The
Law of the Twelve Tables (
Lex Duodecim Tabularum, more informally simply
Duodecim Tabulae) was the ancient
legislationLegislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law...
that stood at the foundation of
Roman lawThe term Roman law denotes the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the seventh century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the official lingua franca. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence —...
. The Law of the Twelve Tables formed the centerpiece of the constitution of the
Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a republican form of government. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, c...
and the core of the
mos maiorumMos Maiorum, literally translated as the “custom of the fathers/ancestors,” is the core concept of Roman traditionalism. The mos maiorum , was an unwritten code from which the Romans derived their societal norms. These customs were distinct from the laws that would be recorded in writing...
. The Twelve Tables must be distinguished from the unrelated, much older "
twelve shieldsThe Ancile, in ancient Rome, is the legendary buckler shield of the god Mars, said to have fallen from heaven, upon Numa Pompilius. At the same time, a voice was heard which declared that Rome should be mistress of the world while the shield was preserved. The Ancile was, as it were, the palladium...
" of King
Numa PompiliusNuma Pompilius was the second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus.-Life and Reign:Plutarch tells that Numa was the youngest of Pomponius' four sons, born on the day of Rome's founding . He lived a severe life of discipline and banished all luxury from his home...
.
History
According to traditional, semi-legendary historical accounts preserved in
LivyTitus 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...
, during the earliest period of the Republic the laws were kept secret by the
pontificesThe Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the Ancient Roman College of Pontiffs. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
and other representatives of the patrician class, and were enforced with untoward severity, especially against the plebeian class. A plebeian named
TerentiliusGaius Terentilius Harsa, better known simply as Terentilius, was a plebeian tribune in Rome around 462 BC.Terentilius agitated for a formal code of laws in the early days of the Roman Republic...
proposed in
462 BC-Greece:* The Spartans try to conquer the mountain stronghold of Mt Ithome in Messenia, where a large force of rebellious helots have taken refuge. They ask their allies from the Persian Wars, including the Athenians, to help....
that an official
legal codeA Code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted, by a process of codification. Though the process and motivations for codification are similar in common law and civil law...
should be published, so that plebeians could not be surprised and would know the law.
Patricians long opposed this request, but in ca.
451 BC-Greece:* The Persian fleet moves against a rebellious Cyprus to restore order. Kimon, who returns to favour, though not to power, in Athens, plans an expedition to help Cyprus. He gains Pericles' support....
, the first
DecemvirateDecemviri is a Latin term meaning "Ten Men" which designates any such commission in the Roman Republic...
, or board of ten men, was appointed to draw up the first ten tables. They allegedly sent an embassy to
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
to study the legislative system of
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, known as the
Solonian ConstitutionThe Solonian Constitution was created by Solon in the early 6th century BC.Solon wanted to revise or abolish the older laws of Draco, which had not solved any of the problems in Athens despite inflicting harsh penalties for almost every crime. Under Solon's reforms, all debts were abolished and all...
, but also to find out about the legislation of other
GreekThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
cities. Modern scholars believe that a Roman assembly most likely visited the Greek cities of Southern Italy, and did not travel all the way to Greece. In 450 B.C. the second decemviri started work on the last 2 tables.
The first Decemvirate completed the first ten codes in
450 BC-Greece:* Athenian general Cimon sails to Cyprus with two hundred triremes of the Delian League. From there, he sends sixty ships to Egypt to help the Egyptians under Amyrtaeus, who is fighting the Persians in the Nile Delta. Cimon uses the remaining ships to aid an uprising of the Cypriot Greek...
. Here is how Livy describes their creation, "...every citizen should quietly consider each point, then talk it over with his friends, and, finally, bring forward for public discussion any additions or subtractions which seemed desirable." In
449 BC- Greece :* The Greek city-states make peace with the Persian Empire through the Peace of Callias, named after the chief Greek ambassador to the Persian Court, an Athenian who is a brother-in-law of Cimon. Athens agrees to end its support for the Egyptians rebels still holding out in parts of the...
