Twelve tables - Fetial Priests - Struggle of Orders - Cursus Honorum
12 Tables - 50, 490
About the Twelve Tables
A century or so after the conversion of Rome from Monarchy to Republic the decemvirs
issued the “Law of the Twelve Tables”. Rome was taking shape and there was a popular consent
to limit the consuls’ power and write down Rome’s laws, thereby making them public for the first
time. A commission of ten men named decemvirs was organized. They were granted ultimate
authority over Rome for one year. By year’s end they were to produce a body of laws for the
governance of the Republic. The result was the “Law of the Twelve Tables” and this body of law
was to serve as the foundational Roman text in law for centuries.
A second decemvirs was organized but is reported to have been more tyranical than the
it’s predecessor. A common story told about the second decemvirs is one regarding Appius
Claudius. He longed for Verginia and her father killed her to prevent Claudius from having her.
Whether the tale is true or not resisstance to the second commision resulted in the fall of the
second decemvirs. Some of their measures were moderated while some of their provisions
endured.
The textbook calls the Twelve Tables ‘a collection of specific, detailed, and narrowly
focused provisions. They reflect a Roman society where the family and home are the primary
social unit and where animal rearing and agriculture are the main economic activities. Among
the things addressed in the Laws were issues of marriage and divorce, inheritance, and the rights
of a father over members of his household. It also tried to regulate disputes over land ownership,
property such as buildings and animals, trees and slaves and injury to person or property.
It was upto the accuser to inform the defendant of the charge as well as guarantee his
appearance in court. If a defendant failed to appear the law permitted the accuser to seize the
defendant and transport him by force.
Issues of debt were the laws’ main concerns. Debtors had thirty days to pay a debt in default or to
satisfy a judgement against them. If they did not pay up in time then the creditor could seize
debtor. At this point the creditor would bring the debtor to the Forum on three successive market
days. If debts remain unpaid the creditor could sell the man into slavery “abroad, across the
Tiber”. This phrase “abroad, across the Tiber” seem to indicate that Romans could not legally be
held as slaves in Rome itself or in Latium. A debtor could enter into nexum (debt-bondage) and
in becoming a nexi (a man in debt-bondage) would serve their creditor for as long as the debt
remained unpaid.
Struggle of Orders - pp. 53 - 57, 489
In the fifth and early fourth centuries Rome was engaged in foreign wars.
At home there was a seemingly greater conflict taking place amongst groups of citizens. This
conflict is called “Struggle of the Orders”. Generally it is taken to mean the conflict between two
Roman classes; Patricians and Plebeians, and it is a safe interpretation. It also refers to a time in
Rome when there was much disputation and fighting amongst Latin citizens in general. This
struggle was the birth pains of a Republic. There was great competition between members of the
Roman elite for leadership in the city which lead to frequent violence and disorder.
As was common in the archaic Italian and Greek worlds leading families would try to
monopolize offices when a King or great leader fell. The main issues of contention between what
we can call the Patricians (aristocracy) and the Plebeians (average citizens) were access to
magistracies, the ability of offials to punish at will, the roles of magistrates and citizen assemblies
regarding the selection of officeholders and the forming of laws restricting the actions of
magistrates.
Patricians - to be a Patrician one had to belong to one of a very few
families. Their origins may be
in the families of the 8th century
that arose to organize and lead certain Latin
communities.
With few exceptions Patricians were the sole holders of public office.
They also administered religious life to a great extent. In taking office a magistrate would
take the auspices (auspicium; rites by which an officeholder sought the approval of the gods to
take up his office and the divine consent for all of his official actions).
Plebeians - Plebeians greatly outnumbered the Patricians. It was not a group as homogenous as
the Patricians. It contained people with a range of statuses and roles in Rome. Most were poor
but not all. By the early 4th century they were producing leaders from their own ranks. Matters of
land distribution and debt would have concerned them the most. They would sometimes
perform a ‘secession’. It was a king of strike in a time of war. Plebeian members of an army
withdrew to hills outside of Rome, choosing a leader, they refused to cooperate with the
magistrates until their grievances were heard. This was successful at least 3 times.
As the Plebeians grew in stature and rank a dual organization within Rome arose. The
Consuls and military tribunes of Rome lead the populus Romanus in matters of politics, military
and religion. Under this leadership the Plebeians created a somewhat parallel organization of
officials and cults.
