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Roman Law
(- threads, 7 posts)
 The Twelve Tables
Historical Thread
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A discussion of Rome's first written code of laws, its place in the evolution of the world's first great legal system, and challenges faced by modern scholars who study the origins of Roman Law.
The first known written code of laws in Rome was found in the Twelve Tables (circa 450 BCE). These were written by a commission of noblemen, the Decemviri Consulari (“the ten Consuls”), in the midst of perennial friction between the two classes of Roman citizens, the plebeians and patricians. One of the plebeian complaints concerned the seeming arbitrariness of Roman justice. These Twelve Tables, inscribed originally in wood, later in bronze tablets, and posted prominently in the forum, provided a written and accessible source of law. The Tables started as ten, which were filled mostly with what was thought to be generally accepted as governing law based on tradition. Later two additional tables were added by consular decree to deal with perceived problems in the laws. These Twelve Tables contained laws or statutes governing property rights, inheritance, public administration, the prosecution of crime and procedures whereby injured parties could seek redress in civil disputes. This writing down of a formal legal code in contrast to what before had only been collective oral traditions of the community was a landmark departure from the earlier systems solely based on the ad hoc interpretation of judges. This rudimentary code of the Twelve Tables formed an important foundation for all subsequent Western civil and criminal law, and represents one of Rome’s greatest legacies for future generations. The writing down of laws into a universally accessible code also fostered the evolution of a class of professional lawyers, or advocates, whose life work became the study and interpretation of law. These early jurists exchanged written opinions about the finer points of law. These opinions, in turn, became an auxilliary source for interpretation of law, and enabled construction of a formulaic approach in the application of legal principles and precedent to virtually any fact situation. Eventuallly these written opinions or commentaries as they had developed over six centuries, plus some imperial or senatorial decrees, were gathered and distilled into the Corpus Juris Civilis in the time of Justinian (circa 534CE). Of course, the Corpus Jurishas provided the foundation of much of the law of continental Europe even today, and from which much of English common law (and hence American law) was also borrowed. Not her Latin language, nor her soaring architecture, nor her great art and literature were Rome's greatest legacy for Western Civilization. Instead, it was development of law as a science that was arguably Rome's greatest imprint upon the modern world.
Unfortunately, nothing remains of the original Twelve Tables (there are no archeological remnants as with the Code of Hammurabi)nor do we have any verbatim transcriptions from the archaic Latin. We are told the original Twelve Tables were destroyed in a barbarian invasion in 387 BCE. What we have, instead, are discussions and interpolations of Roman jurists and commentators who wrote at least three to four centuries following the Twelve Tables. But it is clear that by then the Twelve Tables had assumed a place of almost mystical reverence in Roman society. Cicero tells us that he believed there to be more legal wisdom set down in the Twelve Tables than in all of the other great philosophical tracts of his day. Cicero, de Oratore,I.44 Apparently school-age jurists were required to memorize and recite the provisions as part of a course in law and rhetoric. From these legal writings modern scholars have been able to recreate and interpolate what we believe to be a fairly accurate report of the Tables' content, although many of the modern translations will differ from each other not only in language used but also in other material respects. There are a number of translations available on the internet, but be careful when citing to them. Often important language which can change the import will be missing when comparing one translation to another.
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Content of the Twelve Tables (* Maria Marius, Feb 1, 2006 - 22:44 ) An elegant summary (* Theodorius Cicero, Jan 31, 2006 - 13:27 ) Brief History of the Twelve Tables (* Maria Marius, Jan 31, 2006 - 01:08 ) Lex Romana (* Maria Marius, Jan 30, 2006 - 21:54 ) This is as good as any (* Theodorius Cicero, Jan 29, 2006 - 13:08 ) One (of many!) Versions of the XII Tables (* Heraklia Aelius, Jan 28, 2006 - 11:37 )|
6 Posts Viewing 6 - 1 |
