Lawsuits in Context

BEYOND DOGMATICS. LAW AND SOCIETY IN THE ROMAN WORLD, J. W. Cairns, P. du Plessis, eds., pp. 187-205, Edinburgh, 2007.

19 Pages Posted: 8 Nov 2008 Last revised: 15 Jan 2016

See all articles by Ernest Metzger

Ernest Metzger

University of Glasgow - School of Law

Date Written: November 5, 2008

Abstract

The study of Roman procedure has benefited enormously from the discovery of wooden tablets near Pompeii. They are variously referred to as 'the Murecine tablets' (after the Agro Murecine, their place of discovery), 'the Pompeian tablets' (after the ancient site near their place of discovery), 'the Puteoli tablets' (after the ancient site from which they were removed in antiquity), or 'the archive of the Sulpicii' (after the presumed owner of the archive in antiquity).

Unfortunately, the tablets are sometimes misinterpreted, for the simple reason that the procedures they describe do not always match the procedures which more familiar sources have (wrongly) led us to believe existed. The tablets, in fact, give us the rare opportunity to revise our understanding of procedure, particularly when taken together with another remarkable find, the lex Irnitana.

This article gives a sketch of the 'new' Roman civil procedure now available to us as a result of these exciting finds.

Keywords: Roman law, Murecine, Puteoli, Pompeii, civil procedure, vadimonium

Suggested Citation

Metzger, Ernest, Lawsuits in Context (November 5, 2008). BEYOND DOGMATICS. LAW AND SOCIETY IN THE ROMAN WORLD, J. W. Cairns, P. du Plessis, eds., pp. 187-205, Edinburgh, 2007., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1296137

Ernest Metzger (Contact Author)

University of Glasgow - School of Law ( email )

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5 - 8 The Square
Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QQ
United Kingdom

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