Editing Constitution (section)

====Early Middle Ages====

Many of the Germanic peoples that filled the power vacuum left by the [[Western Roman Empire]] in the [[Early Middle Ages]] codified their laws. One of the first of these [[Germanic tribal laws|Germanic law codes]] to be written was the Visigothic ''Code of [[Euric]]'' (471 AD). This was followed by the ''[[Lex Burgundionum]]'', applying separate codes for Germans and for Romans; the ''[[Lex Alamannorum|Pactus Alamannorum]]''; and the [[Salic Law]] of the [[Franks]], all written soon after 500. In 506, the ''[[Breviary of Alaric|Breviarum]]'' or ''"Lex Romana"'' of [[Alaric II]], king of the Visigoths, adopted and consolidated the ''Codex Theodosianus'' together with assorted earlier Roman laws. Systems that appeared somewhat later include the ''[[Edictum Rothari]]'' of the [[Lombards]] (643), the ''[[Lex Visigothorum]]'' (654), the ''Lex Alamannorum'' (730), and the ''[[Lex Frisionum]]'' (c. 785). These continental codes were all composed in Latin, while [[Anglo-Saxon language|Anglo-Saxon]] was used for those of England, beginning with the Code of [[Æthelberht of Kent]] (602). Around 893, [[Alfred the Great]] combined this and two other earlier Saxon codes, with various Mosaic and Christian precepts, to produce the ''[[Doom book]]'' code of laws for England.

[[Japan]]'s ''[[Seventeen-article constitution]]'' written in 604, reportedly by [[Prince Shotoku|Prince Shōtoku]], is an early example of a constitution in Asian political history. Influenced by [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] teachings, the document focuses more on social morality than on institutions of government, and remains a notable early attempt at a government constitution.

The [[Constitution of Medina]] ({{langx|ar|صحیفة المدینه}}, Ṣaḥīfat al-Madīna), also known as the Charter of Medina, was drafted by the [[Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]] after his flight ([[Hegira|hijra]]) to Yathrib where he became political leader. It constituted a formal agreement between Muhammad and all of the significant tribes and families of Yathrib (later known as [[Medina]]), including [[Muslim]]s, [[Jew]]s, and [[pagan]]s.<ref>See:
* Reuven Firestone, ''Jihād: the origin of holy war in Islam'' (1999) p. 118;
* "Muhammad", ''Encyclopedia of Islam Online''</ref><ref>Watt. Muhammad at Medina and R.B. Serjeant "The Constitution of Medina." ''Islamic Quarterly'' 8 (1964) p. 4.</ref> The document was drawn up with the explicit concern of bringing to an end the bitter intertribal fighting between the clans of the Aws ([[Banu Aus|Aus]]) and [[Khazraj]] within Medina. To this effect it instituted a number of rights and responsibilities for the Muslim, Jewish, and pagan communities of Medina bringing them within the fold of one community&nbsp;– the [[Ummah]].<ref>R.B. Serjeant, ''The Sunnah Jami'ah, pacts with the Yathrib Jews, and the Tahrim of Yathrib: Analysis and translation of the documents comprised in the so-called "Constitution of Medina."'' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 41, No. 1. (1978), p. 4.</ref> The precise dating of the Constitution of Medina remains debated, but generally, scholars agree it was written shortly after the [[Hijra (Islam)|Hijra]] (622).<ref>Watt. ''Muhammad at Medina''. pp. 227–228 Watt argues that the initial agreement was shortly after the hijra and the document was amended at a later date specifically after the battle of Badr (AH [anno hijra] 2, = AD 624). Serjeant argues that the constitution is in fact 8 different treaties which can be dated according to events as they transpired in Medina with the first treaty being written shortly after Muhammad's arrival. R. B. Serjeant. "The Sunnah Jâmi'ah, Pacts with the Yathrib Jews, and the Tahrîm of Yathrib: Analysis and Translation of the Documents Comprised in the so-called 'Constitution of Medina'." in ''The Life of Muhammad: The Formation of the Classical Islamic World'': Volume iv. Ed. Uri Rubin. Brookfield: Ashgate, 1998, p. 151 and see the same article in BSOAS 41 (1978): 18 ff. See also Caetani. ''Annali dell'Islam, Volume I''. Milano: Hoepli, 1905, p. 393. Julius Wellhausen. ''Skizzen und Vorabeiten'', IV, Berlin: Reimer, 1889, pp. 82ff who argue that the document is a single treaty agreed upon shortly after the hijra. Wellhausen argues that it belongs to the first year of Muhammad's residence in Medina, before the battle of Badr in 2/624. Wellhausen bases this judgement on three considerations; first Muhammad is very diffident about his own position, he accepts the Pagan tribes within the Umma, and maintains the Jewish clans as clients of the Ansars see Wellhausen, Excursus, p. 158. Even Moshe Gil a skeptic of Islamic history argues that it was written within 5 months of Muhammad's arrival in Medina. Moshe Gil. "The Constitution of Medina: A Reconsideration." ''Israel Oriental Studies'' 4 (1974): p. 45.</ref>

In [[Wales]], the [[Cyfraith Hywel]] (Law of Hywel) was codified by [[Hywel Dda]] c. 942–950. It served as the main law code in Wales until it was superseded by the [[Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542]].