History and culture

Read the rules behind historical texts, customs and cultural traditions.

  1. · Case study

    The Same Debt, Two Centuries: The Napoleonic Code Runs From 1804 to Today

    A debt fell due in 2000 and was sued on in 2015. Under the text of 1804 the action is alive; under today's Code it is time-barred. The French Civil Code as an executable model, from 1804 to today, with the article behind every answer.

  2. · Case study

    King John Seizes a Free Man. Chapter 39 Fires.

    Magna Carta 1215 contains closed exception lists, a forty-day state machine, and proof chains down to the Latin phrase. Feed it facts, and it executes.

  3. · Story

    In 1100 His Brother May Kill You. In 1150 He May Not.

    Russkaya Pravda survives in two redactions; between them blood vengeance was set aside. One killing, two dates, two answers, each with its article.

  4. · Story

    A Japanangka Cannot Marry a Napanangka. No Statute Says So.

    Warlpiri skin law fits in eight names: a closed marriage table, two descent cycles, and a two-key rule over country. It was never written down, and it executes.