Definition
Novellae Constitutiones (commonly rendered in English as "Novels" or "the Novels") are the imperial constitutions issued by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I after the promulgation of his Code (the Codex Justinianus) in 529 and its revised edition in 534. The term means, literally, "new constitutions." These enactments updated, supplemented, and in some cases superseded provisions of the earlier codified Roman law. After Justinian's death in 565, a collection of 168 Novels was assembled, of which 154 had been issued by Justinian himself and the remainder by his immediate successors. The Novels were eventually incorporated into what later scholars called the Corpus Juris Civilis — the body of Roman civil law that became the foundational legal inheritance of medieval and early modern European jurisprudence.
A distinguishing feature of the Novellae is that most were originally composed in Greek rather than Latin, reflecting the linguistic reality of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the sixth century. This distinguishes them from the earlier components of Justinian's compilation — the Code, the Digest (Pandects), and the Institutes — which were composed or compiled in Latin.
Common Confusion
The English word "novels" in legal historical sources refers exclusively to the Novellae Constitutiones and has no connection to works of fiction. Researchers encountering references to "the Novels" or "Novel 118" in treatises on Roman law, civil law, or ecclesiastical law should understand these as references to specific Justinianic imperial enactments, not to narrative literature. The confusion is uncommon among trained legal historians but can mislead those approaching Roman law materials for the first time.
The term should also be distinguished from "Novels" as used in some civil law traditions to describe later legislative supplements in national codes — a usage derived by analogy from the Justinianic original but referring to entirely different instruments.
Why It Matters in Research
Researchers working in Roman law, canon law, civil law history, or the reception of Roman law in Europe will encounter references to the Novellae across a wide range of primary and secondary sources spanning more than a millennium. Several navigational points are essential:
The Novellae were not systematically available in Latin to Western medieval scholars in the same way the Code, Digest, and Institutes were. Western canonists and civilians often worked from a partial Latin rendering known as the Authenticum (or Liber Authenticorum), a collection of approximately 134 of the Novels translated into Latin, probably in Italy in the sixth or seventh century. When medieval jurists cite "the Authentics," they are citing this Latin version of selected Novellae, not the full Greek corpus. Confusion between the Authenticum and the complete Novellae collection is a common trap in historical research.
In Justinian's own Codex, short extracts from some Novels were interpolated into the text under the heading Authenticae — a further layer that can confuse source-tracing.
The Novellae are the most practically legislative part of Justinian's compilation. While the Digest is juristic, the Institutes pedagogical, and the Code largely a consolidation of earlier imperial rescripts, the Novels represent active lawmaking on matters including inheritance, marriage, ecclesiastical organization, and administrative governance. Researchers examining the historical development of family law, succession, or church-state relations will find the Novels directly relevant.
Citation conventions vary across periods and traditions. Novels may be cited by number (e.g., Novel 22, Novel 118), by subject heading, or — in medieval sources — by their Authenticum reference. A researcher must be alert to which numbering system and which textual version is in use.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed., Supplemental) defines the term as "new constitutions," noting their issuance after publication of Justinian's Code, their predominantly Greek composition, and the post-mortem collection of 168 constitutions — 154 from Justinian, the remainder from his successors. The entry notes their eventual inclusion in the broader Corpus Juris Civilis compilation.
Black's treatment is accurate but skeletal, omitting the critical distinction between the full Novellae and the Authenticum, and providing no guidance on the practical significance of the Novels as active legislation rather than consolidation. Historical dictionaries generally agree on the basic facts — issuance after the Code, Greek composition, posthumous collection — but none of the standard legal dictionary sources offer meaningful guidance on how to navigate competing textual versions or medieval citation practice. For substantive treatment, researchers should consult historiographical works on the Corpus Juris Civilis directly.
Jurisdictional Note
The Novellae have no operative force in any modern jurisdiction as enacted law. Their significance is entirely historical and academic. However, in civil law countries whose legal traditions derive from Roman law reception — including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Scotland, Louisiana, and Quebec — the Novels may appear as background authority in historical interpretation of code provisions, particularly in family law and succession.