Ingenui
Encyclopedia
Ingenui or ingenuitas was a legal term of ancient Rome
indicating those freemen who were born free, as distinct from, for example, freedmen, who were freemen who had once been slaves.
In ancient Rome
, free men were either ingenui or libertini. Ingenui indicated those free men who were born free. Libertini were those men who were manumitted
from legal slavery
. Although freedmen were not ingenui, the sons of libertini were ingenui. A libertinus could not by adoption become ingenuus. If a female slave (ancilla) was pregnant, and was manumitted before she gave birth to the child, that child was born free, and therefore was ingenuus. In other cases, also, the law favored the claim of free birth, and consequently of ingenuitas. If a man's ingenuitas was a matter in dispute, there was a judicium ingenuitatis, which was a court to determine status with regard to patronal rights.
The words "ingenuus" and "libertinus" are often opposed to one another; and the title of freeman (liber), which would comprehend libertinus, is sometimes limited by the addition of ingenuus. According to Cincius
, in his work on Comitia, quoted by Festus
, those who in his time were called ingenui, were originally called patricii, which is interpreted by some scholars such as Carl Wilhelm Göttling
to mean that Gentile
s were originally called ingenui also, an interpretation that is the subject of some dispute.
Others reckon the meaning of the passage to be this: originally the name ingenuus did not exist, but the word patricius was sufficient to express a Roman citizen by birth. This remark then refers to a time when there were no Roman citizens except patricii; and the definition of ingenuus, if it had then been in use, would have been a sufficient definition of a patricius. But the word ingenuus was introduced, in the sense here stated, at a later time, and when it was wanted for the purpose of indicating a citizen by birth, merely as such. Thus, in the speech of Appius Claudius Crassus
, he contrasts with persons of patrician descent, "Unus Quiritium quilibet, duobus ingenuis ortus." Further, the definition of Gentilis by Scaevola
shows that a man might be ingenuus and yet not gentilis, for he might be the son of a freedman; and this is consistent with Livy
. If Cincius meant his proposition to be as comprehensive as the terms will allow us to take it, the proposition is this: All (now) ingenui comprehend all (then) patricii; which is untrue.
Under the empire
, Ingenuitas, or the Jura Ingenuitatis, might be acquired by imperial favor; that is, a person, not ingenuus by birth could be made so by the sovereign power. A freedman who had obtained the Jus Annulorum Aureorum, was considered ingenuus; but this did not interfere with the patronal rights. The natalibus restitutio was a decree in which the princeps
gave to a libertinus the rights and status of ingenuus; a form of proceeding which involved the theory of the original freedom of all mankind, for the libertinus was restored, not to the state in which he had been born, but to his supposed original state of freedom. In this case the patron lost his patronal rights by a necessary consequence, if the fiction were to have its full effect. It seems that questions as to a man's ingenuitas were common at Rome; which is not surprising, when we consider that patronal rights were involved in them.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
indicating those freemen who were born free, as distinct from, for example, freedmen, who were freemen who had once been slaves.
In ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, free men were either ingenui or libertini. Ingenui indicated those free men who were born free. Libertini were those men who were manumitted
Manumission
Manumission is the act of a slave owner freeing his or her slaves. In the United States before the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which abolished most slavery, this often happened upon the death of the owner, under conditions in his will.-Motivations:The...
from legal slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. Although freedmen were not ingenui, the sons of libertini were ingenui. A libertinus could not by adoption become ingenuus. If a female slave (ancilla) was pregnant, and was manumitted before she gave birth to the child, that child was born free, and therefore was ingenuus. In other cases, also, the law favored the claim of free birth, and consequently of ingenuitas. If a man's ingenuitas was a matter in dispute, there was a judicium ingenuitatis, which was a court to determine status with regard to patronal rights.
The words "ingenuus" and "libertinus" are often opposed to one another; and the title of freeman (liber), which would comprehend libertinus, is sometimes limited by the addition of ingenuus. According to Cincius
Cincius
Cincius, whose praenomen was likely Lucius and whose cognomen goes unrecorded, was an antiquarian writer probably during the time of Augustus...
, in his work on Comitia, quoted by Festus
Sextus Pompeius Festus
Sextus Pompeius Festus was a Roman grammarian, who probably flourished in the later 2nd century AD, perhaps at Narbo in Gaul.He made an epitome in 20 volumes of the encyclopedic treatise in many volumes De verborum significatu, of Verrius Flaccus, a celebrated grammarian who flourished in the...
, those who in his time were called ingenui, were originally called patricii, which is interpreted by some scholars such as Carl Wilhelm Göttling
Carl Wilhelm Göttling
Carl Wilhelm Göttling , German classical scholar, was born at Jena.He studied at the universities of Jena and Berlin, took part in the war against France in 1814, and finally settled down in 1828 as professor at the university of his native town, where he continued to reside till his death...
to mean that Gentile
Gentile
The term Gentile refers to non-Israelite peoples or nations in English translations of the Bible....
s were originally called ingenui also, an interpretation that is the subject of some dispute.
Others reckon the meaning of the passage to be this: originally the name ingenuus did not exist, but the word patricius was sufficient to express a Roman citizen by birth. This remark then refers to a time when there were no Roman citizens except patricii; and the definition of ingenuus, if it had then been in use, would have been a sufficient definition of a patricius. But the word ingenuus was introduced, in the sense here stated, at a later time, and when it was wanted for the purpose of indicating a citizen by birth, merely as such. Thus, in the speech of Appius Claudius Crassus
Appius Claudius Crassus
Appius Claudius Crassus was a decemvir of the Roman Republic ca 451 BC.His father was Appius Claudius Sabinus, Consul in 471 BCE...
, he contrasts with persons of patrician descent, "Unus Quiritium quilibet, duobus ingenuis ortus." Further, the definition of Gentilis by Scaevola
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex , the son of Publius Mucius Scaevola was a politician of the Roman Republic and an important early authority on Roman law. He is credited with founding the study of law as a systematic discipline...
shows that a man might be ingenuus and yet not gentilis, for he might be the son of a freedman; and this is consistent with Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
. If Cincius meant his proposition to be as comprehensive as the terms will allow us to take it, the proposition is this: All (now) ingenui comprehend all (then) patricii; which is untrue.
Under the empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, Ingenuitas, or the Jura Ingenuitatis, might be acquired by imperial favor; that is, a person, not ingenuus by birth could be made so by the sovereign power. A freedman who had obtained the Jus Annulorum Aureorum, was considered ingenuus; but this did not interfere with the patronal rights. The natalibus restitutio was a decree in which the princeps
Princeps
Princeps is a Latin word meaning "first in time or order; the first, chief, the most eminent, distinguished, or noble; the first man, first person."...
gave to a libertinus the rights and status of ingenuus; a form of proceeding which involved the theory of the original freedom of all mankind, for the libertinus was restored, not to the state in which he had been born, but to his supposed original state of freedom. In this case the patron lost his patronal rights by a necessary consequence, if the fiction were to have its full effect. It seems that questions as to a man's ingenuitas were common at Rome; which is not surprising, when we consider that patronal rights were involved in them.