Constitutions of Melfi

The Constitutions of Melfi, or Liber Augustalis, were a new legal code for the Kingdom of Sicily promulgated on 1 September 1231 by Emperor Frederick II at the town of Melfi. They reformed the 1220 Assizes of Capua, which had themselves reformed the 1140 Assizes of Ariano, and the Constitutions formed the basis of Sicilian law for the next six centuries. Written in Latin and translated into Greek before their promulgation, the 253 clauses were divided into three books covering public law, judicial procedure, and feudal, private and penal law; they strengthened royal power while diminishing that of the feudal nobility, banned trial by ordeal and trial by battle in favor of witness testimony, and affirmed the equality of all citizens before the law. The Constitutions of Melfi remained applicable law in the Kingdom of Naples until 1809 and in Sicily until 1819.