The Philosophy of the Criminal Law of the Middle Ages

The author of the article analyzes in sufficient detail the contribution of medieval thinkers: Aurelius Augustine, Anita Boethius, Anselm of Canterbury, Pierre Abelard, Peter Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, to the philosophy of the criminal law emerging in the Middle Ages, noting that at present this is either not given due importance, or it is significantly underestimated. Many researchers forget that it was in the Middle Ages that European nations began to emerge and that modern states were being formed, and the languages we speak were emerging; to the Middle Ages many of the cultural values that formed the basis of our civilization come up. The author believes that an in-depth knowledge of the creativity of these medieval thinkers enables us to form a true and integral image of the criminal law philosophy, one that stood at its origins. The legacy of the noted thinkers does not allow one to agree with the popular opinion about the Middle Ages as being timeless or as a failure for the criminal-legal thought in the period. Moderators of medieval thought were no less than enlighteners and reformers of the New Time, humanistically aligned with the goals and tasks of criminal justice. In conclusion, the author calls on the modern science of criminal law not to deny the usefulness of the legacy of the Middle Ages for the development of philosophical and legal thought, since it is unquestionable that theological thought, like the natural science or philosophy, is born of human consciousness and has an object of its human interest, his spiritual order.