, the second Decemvirate completed the last two codes, and after a
secessio plebisSecessio plebis was an informal exercise of power by Rome's plebeian citizens, similar to a general strike taken to the extreme. During a secessio plebis, the plebs would simply abandon the city en masse and leave the patrician order to themselves...
to force the Senate to consider them, the
Law of the Twelve Tables was formally promulgated. The Twelve Tables were drawn up on twelve ivory tablets (Livy says
bronzeBronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive, but sometimes with other elements such as phosphorus, manganese, aluminium, or silicon. It was particularly significant in antiquity, giving its name to the Bronze Age...
) which were posted in the
Roman ForumThe Roman Forum , sometimes known by its original Latin name, is located between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill of the city of Rome. It is the central area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed...
so that all Romans could read and know them.
The laws of the Twelve Tables were not a comprehensive statement of all law; they are a sequence of definitions of various private rights and procedures, similar to a bill of rights. They generally took for granted such things as the institutions of the family and various rituals for formal transactions.
For such an important document, it is somewhat surprising that the original text has been lost. The original tablets were destroyed when the
GaulGaul is a historical name used in the context of the Roman Empire in references to the region of Western Europe approximating present day France and Belgium, but also sometimes including the Po Valley, western Switzerland, and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River...
s under Brennus burnt Rome in
390 BC-Roman Republic:* July 18 – Brennus, a chieftain of the Senones of the Adriatic coast of Italy, in the Battle of the Allia, leads an army of Cisalpine Gauls in their attack on Rome. They capture the entire city of Rome except for the Capitoline Hill, which is successfully held against them....
. There was no other official promulgation of them to survive, only unofficial editions. What we have of them today is brief excerpts and quotations from these laws in other authors. They are written in a strange, archaic,
laconicA laconic phrase is a very concise or terse statement, named after Laconia , a polis of ancient Greece surrounding the city of Sparta proper. In common usage, Sparta referred both to Lacedaemon and Sparta...
, and somewhat childish and sing-song version of Latin (described as
SaturnianSaturnian meter or verse is an old Latin and Italic poetic form, of which the principles of versification have become obscure. Only 132 complete uncontroversial verses survive. 95 literary verses and partial fragments have been preserved as quotations in later grammatical writings, as well as 37...
verse). As such, though we cannot tell whether the quoted fragments accurately preserve the original form, what we have gives us some insight into the grammar of
early LatinOld Latin refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC...
. The belief is that the text was written as such in order that plebians could more easily memorize the laws, as literacy was not commonplace during early Rome.
Like most other early codes of law, they combine strict and rigorous penalties with equally strict and rigorous procedural forms. In most of the surviving quotations from these texts, the original table that held them is not given. Scholars have guessed at where surviving fragments belong by comparing them with the few known attributions and records; many of which do not include the original lines, but paraphrases.
It cannot be known with any certainty from what survives that the originals ever were organized this way, or even if they ever were organized by subject at all.
TABLE I (Civil procedureCivil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...
)
- Si in ius vocat, ito. Ni it, antestamino. Igitur em capito.
If someone is called to go to
courtA court is a body, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and dispense civil, criminal, or administrative justice in accordance with rules of law....
, he has to go. If he doesn't go, a
witnessA witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about a crime or dramatic event through their senses , and can help certify important considerations to the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event firsthand is known as an "eye-witness"...
should be called. Only then should he be captured.
- Si calvitur pedemve struit, manum endo iacito. Si morbus aevitasve vitium escit, iumentum dato. Si nolet, arceram ne sternito.
If he shirks or flees, he should be captured. If illness or old age is an impediment, let him be given a
carriageA carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, these being litters or wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be...
. If he doesn't want it, it should not be covered.
- Adsiduo vindex adsiduus esto. Proletario iam civi quis volet vindex esto.
Only a landowner should be
suretyA surety is a person who agrees to be responsible for the debt or obligation of another. Furthermore, a surety is also a "security against loss or damage or for the fulfillment of an obligation, the payment of a debt, etc.; a pledge, guaranty, or bond."The situation in which a surety is most...
for another landowner. But any citizen can be surety for a proletarian.
