Edictum Rothari

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Illustration from a manuscript of the Edictum Rothari

The Edictum Rothari was a collection of laws of the Longobard King Rothari . It was decided on November 22, 643 by the gairethinx ( Thing ) and put into effect.

Emergence

The Edictum Rothari (643) was created much later than other Germanic legal codes , such as the Visigoth Codex Euricianus (around 475), the Ostrogoth Edictum Theoderici (around 500), the Franconian Lex Salica (around 510) and the Lex Burgundionum (around 510), but, unlike these, it was hardly influenced by influences of the Roman legal tradition .

Longobard tribal law had previously been passed on orally. Rothari had the laws of the Lombards, which were “only handed down in memory and through use” ( cadarfida ), collected by the “notary” Ansoald and written down in an edict. The legal content of the edict was predominantly of purely Lombard origin, but this set of laws clearly showed the influence of Roman culture on Germanic law: The edictum was written in late or vulgar Latin , but contains numerous untranslatable legal terms in Lombard .

The establishment of an imperial law, which opposed local peculiarities and the arbitrariness of individuals, expressed the paramount position that was granted to the king by the law. In terms of foreign policy, the edict could be understood as a sign to Byzantium that there was no longer any “barbarian horde” temporarily staying in Italy, but that a permanent state was constituted.

scope

All free male Lombards in the royal sphere of influence were subordinate to the Edictum Rothari. Women, children, slaves, serfs and semi-free were in the Munt and were not independent legal subjects . The non- Longobard Germans who came to Italy with the Longobards probably had to adopt Longobard law. The free Romans had been killed or enslaved as enemies in the course of the Lombard conquest, and their dependents "belonged" to the Lombards. Immigrants could get the privilege from the king to live according to their own right.

King Grimoald made some reforms in 668. Under King Liutprand (712–744), Lombard law was greatly expanded through annual statutes and approached case law . The further developed Edictum Rothari retained its validity even after the Frankish subjugation by Charlemagne in 774.

content

preamble

King Rothari himself stated the purpose of the law and the reasons for its enactment: He enacted it in royal care for the subjects. It was supposed to protect the poor against the exploitation of the powerful. The edict was not intended to create a new law, but to establish what was in force. Some customs should be abandoned, some provisions should be added so that everyone can live in peace according to the law and protect his property.

A long list of Longobard kings indicated the age of the independent Longobard "state" and its legal tradition.

I – XXV Capital crimes and crimes against the king and the state

Anyone who conspired against the king, allowed enemies into the country, sheltered scamarae (robbers), deserted as officers or called for mutiny , was punished with death . However, it was possible to ask the king for mercy .

A murder was atoned for by guidrigild / wergild ( Wergeld ), half of which went to the victim or his heir, the other half to the king. Angargathungi (land ownership) of the victim was decisive for the amount of wergeld . The defendant could demand a camphio / camfio ( judgment of God through a duel) to prove his innocence. If the murdered person was robbed, a fine of 80 solidi was added for this plod robbery (“blood robbery”, robbery murder) .

XXVI – XXXIV Street robbery, burglary

wegworin (Wegelagerei) to a free man, slave, servant, aldius ( serf , serf , semi-free) or pulled-exposed without distinction of rank a fine of 20 solidi by itself. If an iniuria (Latin for injustice) was inflicted on a free woman , the penalty was 900 solidi . Half of the penance fell to the king, the other half to the victim or his / her mundoald (guardian). marhworf ( knocking someone off their horse) and walapauz (disguise, disguise for a criminal offense) were punished with 80 solidi . Burglars were allowed to be killed at night with impunity or to buy their way out for 80 solidi .

XXXV-XLII scandalum

With the Latin word scandalum , Lombard law referred to an unspecified "nuisance" in a church, in the king's palace and also in the city where the king was staying.

Assault and murder

XLIII – LXXVI Assault in the open air

Assault was atoned for with a fine on the victim. This penance was set higher by Rothari "than usual among the ancestors, so that the faida ( feud ) would not occur." The penance was detailed in 32 paragraphs. As an example: the chopping off of a hand corresponded to half the wergilt , in the case of paralysis of one hand: a quarter of the wergilt , loss of the thumb: a sixth, loss of the index finger: 17 solidi , the middle finger: 6 solidi , the ring finger: 8 solidi , des little finger 16 solidi . The loss of a foot or toe was regulated in a similar way. Losing an eye and cutting off the nose cost half the cost, cutting off an ear cost a quarter of the cost . In the case of blows in the face, a distinction was made between those with the fist and the flat of the hand, the second being obviously felt as dishonorable and incurring double penance. Other violations, also individually named, were subject to fixed fines. If the injured person died of the wounds within a year, the penance was angargathungi (according to the value of the victim) the full wergeld. The unintentional killing of an unborn child was atone for half the “value” of the free mother if she survived. If this also died, the penalty was its “value”, and no payment was made for the unborn child.

