[citation needed] It was soon apparent that the Digest was a massive intellectual achievement and that the assimilation of its contents would require much time and study.
The commentators of the 12th and early 13th centuries, called glossators, such as Azo of Bologna and Accursius, produced large-scale harmonization of and commentary on the texts.
For example, torture was reintroduced into Europe as a means of acquiring evidence, usually when there was half-proof or more against a defendant but not yet sufficient proof for conviction.
English law incorporated a substantial amount of Roman concepts through the works of Glanvill and Bracton.
Questions such as the scope and limits of government and the permissibility of tyrannicide were seen in legal terms and discussed by writers whose primary training was in law.