutual obligations and services of the people. This allowed for various ideologies to facilitate the advancement of society as their changes altered the changes of society. Thus, the medieval societies required much attentiveness to following ideology in order to operate on a sound
Justice is generally thought to be part of one system; equally affecting all involved. We define justice as being fair or reasonable. The complications fall into the mix when an act of heroism occurs or morals are written or when fear becomes to great a force. These complications lead to the division of justice onto levels. In Aeschylus’ Oresteia and Plato’s Republic and Apology, both Plato and Aeschylus examine the views of justice and the morality of the justice system on two levels: in the city-state and the individual. However, Plato examines the justice system from the perfect society and Aeschylus starts at the curse on the House of Atreus and the blood spilled within the family of Agamemnon.
Hammurabi’s Code provides evidence for early documents that signify law and order. For instance, Hammurabi’s says in his code if a man wrongs another with his false accusations, he shall be subjected to death (1, 3). His laws illustrate a judicial system in which someone has to pay someone that they wronged in either the same way that they wronged him or through money depending on the person’s social status. It is also said in his code of law that there were penalties for those who disobeyed his laws. For example, Hammurabi says, “If that man do not pay attention to my words…may the great god, the father of the gods, ...
The Codes of Law were broken into certain categories. These categories are not definitely known, but the majority of historians believe them to be: family, labor, personal property, real estate, trade and business. Many think...
It is easy to assume that democratic legal standards (standards of law favored by most citizens) are involved in a constant evolutionary process. Subsequently, one is lead to the interpretation that ancient cultures would most likely subscribe to hedonistic principles; however, examination of 'The Orestia'; proves otherwise. Just like the final decree of Athena, most modern juries would see Clytaemnestra as a catalyst for Orestes homicide. This illustrates that while specific legislations evolve to mirror social change, the foundational essence of democratic trial-law remains unmolested.
From the creation of the very first civilizations, people have been using laws for potential disputes and or other issues that they come across. With the evolution of time and the expansion of the legal system, many laws were established that did not promote justice and equality. In essence, they did not take into consideration the ethical and racial implications that these laws generated. In our days, laws of this nature are still in effect and are characterized as unjust. They can be found anywhere and can take various forms.
The workings of justice and what falls under it have been debated for a very long time, ever since men started to interact with one another. Some say justice is based on what is fair, lawful, or moral, but that only depends on what someone sees as fair, lawful, or moral. During the time of Aeschylus, justice was all three of them as well as none of them. Justice in itself was contradictory, and was subject to follow the whims of both man and god. This is seen especially in Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Furies, where from story to story someone’s views on justice were different than that of the person before them. However, they all did have one key component that they followed. This component was an edited version of Hammurabi’s code of an eye for an eye, and focused on vengeance and retribution as the primary reasons pushing for justice. In Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Furies, justice is an arbitrary term that is used to give reasoning to someone’s actions of vengeance and punishment of others.
Early societies were based on a simple code of law: "an eye for an eye
Reading through Hammurabi’s Code, one will realize that laws should always be about sustaining and upholding justice rather than executing and propagating acts of revenge. From a personal stance, the Code, inscribed by one of the most eminent ancient Mesopotamian kings, evokes a compelling sense of the concept of justice rather than equal retaliation. On one hand, there exists the element of natural strictness in the Hammurabi’s Law Code. But on the other, the laws were disciplinary measures designed fundamentally to align the common man with the precepts of justices. For instance, the first three directives in Hammurabi’s Code as outlined by Horne, Johns, and King are simply provisions for protecting
There are three notable texts that depict societal law and order from three different points of view. These three texts include, Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, The Declaration of Independence, and A Vindication of the Rights of Women. While reading each of these, I noticed many similarities and differences among how these societies look alike and how the differ compared to one another. I think it is very important that we take a close look at the structure, purpose, and overall message of each of the texts to understand the deeper meaning behind what the author is trying to portray.
The boy was from another tribe, a payment for a misdeed, and his life was theirs to do with as they pleased. Justice is something that all of us have a notion of. However we differ in our implementation of it, we all know when it’s been violated. Many of the seeds of our modern idea of justice have existed for millennia. Those seeds comprise two basic forms based on Socratic, Platonic and Aristotelian thought – Should justice be rooted in a higher ideal or is justice primarily something established by us in the here and now?
Within two classical works of philosophical literature, notions of justice are presented plainly. Plato’s The Republic and Sophocles’ Antigone both address elements of death, tyranny and immorality, morality, and societal roles. These topics are important elements when addressing justice, whether in the societal representation or personal representation.
the laws of man and kept in check by society's own norms. The human struggle to