Roman Law Glossary Quiz

Roman Law Glossary

• Act (Lex): Law decided and enacted by the whole Roman people.
• Adrogatio: A form of adoption where a pater familias was adopted by another pater familias, resulting in significant changes in family status and property rights.
• Aediles: Magistrates responsible for the care of public buildings, markets, and public games.
• Agnatic Tie: Kinship or relation on or descended from the father's or male side.
• Cognatic Tie: Kinship or relation calculated from an ancestor or ancestors through any combination of male and female links.
• Comitia Centuriata: The Roman assembly organised by centuries, primarily based on military and wealth class.
• Comitia Curiata: The oldest Roman assembly, originally based on the curiae (divisions by clan or family).
• Consilium: A group of advisors consulted by Roman magistrates on legal and administrative matters.
• Consul: One of the two highest magistrates in the Roman Republic, holding significant civil and military imperium.
• Constitutiones: A general term for imperial decrees, including edicts, rescripts, and mandates.
• Custom (Consuetudine): Practices that have become firmly established and recognised as having an obligatory force as law.
• Decreta: Judgements given by the Emperor in law cases.
• Dictator: An extraordinary magistrate appointed in times of emergency, wielding absolute imperium.
• Edict: A public order or declaration issued by a magistrate, notably by the praetor and the emperor.
• Edictum Perpetuum: A permanent edict created by Hadrian which aimed to consolidate and make stable the praetor's edicts.
• Imperium: The power of command held by higher Roman magistrates, particularly in military matters, but also in other areas of public life.
• Institutes: An elementary textbook of Roman law, part of the Corpus Juris Civilis.
• Judex: A private citizen appointed by the praetor to hear and decide a case based on a formula.
• Jurisprudence: The science of law, encompassing analytical, historical, and critical perspectives.

Roman Law Terms (Jus...)

• Jus Civile: The civil law of Rome, applicable only to Roman citizens.
• Jus Gentium: Law of the nations, applicable to both Roman citizens and foreigners (peregrini), designed to regulate interactions between them.
• Jus Honorarium: Praetorian law, developed by praetors to supplement, correct, and improve the jus civile.
• Jus Naturale: The concept of natural law, derived from the natural world and inherent in all living things.
• Jus Publicum: Public law, concerning the constitution and organisation of the Roman state.
• Jus Privatum: Private law, concerning the relationships between individuals.
• Jus Respondendi: The right to give legal opinions, granted to certain jurists by the Emperor.
• Jus Scriptum: Written law, including laws, plebiscites, senatorial decrees, imperial constitutions, magistrates' edicts, and juristic answers.
• Jus Non Scriptum: Unwritten law, including customs and traditions.
• Lex Regiae: Laws attributed to the period of kings of Rome.
• Libertini: Freedmen, individuals who were formerly slaves and had been granted freedom.
• Mandata: Instructions given by the Emperor to administrative officials.
• Manumission: The act of freeing a slave.
• Pater Familias: The male head of the Roman family, possessing absolute power (patria potestas) over all members of the household.
• Patria Potestas: The power of the pater familias over his children.
• Peculium Castrense: A form of peculium (limited patrimony) acquired by a son through military service, which he could dispose of by will.
• Peregrini: Non-citizens who were considered friends to Rome.
• Plebian: Member of the lower social class in Rome.
• Praetor: A Roman magistrate in charge of administering justice.

Other important Roman Law concepts

• Senatus consulta: Resolutions of the Roman Senate, which later became a legal source.
• Comitia: Assemblies of the people that played a role in enacting laws.
• Lex: Statute; a law passed by the people, or by popular assemblies.
• Jus Civile: The legal system applying to Roman citizens.
• Jus Gentium: The legal system applying to foreigners and other "people" of Rome.
• Jus Honorarium: Additional law created by praetors over time that modified, and improved the existing law.