ABSTRACT
The Dark Ages is the unflattering description given by certain historians to the period between the fall of the Roman empire in the West and roughly the turn of the first millennium. Justinian's laws did not however have long enough to take root among the people of Italy who still thought of themselves as Romans living according to Roman law. One of the factors which made for fusion of the Visigothic and Roman legal traditions was the conversion of the Visigothic rulers, and therefore their subjects, from the Arian heresy to catholic Christianity. Although the Dark Ages did not produce a legal culture comparable to the ages preceding or succeeding them, they are not without their legal significance. The reduction of customs to writing and the collection of legal enactments met this need in part, but also led to the study of these texts and their methodical comparison with the sources of knowledge of other legal orders including Roman law.
