1794 · Civil codes
Prussian General Land Law (ALR)
Prussia
An extremely detailed code for the Prussian state, covering private law, family law, criminal law and even the rights and duties of the different social classes.
Why it matters
It was an early product of Enlightenment codification. It tried to settle every case in advance, and its length and detail were a warning that later codes took to heart.
Built on
No earlier text on this timeline is a documented model for it.
Went on to shape
No later text on this timeline is recorded as built on it.
Countries in the Legal Families Atlas
TheLawToKnow Tools’s timeline lists links of influence only where the borrowing is widely documented. Historians sometimes disagree about how much one text shaped another. It is an educational overview, not legal advice.
