Rare copy of Napoleonic Code auctioned for €51,000

A rare copy of the Napoleonic Code, the basis for civil law in Belgium, France and other countries, has been sold by Brussels auction house Arenberg Auctions for €51,000.

The buyer is still unknown, reports Bruzz. The edition, bound in parchment, and from a private Belgian collection, is one of only two other recognised copies. The other, held by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris for decades, was originally owned by Napoleon Bonaparte himself.

The starting price was set at €15,000, but Henri Godts, manager at the auction house, was hoping for more.

In 1804, Napoleon introduced the Code, France’s influential civil law system, to standardise the different laws and customs across his empire.

An enhanced and expanded version of the code, replacing feudal laws and still influencing laws in France and beyond, was published in 1807, under the name Code Napoléon.

Important principles stemming from Code Napoléon are freedom of religion, private property rights and the separation of church and state. While the Code is the basis for civil law in France, its principles are also reflected in Belgium’s civil law.