“Nomoi” of Procopius

Introduction. There are some unexplored themes in the historiography of Procopius’ heritage. One of them is related to his notion of a “law.” The history of the studies of that could be named “Procopius’ jurisprudence” knows until now just two themes: first, the legal education level of Procopius, and second, the depth of his acquaintance with Justinianic laws. Methods and materials. The problem is that Procopius used the word “law(s)” in different plots in different ways. This article attempts to identify and classify all instances of the term “nТmoj” used by the Early Byzantine historian. Analysis and results. The conducted study revealed the following main varieties in Procopius’ understanding of the “law”: a) law as an abstraction involved in the world order; b) laws as a set of norms and regulations necessary for the society; c) law as a means of punishment for certain violations and crimes against authority; and finally, d) law as an ingrained custom. In addition to that, Procopius demonstrated by his use of the word the presence in sixth-century Byzantium of two linguistic spaces where the term “law” was not understood in the same way: firstly, the professional legal field, and, secondly, the space of the residential, not special verbal turnover.