Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

glossary

Formula . An official instruction from the praetor to the judge hearing a particular case. It spelled out who the parties were, what the issues were, and what range of decisions could be handed down by the judge. Most formulas were pieced together from highly standardized language. Freedman. A former slave. If freed by a Roman citizen in correct form, the freedman was himself a Roman citizen, though he had a few civic disadvantages and lingering responsibilities to his former owner (now “patron”). Guardian. Latin tutor . A man appointed to look out for the financial affairs of another. Children sui iuris had a guardian who managed their property until they came of age and was expected to act in their interests. Adult women had guardians who could only veto certain transactions, and could act in the family’s or their own interests. Heir. The person or persons who took over the property and obli gations of a dead person. A will had to name at least one heir in order to be valid. In the absence of a will, the automatic rules of intestate succession did nothing but choose an heir (or several co-heirs). An heir is different from someone who received the gift of a specific amount of property in a will (called a “legacy”). In iure . “At law.” The first phase of a formulary trial, in which the parties laid out their general positions to the praetor. If he felt the issue was appropriate for trial, he would then issue a formula naming a judge to hear the actual evidence and telling him what to decide. See also apud iudicem . In potestate. “In power.” Anyone with a living father (or paternal grandfather) was in the “power” of that ancestor.

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