Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

Documents

[16] TPSulp 82

5 December 43. I, Lucius Patulcius Epaphroditus, have writ ten at the request and command of my freedwoman Patulcia Erotis in her presence that she received from Gaius Sulpicius Cinnamus HS 19,500 in cash from his auction. On the basis of the sealed tablets. Done at Puteoli. Here a freedman writes for his patroness, and it is possible • that this is just another example of writing for a less lit erate owner/patron, and perhaps even evidence for a lower level of literacy among women than men. On the other hand, there is no explicit mention of her (il)literacy. This happens often enough that some have argued that there was a social taboo on women writing legal documents, even if they had the skill to do so. The mention of the sealed tablets (which neither proves • nor is proven by anything here) might support the the ory that their form seemed especially authoritative to the Romans. Many of the documents in this archive refer to auction sales. • These seem to have been common in the Roman world, but we do not know of any special legal provisions they generated.

[17] FIRA 3.24

To Claudius Valerius Firmus, praefect of Egypt from Aurelia Ammonaria. Sir, I ask that you give me Aurelius Plutamnon as

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