Authenticum and authenticae - What's in a name? References to Justinian's Novels in medieval manuscripts

In the Middle Ages Justinian's Novels were known in essentially two different forms: the Latin translation called the Authenticum, and excerpts from the Authenticum known as authenticae, which were incorporated in manuscripts of the Codex Justinianus. Correspondingly, there are two types of medieval references (allegationes): to texts in the Authenticum itself and to authenticae. This article studies the process of incorporating authenticae in the Codex Justinianus and argues that those allegationes that refer to the original Authenticum are no guarantee that this text was actually read in its original form by the author of the allegatio, rather than an authentica.

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