Alberico Gentili
Italian jurist and co-founder of international law.
Stendhal55 · CC BY-SA 4.0
He served as the Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford for 21 years and is regarded as the co-founder of the field of international law, thus known as the 'Father of international law'.
- field
- International law, civil law
- nationality
- Italian
- known_for
- Co-founder of international law, Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford, author of De Jure Belli Libri Tres
Lore & Background
His father, Matteo Gentili, a Protestant physician, tutored him in Latin and Greek. He obtained a doctoral degree in law at the University of Perugia at age 20. After serving as chief judge of Ascoli and revising the statutory laws of his hometown, he and his father and brother Scipione were forced to leave Italy due to their Protestant beliefs, fleeing to Laibach (now Ljubljana) and then to German university towns.
Reader's Guide
Alberico Gentili is recognized as a co-founder of international law, with his works forming essential sources for international legal doctrines. According to a 2022 study, Gentili's work on the laws of war was of marginal interest until the late 19th century, when international lawyers used his writings to help establish contemporary laws of war.
Did You Know?
- He was forced to leave Italy with his father and brother due to their Protestant beliefs.
- A statue of Gentili in San Ginesio was used as a symbol during the liberation of the town by Allied forces in World War II.
Gallery
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Alberico Gentili's most important work?
His three-volume treatise De Jure Belli Libri Tres (Three Books on the Law of War) is considered a foundational text in public international law. It tackled questions of just war, sovereignty, and the rights of nations that shaped centuries of subsequent legal thought.
Why is Alberico Gentili important to political theory?
He is regarded as the first medieval-era writer to systematically treat public international law as a distinct discipline. His framework laid essential groundwork that later thinkers such as Hugo Grotius expanded upon.
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