LXXVII – CXXVI Assault on an unfree person

Longobard law knew different types and degrees of bondage: servus rusticanus (field slave), aldius ( bondage , serf, semi-free), servus ministerialis (house slave, servant), ancilla (house slave, maid) as well as "freedmen", who nevertheless depend on theirs old "gentlemen" stayed.

The Edictum Rothari differentiated between aldius ( serf , serf, semi-free) and servus ministerialis (house slave, servant). An aldius was probably mostly a member of the local Romance population, while a servus ministerialis was a foreigner (e.g. prisoner of war). The penance was usually a third of that of a free man and was paid to the “Lord”. The servus rusticanus (field slave) was at the lowest level of society. The penance was usually a sixth to an eighth of that of a free person.

The perpetrator was obliged to call a doctor. If the severity of the injury could not be foreseen, an "installment payment" was made, which was taken into account in the "final bill" after the healing, at the latest after one year. The perpetrator also had to pay for lost work and medical expenses for many of the more serious injuries.

CXXIX – CXXXVII killing an unfree person

Compensation to the “master” of a dead unfreedom was graded according to the legal status and economic function of the victim.

Status, function Repent in solidi
aldius 60
servus ministerialis (trustworthy and experienced) 50
servus ministerialis (subordinate activities) 25th
Swineherd with at least two subordinates 50
simple swineherd 25th
Overseer of the
Servum massarium (farm workers)
Servum bubulcum de sala (cattle herder)
pecorario (shepherd)
(goatherd)
20th
servus rusticanus (simple shepherds and field slaves) 16

CXXXVIII – CLII liability, poisoning, blood revenge, arson

Tree-cutters and bricklayers were liable for personal injuries caused, not their clients.

The preparation of poison was punished with 20 solidi , attempted poisoning with half, successful poisoning with the full angargathungi (value) of the victim.

The concept of blood vengeance had apparently not yet disappeared from the Lombards' sense of justice, because Rothari decreed that a clan who had accepted a wergeld and thereby swore to peace, should not only pay wergeld for their victim within a year in the event of a blood revenge, but also had to return the wergeld received twice. Apparently breaking the oath and not murder was seen as the real crime.

If a fire was accidentally caused, the damage had to be compensated. In the case of deliberate arson , the damage had to be reimbursed three times.

CLIII – CLXXVII Inheritance Law and Donations

In principle, the children were entitled to inheritance. The Edictum Rothari differentiated between legitimate and illegitimate descendants and according to their gender. If a man had a legitimate male heir, the daughters were excluded from the inheritance. It was possible to equate illegitimate sons with legitimate sons, but their consent was required at the legal age of 12 years. Disinheritance was only possible in the case of serious offenses, such as attempted murder on the father or fornication with the stepmother. A free testamentary disposition was not possible, even donations during lifetime were regulated.

In the case of up to seven legitimate sons, the Edictum expressly regulated the division in such a way that each legitimate son inherited twice as much as the illegitimate sons combined: If a man had a legitimate son, he inherited two thirds, and one third fell to all illegitimate sons . Two legitimate sons inherited two fifths each, all illegitimate sons together inherited one fifth. Three legitimate sons inherited two sevenths each, and all illegitimate sons together inherited one seventh. etc.

If the testator had a legitimate daughter and illegitimate sons, the daughter inherited a third, the sons a third and the next (male) relative inherited a third. Two legitimate daughters inherited a quarter each, the illegitimate sons together a third and the next of kin a sixth. People up to the seventh member were considered related . If no relative could be identified, the curtis regia (royal court) took his place.

Thinx or gairethinx (gifts) had to be made publicly on the thing , ut nulla in posterum oriatur intentio (so that there is no future dispute). If a childless donor later got an heir, the donation was void. The term “lidin loaf” was used to describe a lifelong lease that ended with the donor's death, but could also be reclaimed from the donor in emergencies.

