Legal Definitions - postglossators

Definition: Postglossators were a group of mainly Italian legal scholars who wrote commentaries and treatises during the 14th and 15th centuries. They related Roman law to other contemporary bodies of law, such as feudal and Germanic law and canon law.

The postglossators were the second wave of Roman-law study after its revival in the 11th century. The first wave was that of the glossators. Glossators were Italian legal scholars who revived the study of Roman law from the 11th to the 13th centuries. They originally worked by explaining difficult or unclear passages in the margin, and their writings gradually became full-blown commentaries and discussions.

Examples: One example of a postglossator is Bartolus de Saxoferrato, who wrote commentaries on Roman law. Another example is Baldus de Ubaldis, who wrote treatises on Roman law and its relation to canon law.

These examples illustrate how postglossators were legal scholars who wrote commentaries and treatises on Roman law and its relation to other contemporary bodies of law. They built upon the work of the glossators and helped to further develop the study of Roman law.