It only concerned the Plebs and did not effect the greater populace. The first great gain for the
Plebs was the tribuni plebis. They chose their own leaders. They established a cult site at the
temple of Ceres, the goddess of grain, on Aventine hill. The main function of Plebeian officials
was to protect their people from injustice as well as Auxilium; the giving of aid.
I am unable to find the text on Cursus Homorum or on Fetial Priests. I don’t want to go from
memory and miss some points. I’m including another author’s explanation. Sorry!
Cursus Honorum ~ the senate ~
Cursus honorum: the 'sequence of offices' in the career of a Roman politician.
The cursus honorumwas the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in both
the Roman Republic and the early Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The cursus
honorum comprised a mixture of military and political administration posts. Each office had a
minimum age for election. There were minimum intervals between holding successive offices
and laws forbade repeating an office
No one could be chosen praetor until he had been quaestor, or consul until he had been praetor.
These three magistracies, then, formed a career of office--the so-called cursus honorum--which it
was the aim of every ambitious Roman to complete as soon as possible. To be elected quaestor a
man had to be at least 30 years old [in the time of the Gracchi the age was 27], and the lowest
legal ages for the praetorship and the consulship were 40 and 43 respectively. The consulship
could in no case be held until three years after the praetorship. Consuls and praetors were curule
magistrates, but this was not the case with the quaestor. The office of curule aedile was often
held between the quaestorship and the praetorship, but it was not a necessary grade in the
cursus honorum. The minimum age for this office was
the twenty-seventh year
Cursus Honorum
•
Quaestor-The first office which had to be held in a political career.
Each year 20 men were elected to serve as Quaestors, i.e.
secretary/treasurers.
•
Aedile-Each year four men were elected to serve as Aediles, i.e.
managers of public buildings, services and entertainments. While this was not a required office
in the Cursus Honorum, it was one which allowed a young politician to become popular with
the people by spending his own money to make urban improvements.
•
Praetor-The second office which had to be held In a political career.
Each year eight men were elected to serve as Praetors, i.e. judges.
•
Consul-The third and highest office of the Cursus Honorum. Each year
two men were elected to serve as Consuls. I.e. Heads of State.
•
Censor -Although the office of Censor was frequently a logical next
step for a Magistrate who had served as Consul, It was not limited to Patricians who had
completed the Cursus Honorum. Every live years two men were elected to serve as Censors, i.e.
Census Takers and Guardians of the Public Mores (highly regarded virtues and personal codes
of behavior). The term of office for a Censor was 18 months, and after 339 B.C. It was required by
law that one of the Censors be elected from the ranks of the Plebeians
Fetial Priests Fetial priests were considered to be the guardians of peace. They were the ancient equivalent of
Rome's first foreign diplomatic corps.
The true beginnings of the order are lost in the sands of time. Creation of the order has been
attributed both to Numa Pompilius (Plutarch) and to Ancus Marcius (Livy).
Duties
The Fetials used ritual to attempt to resolve disputes between Rome and her neighbouring cities.
This ritual may have been put into place to prevent cross-border raids and reprisals between
small groups or families from turning into large scale wars. Other cities in the area had similar
orders of priests with the same responsibilities. It's not possible to say that the Romans were the
originators of the idea. It was likely taken, like so many of the institutions of early Rome, from
the Etruscans.
The Fetials mediated disputes. No violent action could take place until they had declared that a
negotiated settlement was impossible. The idea was to curb the Roman taste for war or to give
the declaration of war its own ritual.
The ritual was as follows. When a city offended Rome's honour in some way, a Fetial priest was
sent to that city as a herald of the people of Rome.
Once he arrived in the city, he would inform the ruling officials both of the greivance and a list
of Rome's demands to resolved these grievances. also acted as heralds to neighbouring cities that
had given offense to Rome,
delivering the terms that would appease the Romans. He would then wait for thirty-three days
for the city government to accept or reject the terms. .
If the terms were accepted, the Fetials returned to Rome and peace was maintained. If the terms
were rejected, the Fetials returned to Rome and consulted with the king and the Senate (later the
Senate and the People). The consultation took the form of a ritual question and answer. The
comitia centuriata then voted on whether or not to declare war.
If war was declared, the same Fetial returned to the border of enemy territory with an escourt.
He carried a spear to the border, made a ritual speech declaring war and then threw the spear
into enemy territory.
The Fetials themselves could not be involved in the war.
The Roman army could not leave to attack the neighbouring city until the Fetials had returned to
Rome after delivering the spear.
The order survived in name, if not in duty, at least until the beginning of the Principate.
Augustus was named a Fetial priest.