Hugo was born at
Lörrach in the
Margraviate of Baden. From the gymnasium at
Karlsruhe, he passed in 1782 to the
University of Göttingen, where he studied law for three years. Having received the appointment of tutor to the
prince of Anhalt-Dessau, he took his doctor's degree at the
University of Halle in 1788. Recalled in the same year to Göttingen as extraordinary professor of
law, he became a full professor in 1792. In the preface to his
Beiträge zur civilistischen Bucherkenntniss der letzten vierzig Jahre (1828–1829), he gives a sketch of the condition of the civil law teaching at Göttingen at that time. The
Roman and German elements of the existing law were, without criticism or differentiation, welded into an ostensible whole for practical needs, with the result that it was difficult to say whether historical truth or practical ends were most prejudiced. As it was passed from person to person, new errors crept in, and even the best of teachers could not escape from the false method which had become traditional. These were the evils which Hugo set himself to combat, and he became the founder of the
German Historical School of
jurisprudence which was continued and further developed by
Savigny. His magna opera are the
Lehrbuch eines civilistischen Cursus (7 vols., 1792–1821), in which his method is thoroughly worked out, and
Civilistisches Magazin (6 vols., 1790–1837). Hugo was criticized, and ridiculed, by
Karl Marx in the
Rheinische Zeitung as a founder of the historical school and for justifying the "law of arbitrary power", among other things. == Publications ==