- Rem ubi pacunt, orato. Ni pacunt, in comitio aut in foro ante meridiem caussam coiciunto. Com peroranto ambo praesentes. Post meridiem praesenti litem addicito. Si ambo praesentes, solis occasus suprema tempestas esto.
When parties have made an agreement, announce it. If they don't agree, they shall state their case in the
ForumThe Roman Forum , sometimes known by its original Latin name, is located between the Palatine hill and the Capitoline hill of the city of Rome. It is the central area around which the ancient Roman civilization developed...
before noon. They shall plead together in person. After noon, let the judge pronounce. If both are present, the case shall end at sunset.
TABLE II (Civil procedureCivil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...
)
- …morbus sonticus… aut status dies cum hoste… quid horum fuit unum iudici arbitrove reove, eo dies diffensus esto. Cui testimonium defuerit, is tertiis diebus ob portum obvagulatum ito.
Serious illness… or else a day appointed with an enemy; … if any of these is an impediment for the judge or any party, on that day proceedings must end.
One who seeks the testimony from an absent person should wail before his doorway every third day.
TABLE III (Debt)
- Aeris confessi rebusque iure iudicatis XXX dies iusti sunto.
A person who admits to owing money or has been adjudged to
owe moneyDebt is that which is owed; usually referencing assets owed, but the term can also cover moral obligations and other interactions not requiring money. In the case of assets, debt is a means of using future purchasing power in the present before a summation has been earned...
must be given 30 days to pay.
- Post deinde manus iniectio esto. In ius ducito. Ni iudicatum facit aut quis endo eo in iure vindicit, secum ducito, vincito aut nervo aut compedibus XV pondo, ne maiore aut si volet minore vincito. Si volet suo vivito, ni suo vivit, qui eum vinctum habebit, libras faris endo dies dato. Si volet, plus dato.
After then, the creditor can lay hands on him and haul him to court. If he does not satisfy the judgment and no one is surety for him, the creditor may take the defendant with him in stocks or chains with a weight of no more than 15 lbs. (or less if he desires). The debtor may live where he wishes. If he does not live on his own, the creditor must give him a pound of wheat a day. If he wants to he may give more.
- Tertiis nundinis partis secanto. Si plus minusve secuerunt, se fraude esto.
On the third market day, (creditors) may cut pieces. If they take more than they are due, they do so with impunity.
- Adversus hostem aeterna auctoritas esto.
Against a foreigner, the right of property is valid forever.
TABLE IV (Parents and children)
- Cito necatus insignis ad deformitatem puer esto.
An obviously deformed child must be put to death.
- Si pater filium ter venum duit, filius a patre liber esto.
If a father sells his son into
slaverySlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. 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 receive compensation...
three times, the son shall be free of his father.
TABLE V (InheritanceInheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
)
- Si intestato moritur, cui suus heres nec escit, adgnatus proximus familiam habeto. Si adgnatus nec escit, gentiles familiam habento.
If a person dies intestate without heirs, the nearest male kinsman shall inherit. If there is no near male kinsmen, his
clansmenIn ancient Rome, a gens was a family or clan that shared a common name and a belief in a common ancestor...
shall inherit.
- Si furiosus escit, adgnatum gentiliumque in eo pecuniaque eius potestas esto.
If someone goes mad, his nearest male kinsman shall have authority over his property.
TABLE VI (PropertyProperty is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of persons. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property has the right to consume, sell, rent, mortgage, transfer, exchange or destroy his or her property, and/or to exclude others from...
)
- Cum nexum faciet mancipiumque, uti lingua nuncupassit, ita ius esto.
When someone makes bond or conveyance and announces it orally, right shall be given.
- Tignum iunctum aedibus vineave sei concapit ne solvito.
No one must displace beams from buildings or vineyards.
TABLE VII (Real PropertyIn the common law, real property refers to one of the two main classes of property, the other being personal property. Real property generally encompasses land, land improvements resulting from human effort including buildings and machinery sited on land, and various property rights over the...
