The Crusades and the Templars 69onal, such as those in Segovia, Montmorillon, Laon, and Metz.^18
Architectural details amount to merely one sign of Eastern influ-
ence. The rediscovery of the Byzantine world actually gave impetus to
a broad and profound cultural and social movement. The contact with
Byzantium established by the Crusades made it possible to rediscover
the legal compilations, in all their originality and potency, that the
emperor Justinian applied as the foundation for his empire. It was now
possible to conduct a direct and detailed study of Roman law, both
public and private, and Roman institutions. The Crusades thus revealed
a vast new world rich in less tangible though enormously significant
treasures.
Teachers soon carried into other lands this new understanding of
Roman law. Schools focusing on its teachings were founded in Italy and
France. This rebirth became one of the most important factors in the
development of European civilization, not only resulting in a great
influence on the development of private law, but also exercising a pro-
found influence on public law and on the thought of Western nations.
This, says A. Esmein, is a fact of the first order from both the political
and scientific point of view."
Legists of the time not only considered Roman law as the science
and law of the past. They endeavored, with deep faith, to bring these
laws back to life, to restore them to common practice in both institu-
tional and private arenas. In France, especially, government and
administrative personnel were soon recruited primarily from among
these legists. This evolution reached its full flowering under Philip the
Fair, when French legists strove to reformulate the power of the
Roman emperor for the king's benefit. "The king of France is emperor
in his kingdom," legal counselor Boutellier declared at that time. We
should recall, however, that absolute imperial power was also based on
the strong municipal organization that had been created and on the
economic and social role of the collegia, both of which effected the
policies of the king concerning cities and the trades. In fact, the Temple
took part in this game—for its own benefit, of course—and though it
contributed to the greatness of the Order, it ultimately abetted its
downfall.