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108-109), with which they associated Melo Freire, known in liberal and republican historiography as the “Labeão portuguez” and the executor of the university reforms (A. da Costa, História …, 1871, pp. 135-136), as well as the introducer of a new liberal legal ethos (J. M. Latino Coelho, História Política …, II, 1885, p. 192; J. de Arriaga, História …, I, pp. 415 ff.). Teófilo Braga ( História… , III, 1898, p. 745) also commended Melo Freire, regarding him as the precursor to the historical school of law in Portugal, even predating Savigny.
Melo Freire holds an important position among the group of Portuguese scholars who were part of the evolving historico-legal culture at the end of the Ancien Régime . His work in the field of the history of law and institutions paved the way for his contemporaries, including Vieira Godinho, Ricardo Raimundo Nogueira, António Caetano do Amaral, José Anastácio de Figueiredo, and João Pedro Ribeiro. Melo Freire’s historical compendium remained essential pedagogical reading until 1841, when Coelho da Rocha published his Ensaio sobre o Governo e a Legislação de Portugal [Essay on the Government and Legislation of Portugal], revising and updating the original work. However, Portuguese historiography still lacks a comprehensive study of Melo Freire’s ideas.
Active bibliography: Historiae Juris Civilis Lusitani liber singularis , Olisipone, ex Typographia Regalis Academiae Scientiarum Olisiponensis, 1788. [After the 3rd academic edition (1800), considered to be of the highest quality, the 1st Coimbra edition was printed under the supervision of Joaquim Inácio de Freitas, which served as the basis for our research: Historiae Juris Civilis Lusitani liber singularis . [Online]. Conimbricae, Typis Academicis, 1815. [Accessed on: 01.11.2020]. Available at: There is a Portuguese translation by Miguel Pinto de Meneses: Boletim do Ministério da Justiça . Lisbon, no. 173, 174 and 175, 1968 ]; Institutionum Juris Civilis Lusitani, cum Publici tum Privati. Liber I. De jure publico , Olisipone, ex Typographia Regalis Academiae Scientiarum Olisiponensis, 1789; Liber II. De jure privato , Olisipone, ex Typographia Regalis Academiae Scientiarum Olisiponensis, 1791; Liber III. De jure rerum , Olisipone, ex Typographia Regalis Academiae Scientiarum Olisiponensis, 1791; Liber
This work is financed by national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P, in the scope of the projects UIDB/04311/2020 and UIDP/04311/2020.
