Editing Dušan Code (section)

==History==
 [[File:Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan, cropped.jpg|thumb|right|Fresco detail of Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan.]]
The Code was promulgated at a state council on 21 May 1349 in [[Skopje]], the capital of the Serbian Empire. The [[foreword]] is as follows: ''"We enact this Law by our Orthodox Synod, by His Holiness the Patriarch Kir Joanikije together with all the Archbishops and Clergy, small and great, and by me, the true-believing Emperor Stefan, and all the Lords, small and great, of this our Empire"''. In the [[Saint Archangels Charter|Charter]], which accompanied the Code, it said: "It is my desire to enact certain virtues and truest of laws of the Orthodox faith to be adhered to and observed".<ref name=Cirkovic68>{{harvnb|Ćirković|2004|p=68}}</ref> Emperor Dušan added a series of articles to it in 1353 or 1354, at a council in [[Serres, Greece|Serres]].<ref name=Fine314>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|p=314}}</ref> This second part was half the size and at times cited issues from the first part, referring it to the "first Code".<ref name=Cirkovic68/>

It had a total of 201 articles. Four of them (79, 123, 152, 153), regarding various subjects, refers to the authority of the "Law of the Sainted King" (i.e. [[Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia]], r. 1282–1321, Dušan's grandfather), which suggests that Milutin had issued a code whose text has not survived.<ref name=Fine314/> Dušan's Code was thus a supplement to Milutin Code, as well as a supplement to the various Church law codes that also had authority in Serbia; in particular the [[Zakonopravilo|Nomocanon of Saint Sava (''Zakonopravilo'')]], enacted in 1219 with the establishment of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] and [[Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)|Serbian Kingdom]].<ref name=Fine314/> The ''[[Syntagma Canonum]]'', written in 1335 by [[Matthew Blastares]], had been translated into Serbian and had received legal authority by 1349, and its articles had influenced the text of the Code.<ref name=Fine314/> Dušan's Code was heavily influenced by [[Byzantine law]] – nearly half of its articles reflect some influence, often modified for Serbia.<ref name=Fine314/> The code had many articles concerning the Church, which reflects Byzantine Church law; Byzantine civil law codes, especially the [[Basilika|late-9th-century compilation]] by [[Basil I]] and [[Leo VI the Wise|Leo VI]], also influenced the code.<ref name=Fine314/> Scholars A. Solovjev and Soulis conclude that the Council of 1349 issued a three-part comprehensive legal document, since most early manuscripts of the Code also contain two other texts: The first part was an abridgement of the Syntagma, the second part was the so-called "Code of Justinian" (a short compilation of Byzantine legal rules, mostly taken from the [[Farmer's Law]], not to be confused with the Code that is part of the [[Corpus Juris Civilis]]), and the third part was always Dušan Code itself.<ref name=Fine314/>
According to Fine, there is a possibility that the Code was written to supplement the first two parts, by adding items that were not covered, rather than to build a comprehensive legal system.<ref name=Fine315>{{harvnb|Fine|1994|p=315}}</ref>