Legal regime of injuries in the Middle Ages

Abstract

 In Roman Law, both offense and malicious aggression were considered iniuria. The legal consequence of the iniuriae in the XII Tables was a fixed fine, but over time, a variable fine was established whose determination corresponded to the victim, who received the amount as a “compensation” for the offense suffered. In the High Middle Ages, the penalty of fixed fine was recovered, combined with other corporal punishment, but in the Siete Partidas, compensation is reintroduced by a variable amount. On the other hand, in England the punitive damages system was developed for aggressions contrary to honor and dignity. In this paper we explore the relationship between both institutions.