Old French law

Zone of customary laws (droit coutumier) in the north and of written law (droit écrit) in the south, before the French Revolution

Old French law, referred to in French as Ancien Droit, was the law of the Kingdom of France until the French Revolution. In the north of France were the Pays de coutumes ('customary countries'), where customary laws were in force, while in the south were the Pays de droit écrit ('countries of written law'), where Roman law had been paramount. Roughly speaking, the line separating the two areas was the river Loire, from Geneva to the mouth of the Charente, although this was not a firm border between the two categories of law.[1] As worded by George Mousourakis, "in both zones, the law in force also included elements derived from royal, feudal, and canonical sources."[2]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference series was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Mousourakis, George (2019). Comparative Law and Legal Traditions: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. p. 217. ISBN 9783030282813.