Marriage Law and Sexual Offenses

The position of women in Longobard society is of fundamental importance for marriage law. The woman was basically in the "mundium" ( Munt , guardianship, care) of a man, her father, her husband ( Muntehe ), another relative or the king, if no relative was alive. A “selpmundia” (freedom from guardianship) was excluded by law. A woman was not entitled to give away or sell property without the consent of her “munduald” (guardian), although she could have her own property ( trousseau , morning gift ). This exclusion of women from legal acts was in line with the high esteem (see # XXVI – XXXIV street robbery, burglary ) that they were accorded. Guardianship offered protection in a society in which the establishment of the truth in court could take place through a duel. A “munduald” (guardian) was seen as essential.

CLXXVIII – CCIV marriage

The engagement was negotiated between the groom and the bride's father and fixed in a fabula (contract). The groom paid the meta (“rent”, bride price ) to the father. From this the bride received faderfio ("father's money", dowry ) and from her husband, after the marriage was completed, the morgincap ( morning gift ).

The Edictum Rothari went into detail about exceptions to the usual procedure: If the marriage did not take place two years after the engagement due to the groom's hemming, the guardian was allowed to keep the meta and betroth the bride to someone else. If the guardian promised the bride to another before this period, he had to pay double the meta as a penance. If the bridegroom accused the bride of unchastity, her guardian could swear her innocence with 12 sacramentali ( oath assistants ); in this case he had to marry the bride or pay double meta as a penance. In the case of leprosy, obsession or blindness of the bride, the engagement could be broken off and the groom got the meta back.

After the death of her husband, one of his relatives took over the “mundium” over the widow, in some cases her own son. But the widow also had the express right to find a new husband. If her “munduald” refused this, she could demand the surrender of her faderfio (dowry) and the morgincap (morning gift ) and return to her father's “mundium”, who was free to remarry her.

The woman was not at the mercy of her husband without protection. If a man killed his wife, "quod per legem non sit merita mori" (who, according to the law, did not deserve death), he paid 1200 solidi , the highest fine known to the edict. Half of the penance was to be paid to the woman's clan and half to the king. Their faderfio (dowry) and the morgincap (morning gift ) were inherited by their sons, followed by their parents or the king. If the woman tried to murder her husband, he could punish her at his own discretion without being prosecuted. If a woman murdered her husband, she was punished with death. Her children inherited her property or, at a lower level, other heirs of her husband.

CCV – CCXV Seduction, rape, incest, sexual offenses

Under anagrip (touching, immoral touch) the Edictum understood premarital or extramarital intercourse with a free woman.

If a man seduced a free woman, he would have to pay 20 solidi penalties and marry her. If he refused to marry, a fine of 100 solidi was due. The seduction of a bride was atone with 40 solidi to the “munduald” (guardian) and double meta (bride price) to the groom. A forced "marriage", without the consent of the munduald and the bride, resulted in a fine of 900 solidi , half of which was to be paid to the munduald and half to the king. The woman was free to leave her “husband” and place herself in the mundium of a relative or the king.

The marriage of his stepmother or the widow of a brother was considered to be incest. The couple had to separate and pay a fine of 100 solidi .

Intercourse with someone else's ancilla (maid) had to be paid 20 solidi if she was a Longobard; intercourse with a Roman woman was set at 12 solidi .

CCXVI – CCXXIII Marriage between unfree people

Weddings between slaves, semi-freemen and freedmen were provided for in the Edictum. During the marriage, the woman assumed the status of her husband, but was able to return to her old status as a widow. The children from such marriages had the status of the mother, whose master they belonged to, was regulated differently.

An aldius could marry a fulcfrea (completely free woman), a slave was forbidden to do so under the penalty of death. The fully free wife of a slave should be killed by her relatives or sold abroad as a slave; if that did not happen, the woman was brought to the royal court as a slave by the gastaldus regis ( Gastalde , leading royal official in a city) or sculdhais ( mayor , royal official subordinate to iudex provinciae ). It was possible for a man to marry his slave girl after he had made her becomingibora ("dignified", honorable) through libera thingare (giving freedom) . Sons from this connection were completely free and entitled to inheritance.