)
- Viam muniunto ni sam delapidassint, qua volet iumento agito.
[A property owner must] build a road [if there is a right-of-way]; if they become
dilapidatedDilapidation is a term meaning in general a falling into decay, but more particularly used in the plural in English law for# the waste committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living...
, passersby can drive their beasts where ever they want.
- Si aqua pluvia nocet… iubetur ex arbitrio coerceri.
If runoff [from someone else's property] does damage, he shall be made to fix it by the judge.
TABLE VIII (TortTort law is a body of law that addresses, and provides remedies for, civil wrongs not arising out of contractual obligations. A person who suffers legal damages may be able to use tort law to receive compensation from someone who is legally responsible, or liable, for those injuries...
s)
- Qui malum carmen incantassit…
Those who have incanted an evil song…
- Si membrum rupsit, ni cum eo pacit, talio esto.
If one has maimed another and does not buy his peace, let there be retaliation in kind.
- Manu fustive si os fregit libero, CCC, si servo, CL poenam subito si iniuriam faxsit, viginti quinque poenae sunto.
Someone who breaks another's bone by hand or club must pay 300 sesterces; for a slave, 150; if he has done simple harm against another, 25.
- Qui fruges excantassit… neve alienam segetem pellexeris
Someone who kills crops with a spell, or another's corn…
- Patronus si clienti fraudem fecerit, sacer esto.
If a
patronPatronus was part of the social customs of Ancient Rome, a social term that referred to the senior party in one of several social relationships....
defrauds his client, let him be
outlawedHomo sacer is an obscure figure of Roman law: a person who is banned, may be killed by anybody, but may not be sacrificed in a religious ritual...
.
- Qui se sierit testarier libripensve fuerit, ni testimonium fatiatur, inprobus intestabilisque esto.
If one has been called to witness, or hold the scales, unless he gives his testimony, let him be dishonoured and incapable of further testimony.
- Si telum manu fugit magis quam iecit, arietem subicito.
If an object flies unaimed from your hand rather than aimed [and causes injury], you will owe a ram.
TABLE IX (ConstitutionA constitution is a set of rules for government—often codified as a written document—that establishes principles of an autonomous political entity. In the case of countries, this term refers specifically to a national constitution defining the fundamental political principles, and establishing the...
al principles)
- Privilegia ne irroganto.
4. The penalty shall be death for a judge or arbiter legally appointed who has been found guilty of receiving a bribe for giving a decision.
5. Treason: he who shall have roused up a public enemy or handed over a citizen to a public enemy must suffer capital punishment.
6. Putting to death of any man, whosoever he might be unconvicted, is forbidden.
TABLE X (FuneralA funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour. These customs vary widely between cultures, and...
regulations)
- Hominem mortuum in urbe ne sepelito neve urito.
No dead man may be
crematedCremation is the process of reducing human remains to basic chemical compounds in the form of gases and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high temperatures and vaporization....
nor buried in the City.
- Qui coronam parit ipse pecuniave eius honoris virtutisve ergo arduitur ei…
When a man wins a crown, or his slave or cattle win a crown for him,…
- Neve aurum addito. At cui auro dentes iuncti escunt. Ast in cum illo sepeliet uretve, se fraude esto.
No one must add
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
(to a funeral pyre). But if his teeth are held together with gold, and are buried or burnt with him, it shall be with impunity.
TABLE XI (MarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
)
- Conubia plebi cum patribus sanxerunt.
Marriages between plebeians and patricians are prohibited.
Men in the army may not wed until training is complete.
TABLE XII (CrimeCrime is the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some governing authority, via mechanisms such as police power, may ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s)
- Si servo furtum faxit noxiamve noxit.
If a
slaveSlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. 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 receive compensation...
has committed theft or harm…
- Si vindiciam falsam tulit, si velit is… tor arbitros tris dato, eorum arbitrio… fructus duplione damnum decidito.
Someone who has brought a false claim shall be brought before three judges, and shall pay a double penalty or be sent to death if he cannot do the time.
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