Marsiglio of Padova: Father and Creator of the Modern Legal System
Riga, Peter J.
Abstract
This 14th century philosopher extended the theories of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas in proposing the divorce of secular law from religious rule. In his view, only human jurisdiction and human law are valid in dealing with the natural world. The author presents Marsiglio as the first truly modem formulator of positive law, and his work as the foundation of the modern secular state.