De feriis in Roman-Canonical Legal Tradition

Abstract

Throughout history, the legal regulation of holidays has been the product of human needs for rest and entertainment, religious beliefs, and pragmatic economic imperatives dictating the optimal use of time to produce goods. The first part of the article examines the significance of the division between dies fasti and dies nefasti and explores the categorisation of holidays in the Roman pagan era and their legal implications. The author then looks at the origins of Sunday as a day of rest and considers Theodosius’ reform of the Roman calendar. This reform established the liturgical year in the emerging Christian state, and enduringly shaped the calendar of most European countries. The third part considers the attitude of the late Roman state towards Jewish and pagan festivals, and the innovations in medieval ecclesiastical legislation concerning holidays. The final section of the paper reflects on the role of tradition in the state’s recognition of religious festivals as public holidays.