Gaius

He flourished under Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus, writing between 130 and 180. Beyond "Gaius" — likely just his first name — almost nothing about him survived. He produced treatises on the Twelve Tables, on magisterial edicts, on marriage law, and on legal antiquities, generally siding with the Sabinian school and its preference for old rules over innovation. After his death his authority grew: Theodosius II named him one of five jurists whose opinions bound the courts. His Institutes became the standard primer, and when Justinian's team assembled the Digest and the I…