Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

Writing and the Law

may also have been for more “magical” reasons; especially in a world where illiteracy was the norm, the mere fact of writing may have given the written words special power. Likely, both were true to some extent. This quasi-magical effect may also be the explanation for another phenomenon. Romans seem to have had a preference for certain media of writing above and beyond their practi cal advantages. For laws and similar permanent, public docu ments, bronze seems to have been the preferred medium. For private documents, special importance seems to have been given to wax tablets. These were sheets of wood with a raised border that enclosed a surface of wax. The wax was written on by carving into it with a pointed object and could be erased by being smoothed over.

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