Edictus Rothari Regis

This paper retraces the compilation of the composite juridical tradition collectively known as the Leges Langobardorum, which makes up one of the major testimonies to Lombard culture as well a crucial witness to their otherwise sparsely attested language. The first section of the essay presents a comprehensive survey of the manuscript witnesses of the law collections, including the numerous and often elusive fragments and three later Latin-Lombard glossaries of Southern-Italian origin. The second part deals with existing editions and discusses the forthcoming new critical edition, which the two prospective editors have described as a ‘scholarly digital edition’.