The Historical School of Jurisprudence, primarily associated with the 19th century German jurist Friedrich Karl von Savigny, posits that law is not arbitrarily made but is found. It views law as an organic growth that evolves gradually from the historical development, customs, traditions, and collective consciousness of a people.

Core Philosophy and Principles

• • Organic Growth of Law: Law is a product of forces operating in the long history of a nation and grows with the growth and strengthens with the strength of the people. It is a biological rather than an artificial or mechanical process.
• • Law is Found, Not Made: The central belief is that law is not the result of the arbitrary will of a legislator or sovereign (rejecting the Analytical School), nor is it derived from universal rational principles (rejecting the Natural Law School). Instead, it emerges spontaneously from the people.
• • Custom as the Primary Source: Customs are regarded as the original and most important source of law because they are the direct expression of the people's collective conviction. Legislation is secondary and must follow the direction indicated by the nation's history.
• • Opposition to Codification: Savigny used this theory to strongly oppose the hasty codification of German law, arguing that a legal system should be codified only when it has fully matured and the 'spirit of the people' has reached its final form.

Key Concept: Volksgeist (Spirit of the People)

The most famous concept of the Historical School is Volksgeist, a German term meaning "National Spirit" or "Spirit of the People."

• • Definition: Volksgeist is the collective consciousness, common conviction, and national character that underlies a nation's entire legal system. It encompasses the traditions, habits, practices, and beliefs shared by the people.
• • Role in Law: According to Savigny, the nature of any particular legal system is merely a reflection of the Volksgeist of the nation that created it. Law, like language, is peculiar to a people and cannot be universally applied or transplanted to another nation.

Major Exponents

Jurist	Contribution	Key Idea
Friedrich Karl von Savigny (1779–1861)	Father of the Historical School	Propounded the theory of Volksgeist and emphasized the evolutionary nature of law.
Sir Henry Maine (1822–1888)	Founder of the English Historical School	Used comparative historical method to study legal development in different societies.
Sir Henry Maine	"From Status to Contract"	Postulated that the movement of progressive societies has been from a society based on Status (where rights/duties are fixed by birth, caste, etc.) to one based on Contract (where rights/duties are voluntarily created by agreement).