My introduction considers the rhetorical mechanics of Roman legal writing, and isolates three distinct discursive modes in which legal writing represents the world: the normative, the descriptive, and the constructive. I then discuss the ideological valence of law in the Roman imagination, with reference to Cicero’s description of the ideal magistrate as a “talking law.” I finally provide a plan of the work.

This chapter focuses on the second bridge between economic and social values in contract law, examining the role played by regulation in bringing together these values. The discussion questions the effectiveness of regulatory responses to business to consumer (B2C) relations in English consumer contract law, in protecting people not just as economic actors, but also as citizens, and in safeguarding values such as autonomy and human dignity. The analysis focuses on the regulation of unfair contract terms, unfair commercial practices, implied terms in contracts for the provision of goods, services and digital content, and on information and cancellation rights in business to consumer (B2C) contracts. This chapter also examines the concept of consumer vulnerability in trader– consumer relations.

This chapter considers the concept of the emperor who obeys the law, which persists throughout the Principate but which emerged in the late first century CE. I first discuss the lex de imperio Vespasiani, which portrayed imperial power as the object of a senatorial grant and thus constructs Vespasian as a kind of legally empowered agent rather than an omnipotent sovereign. I then discuss an edict of the emperor Titus which reaffirmed prior imperial grants en masse, and argue that this not only made it possible for emperors to exercise more granular control over the Roman world, but also analogized Titus’ position as Vespasian’s successor to that of a son succeeding his father under the Roman law of obligations. Finally I consider how Pliny describes Trajan’s engagement with law in the Panegyricus, and how Trajan uses law as a medium for the performance of legal and political subjecthood.

This chapter introduces nonlinear valuation problems associated with recursive preferences. We discuss core concepts and solution methods.

This chapter introduces key concepts from dynamic programming via a simple job search example with IID wage draws. We also discuss numerical methods and fixed-point techniques.

This chapter examines glass production in Late Antiquity, with a particular focus on technological advancements, economic significance and regional variations. Drawing on archaeological evidence, chemical analyses, typological studies and historical texts, it traces the evolution of glass manufacturing and distribution across the Roman and Byzantine worlds. The authors argue that glass production in Late Antiquity was highly adaptable, responding to shifts in economic structures, raw material availability and technological innovations. A key factor in this development was the dominance of large-scale glass furnaces in Egypt and the Levant, which supplied raw glass to secondary workshops throughout the empire. The chapter also explores how glassmakers refined shaping and decorating techniques, incorporating blown glass, engraved patterns, gold-leaf applications and coloured blobs. In terms of function, it demonstrates that glass was used across a wide range of contexts, from everyday tableware to luxury drinking vessels, lamps and even windowpanes. Regional differences are evident, with eastern Mediterranean workshops favoring elaborate embellishments, while western traditions drew inspiration from ceramic and metal vessels. A key conclusion is that glass was not only a practical commodity but also a marker of status and innovation.

This chapter examines migration in Late Antiquity, focusing on the movement of peoples and its role in shaping the post-Roman world. It challenges traditional narratives of mass invasions, instead emphasising the complexity of migration processes and their varied effects on political, social and cultural transformations. The chapter draws on archaeological evidence, including settlement patterns, burial practices and material culture, alongside historical sources such as chronicles. It highlights key migration episodes, including the movements of the Goths, Anglo-Saxons and Slavs, analysing how their settlements and artefacts reflect patterns of mobility, integration and adaptation. The chapter also considers new methodologies, such as isotope and aDNA analysis, to refine our understanding of ancient migrations. Central is the notion that migration was not always a violent invasion but often a gradual, negotiated process. While some groups displaced populations, others integrated with existing societies. The chapter stresses that the scale and nature of migration varied and calls for an interdisciplinary approach, combining archaeology, history and scientific methods, to better assess the role of migration in the transition from the Roman world to medieval Europe.

This chapter examines religious practices which took place in the home immediately after death: from the laying out, washing, and watching of the body, and domestic gatherings such as ‘wakes’, to the removal of the body from the home, its transfer to a burial place, and the attendant rituals associated with the disposal of the body and mourning for the deceased. It also identifies evidence of cases where the home itself was used as the location for the funeral rites. While the watching and disposal of the body necessarily catered to social and biological needs, religious aspects were closely intertwined with many seemingly practical decisions. The washing and laying out of the body, for example, would generally be performed by members of the parish or local religious community. This chapter makes use of wills, personal writing, burial records, and congregational records which provide an insight into the relationships between individual households and a wider congregation, including its designated burial ground. It argues that the home facilitated acts of communal religion in the hours and days after death, as it became the setting for gatherings and acts of charity to the body.