Role of the doctrine of legal customs in the formation of European law in the Middle Ages

The purpose of the article is to analyze the medieval legal doctrine of legal custom as a source of law. The authors use a comprehensive historical analysis based on traditional methods of scientific cognition for jurisprudence, such as analysis, synthesis, deduction, and induction. The issues of the correlation of legal custom and law in Europe in various periods of the Middle Ages, the influence of customary law on the formation and development of substantive and procedural law, and the formation of civil and commercial legislation of European states are examined. The conclusions show that the understanding of custom evolved during the Middle Ages leading to its recognition as an independent source of law equal to legislation