CCXXIV – CCXXVI release

Four degrees of release were provided for in the Edictum Rothari:

  • fulcfree (public free, public domain) denoted the highest degree of freedom of Lombard law. The granting of this freedom was ritualized: the slave was handed over by his master to a second free, who handed him over to a third and the latter to a fourth. He led the slave to a crossroads, gave him a gaida (spear) in front of gisil (witnesses) with the words: “ De quattuor vias, ubi volueris ambulare, liberam habeas potestatem (You have the right to go wherever you want over four streets ). ”With that he was completely free and equal to his old master. This no longer had any claims against him.
  • A second possibility was given by in pans (royal favor), which made a non- free amund (without a guardian), but possibly did not include the public domain .
  • A third type of release granted the “freedom of the four ways”, but the released person was still under the mundium of the old man. If he had children, they were fulc-free ; if he died childless, his former master inherited him.
  • The fourth was an incomplete release that made a slave an aldius (semi-free).

All freedmen were subject to Lombard law.

CCXXVII – CCXXXVI Trade and Ownership

If someone held an object or property for five years, he was considered the rightful owner. An aldius (semi-free) or servus (slave) could only sell property with the express permission of his “munduald”. An exception was the servus massarius , whose job it was to run a farm.

CCXXXVII – CCXLI limit shift

A suitor who removed or falsified border markings had to pay a solidi fine of 80 . Manipulated a slave boundary markings that z. B. consisted of notches in trees, he was punished with death, and his dominus (master) had to pay 40 solidi . Half of the penance went to the injured party and half to the king. If the slave acted without the command of his master, his hand was cut off.

CCXLII – CCXLIV Counterfeiting of coins and documents, intrusion into a city

Forgery of coins and documents were also punished with cutting off the hand. Entering or leaving a city over the wall was forbidden.

CCXLV – CCXLVII Lien

There was a lien against debtors, but debt had to be claimed on three consecutive days beforehand.

CCXLVIII – CCLXVI theft

Thefts had to be replaced with nine times the value of the item and resulted in a fine of 80 solidi for a free person . Failure to pay would result in the death penalty. Slaves also had to replace nine times the value and pay a fine of 40 solidi . Free women only replaced nine times the value. If gold or jewelry was found on the street, the iudex (judge, high official) had to be reported, otherwise it was considered theft.

CCLXVII – CCLXXXI refugees

A reward of 2 solidi was offered for catching a fugitive . If a fugitive resisted his arrest, he could be killed with impunity. If someone helped a slave to escape, the helper had to compensate the slave's master for the slave's value. To a certain extent there was a church asylum because a bishop had to be asked three times to surrender the fugitive.

CCLXXXII – CCLXXXV Public Order

The attack on a homestead was called haistan or hoveros and had to be paid at 20 solidi . It was specifically stated that these crimes could not be committed by women. Slave revolts and conspiracies by the rusticani (rural population) resulted in heavy penalties.

CCLXXXVI – CCCLVIII Agriculture and Forestry

73 laws dealt with criminal offenses in agriculture. From tearing down a fence, to destroying a plow, to stealing a yoke , numerous offenses were enumerated, with fines ranging from 2 to 6 solidi . If someone injured himself on a fence, the builder was liable, whereas digging a trench or digging a well did not constitute an obligation to recourse . Further chapters concern the finding of honey and young falcons, whereby the "gahagium" (royal hunting ground) was particularly protected.

A group of laws were dedicated to horses: if someone injured a horse, e.g. B. by knocking out an eye or cutting off an ear, he had to give the owner an equivalent horse as a replacement. Cutting off the tail hair resulted in a penalty of 6 solidi . If someone took a horse and rode around nearby, it was evidently not considered a theft, but resulted in a fine of 2 solidi . For a horse theft you had to pay “ahtugild” (eight times the value) and return the animal or reimburse nine times the value. A horse that had run was allowed to keep if the iudex (judge, high official) was informed or if the case was made known several times to those gathered in front of the church and the owner did not report.

The hunting laws are also extensive: apart from the “gahagium” (royal hunting ground), it was also allowed to hunt on foreign soil. If you found a wounded animal, you were obliged to bring it to the hunter, for which you received the right shoulder and seven ribs as a reward. Hiding such a find was punished with 6 solidi . If someone was injured or killed by a wounded animal, the hunter was liable unless he had already stopped the hunt.

