This volume, the third in the series, contains the proceedings from the Carlsberg Academy Conference on Medieval Legal History 2006. The volume covers a wide range of topics from individual and local case studies to broader reflections on the status and function of law in medieval European societies before the scholastic legal 'revolution' of the latter twelfth century.Seeking to broaden our view of constituted law in this period, the articles examine these earlier developments in their own right and provide new insights into the variety and complexity of early and high medieval approaches to law and jurisprudence. Students and scholars of European legal culture and of medieval history in general should find this collection of essays a useful contribution to the continuing discussion about the development of European law, legal principles and notions of justice.The series consists of the following titles: Vol. 1 - "How Nordic are the Nordic Medieval Laws?" edited by Ditlev Tamm and Helle Vogt, Copenhagen 2005; Vol. 2 - "Law and Learning in the Middle Ages", edited by Mia Munster-Swendsen and Helle Vogt, Copenhagen 2006; Vol. 3 - "Law before Gratian. Law in Western Europe c.
700-1100", edited by Per Andersen, Mia Munster-Swendsen and Helle Vogt, Copenhagen 2007; and, Vol. 4 - "Law and Power in the Middle Ages", edited by Per Andersen, Mia Munster-Swendsen and Helle Vogt, expected spring 2008.