Herennius Modestinus


Modestinus, Herennius

 

Years of birth and death unknown. Roman jurist of the third century A.D.

Modestinus was a pupil of Ulpian, one of the great Roman jurists. He held high government offices, serving as prefect from 226 to 244. Modestinus was one of the few jurists who had the right to render decisions in civil cases in the name of the emperor (jus respondendi). The Law of Citations, promulgated in 426, gave binding force to the writings of five jurists, including those of Modestinus. He made an important contribution to the formulation of certain questions of legal theory and practice; 345 extracts from his works are included in the Digest.