Now, disclaimer, originally, I wanted this to be a standalone episode on the Manus, intended as a massive widely use institute of juridical Rome but. I imagined we could cover everything: from the technicalities of Manus to the structure of the familia, all the way down to marriage and the towering figure of the pater familias—the father of the Roman household—who held power not only over his wife and children, but also over slaves, freedmen, siblings, grandparents… even, one might say, the family dog.
But here’s what happened: the more I researched, the deeper the rabbit hole went. I realized the concept of Manus is so broad, so entangled with Roman society and identity, that trying to cover it all in one episode would be like trying to recite the Twelve Tables in a single breath.
So instead, I’m breaking it down. We're starting today with the very foundation of Roman domestic life—the familia.
Fonts:
D.50.16.195.1-2
D.38.10.4.1
Gai.1.10-11
Gar.2.159
Ulp.1.7, 1.8, 1.10, 1.11 and 1.12-13.
Burdese, Diritto Privato Romano, Utet 2006
Marrone, Istituzioni di Diritto Romano, Palumbo 2006
William L. Burdick, The Principles of Roman Law and Their Relation to Modern Law (The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd 2004)
The Main Institutions of the Roman Private Law, WW Buckland, Cambridge 2023
J. R. Trahan, ‘The Distinction between Persons and Things: An Historical Perspective’ (2008)
Gardner, Jane F. Family and Familia in Roman Law and Life. Oxford University Press, 1998.
Treggiari, Susan. Roman Marriage: Iusti Coniuges from the Time of Cicero to the Time of Ulpian. Clarendon Press, 1991.
Rawson, Beryl, ed. The Family in Ancient Rome: New Perspectives. Cornell University Press, 1986.
Thomas, Yan. "The Division of the Sexes in Roman Law." In A History of Women in the West: From Ancient Goddesses to Christian Saints, edited by Pauline Schmitt Pantel. Harvard University Press, 1992.
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