A medieval legal compendium, generally attributed to Alfonso X “the Wise”, it constitutes the most important contribution of Hispanic Law to universal legal history.
Each of the seven ‘Partidas’ or Parts, into which the compendium is organised, regulates an area of the law: the organisation of the Church, political and military power, the obligations of the king and of the people, procedural and matrimonial Law, civil Law and feudal and serfdom relations, succession Law and penal Law.
The “Seven Parts” were known throughout Western Europe and were translated into several European languages. They were partially applied in Catalonia and Portugal, and some of their regulations regarding private Law remained in force until the Civil Code of 1889. The ‘Seven Parts’ also contributed to establishing a technical vocabulary in Spanish and contain detailed references to aspects of daily life in medieval times, thus constituting a source of information for historians.
