Jacques Cujas et les poètes de l’Antiquité tardive

One of the relevant characteristics of legal humanism is the increasing place that take ancient literature and philosophy. Above all, jurists of the sixteenth century have recourse to new texts, in comparison with the medieval jurisprudence. In this way, Jacques Cujas, head of the historical movement of legal humanism, quotes numerous poets of the late Antiquity. As quantitative data and content study show it, their importance cannot be ignored. The functions of these quotations reveal some features of legal humanism : search for the genuine roman law and enliven the argumentation with cultural references.