Lebanon 441the Hanafites, the Malikites, the Shafites, and the Han-
balites. The SHIITESadded a fifth, that of the Jafarites.
Fiqhwas Islamic jurisprudence. Hiyalwas a legal device
or strategem to get around a rule of Islamic law.
OTHER LAW CODESJEWISH communities were usually allowed to govern
themselves in the most part according to the TALMUD.
The BYZANTINEEMPIREcontinued the practices of Roman
or civil law. From the sixth century new legislation
became only the prerogative of the emperor. The ground-
work for this policy was laid by Emperor JUSTINIANI and
his jurists, who codified Roman law in the CORPUS JURIS
CIVILIS.This privileged state over ecclesiastical law, and
imperial over church edicts.
Canon or ecclesiastical law developed in the context
of Germanic and Roman laws. In the early Middle Ages
Germanic tribal customs, codified between the sixth and
ninth centuries, were rooted in ancient traditions. Later
FEUDALorganization and feudal law from before 1000 were
territorially restricted and characterized by diverse privi-
leges, traditions, and customs, primarily between lords and
vassals over FIEFS. The most widespread and accepted feu-
dal practices became part of the common heritage of West-
ern Europe, such as military law and the chivalric codes.
The revival of Roman law in the West began in
BOLOGNAin the late 11th century, when IRNERIUStaught
his students the newly rediscovered CORPUS IURIS CIVILIS
of JUSTINIANand to adapt it to contemporary needs. The
emperor FREDERICKI BARBAROSSAused it to construct a
theoretical basis for the HOLYROMANEMPIRE. Roman law
served as a model for secular legislation in the West,
especially in Italian cities. All of these secular laws had a
great effect on the evolution of Canon Law.
CANON LAWThe church developed its own legal system, the canon
law. This system was clearly considered an expression of
divine will and based on revelation to the faithful and
confirmation in the Scriptures. Divine authority was
complemented by the writings of the FATHERS OF THE
CHURCH, the decrees of COUNCILS, and the ordinances of
popes. Canon law was codified in the 11th and 12th cen-
turies, especially by GRATIAN. Ecclesiastical law applied
primarily to the CLERGY, who were supposed to be
exempt from the jurisdiction of civil and feudal authori-
ties. Canon law governed the entire community of the
faithful in matters of MARRIAGE and the SEVEN SACRA-
MENTS. Gratian used Roman law when he prepared his
book, but for him the ideas and procedures of Roman law
and imperial legislation were only acceptable if they did
not contradict canon law. As canon law continued to
evolve during the Middle Ages, various collections were
officially approved by the popes and councils. The church
added recent papal and conciliar decrees to earlier collec-
tions based on Gratian’s codification.
See alsoBONIFACEVIII, POPE; CAPITULARIES; CRIME,
PUNISHMENT, AND THE COURTS;GREGORYVIII, POPE;GRE-
GORYIX, POPE;RAYMOND OFPEÑAFORT.
Further reading:Stanley Chodorow, “Law, Canon:
After Gratian,” DMA 7.413–418; James A. Brundage,
Medieval Canon Law (New York: Longman, 1995);
Stephan Kuttner, Harmony from Dissonance: An Interpreta-
tion of Medieval Canon Law(Latrobe, Penn.: Archabbey
Press, 1960); Roger E. Reynolds, “Law, Canon: The Gra-
tian,” DMA7.395–413.law, Islamic SeeHADITH; LAW, CANON AND ECCLESIASTI-
CAL;QURAN;SUNNA.law, Jewish SeeHALAKAH;TALMUD.Layamon See BRUT.Lebanon In the Middle Ages Lebanon designated a
mountain chain, Mount Lebanon, that extended south
from the Taurus Mountains of ANATOLIA. With peaks of
more than 3,000 meters or 10,000 feet, this chain was
separated from the Mediterranean by a narrow coastal
fringe. Medieval geographers had little knowledge of the
region, even after the CRUSADES.
After the ARAB conquest of 635–36, the Lebanese
mountains often served as a refuge for Islamic minority
communities or those of heterodox religious tendencies.
From the seventh century, a people from the Arab and
Muslim borders, the Maronites, were encouraged by the
BYZANTINEEMPIREto oppose effectively the Muslims and
to occupy a large part of Mount Lebanon, where they
mixed with the local population. The Twelver SHIITESset-
tled in the central and southern regions of Mount
Lebanon. In the 11th century the DRUZES occupied
mainly the region southeast of BEIRUT. Sunni Muslims
were numerous in the coastal towns and the Beqaa Valley
to the east.
After the Arab conquest for Islam, Lebanon became a
semiautonomous military region of western SYRIA and
DAMASCUS. Under the reign of the ABBASIDcaliph AL-
MANSUR (r. 754–775), Lebanese Christians revolted
because of excessive taxation, and the resulting severe
repression was soon condemned by a Muslim jurist, al-
Awzai (d. 774). At the time of the Crusades, no western
centers were created in the wild mountains; the FRANKS
just built fortresses at lower strategic points. The
Maronites of the county of TRIPOLIagreed to support
the crusaders. To the southeast of Beirut, the Druzes
defended that region against the crusaders. After the
MAMLUKtakeover in Egypt in 1252, the Druzes oscillated
among AYYUBID,MONGOL, and Mamluk alliances.
Having seized the last Frankish territories in 1291,
the Mamluks sent armies until 1305 to ensure their