The penalty for punches, which led to a miscarriage in the event was a cow 1 Tremissis (1/3 Solidus), a horse 1 solidus and the slave of another 3 solidi . If someone possessed caused damage to people or cattle, he was not liable, but could be killed without penalty. Travelers were allowed to graze their horses in unfenced meadows.

CCCLIX – CCCLXV Rules of Procedure

If a Longobard was charged with a crime, he was obliged to deposit a wadia (pledge, bail) and to appoint a surety (fideiussor) to ensure that he would face the trial within twelve days. This deadline could be extended in case of prevention. If the defendant delayed the trial for a year, he was found guilty. The plaintiff lost all claims if the trial was delayed for a year through his fault.

The defendant could take the guilt and the penance on himself or swear his innocence, whereby six relatives and friends supported him as Aidos or Latin sacramentali (oaths) with oaths on the Gospels if the amount in dispute was over 20 solidi . Five sacramentali stood by the plaintiff's side. If one of the sacramentali or the litigator could be convinced by the other side, the sacramentum was broken and the case decided. The plaintiff had to withdraw the accusation or the accused had to pay the fine. If the amount in dispute was less than 20 solidi , fewer sacramentali (oath helpers) and an oath ad arma sacrata (on the sacred weapons) were provided.

Another method for reaching a judgment was the camfio (judgment of God through duel). In some legal cases (clarification of the marital status of a son, murder of his wife, mundium about a married woman) the judgment was ruled out, "because it seems unjust that such serious matters are decided in battle under a shield". The fighters were not allowed to protect themselves by magic.

CCCLXVI – CCCLXXXVIII Miscellaneous

Waregangi (immigrants) could receive the privilege of living according to their own rights from the king, but they were always subject to Lombard inheritance law.

If a royal slave murdered a free man, the king paid the wergeld. The slave was executed for other offenses, but the king was exempt from paying the fine.

The murder of a sculdhais , gastaldius or actor regis (royal officials) was punished with a fine of 80 solidi in addition to wergeld . Corruption was countered by the fact that officials were forbidden during their term of office to accept "gifts" without the approval of the king; all proceeds went to the king.

Rothari countered superstition by forbidding the killing of a woman because she was a striga ( witch ), "because a Christian cannot believe that a woman eats up a living man from within."

swell

  • [1] Legal text (Latin).
Wikisource: Historia Langobardorum  - Sources and full texts (Latin)

literature

  • Franz Beyerle (ed.): The laws of the Lombards. 2 volumes. (Germanic Rights, Vol. 3). Witzenhausen 1962.
  • Alban Dold: On the oldest manuscript of the Edictus Rothari. Original version of the Longobard Law, time and place of its creation. With 38 initial, decorative and typeface images necessary for evidence and a reconstruction of the title page in four-color printing. Stuttgart, Cologne 1955.
  • Thomas Hodgkin: Italy and her Invaders , Vol. VI pp. 174-238 (partially outdated).
  • Carl Meyer: Language and linguistic monuments of the Lombards. Sources, grammar, glossary , Schöningh, Paderborn 1877.
  • Walter Pollack: The systematic structure and the technique of the wound penalty regulations in the Edictus Rothari. Berlin, Leipzig 1913.

Web links

Remarks

  1. The terms in brackets only give the approximate meaning and are not an exact translation. Many Longobard terms have no modern equivalent due to the changed social structure.
  2. a b c d e f g h 1 solidus corresponded to 4.55 grams of gold (as of April 2010: around € 220) The gold price, however, is subject to strong fluctuations and is not very representative. The following prices can serve as a measure of value: a bridled horse = 100 solidi, a coat = 10 solidi, a tunic = 10 solidi (cf. Hodgkin: Italy and her Invaders Vol VI, p. 414).
  3. see also: # CCXXIV – CCXXVI release

Individual evidence

  1. Historia Langobardorum IV, 42
  2. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders Vol VI p. 175
  3. a b Hartmann, History of Italy in the Middle Ages, Vol. II Part 1, pp. 241–243.
  4. Hartmann, Geschichte Italiens im Mittelalter Vol. II Part 2, S. 2ff.
  5. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Meyer, Sprach der Langobard, p. 275 ff.
  6. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, Vol. VI, pp. 183ff.
  7. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, Vol. VI, pp. 186ff.
  8. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, Vol. VI, pp. 190f.
  9. a b Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, Vol. VI, p. 193ff.
  10. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, Vol. VI, pp. 197ff.
  11. Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, Vol. VI, pp. 224ff.