Even though the history of the world is boldly captured in the annals of general history, there is a high likelihood that it is susceptible to lose its taste, importance and relevance if some of the micro annals that make the larger whole are deleted or separated from it due to their continued relevance to date. Of all the micro annals that make the larger annals of history, that of ancient Rome takes centre stage. The reasons for this kind of generalization are many and varied, but the most important is the fact that they serve as the backbone of the current affairs taking place within the contemporary society, and are most likely to last for the coming generations. A case in point is the matter of law. Despite its presence and importance in every contemporary nation on earth, it largely owes its source to the laws used in the medieval Rome, where they were formulated to serve roles similar to the ones they currently serve. This paper purposes to delve into the laws made by Romulus in medieval Rome between 753-716 BC, in addition to analyzing them through their context of the application.
From part of the above discussion, it is apparently clear that the laws made by Romulus operated between 753 and 716 BC. While the laws appear and somewhat sound distinct in nature, a deeper look into them reveals that the sole purpose of formulating them was to capture the general inhabitants of Rome at this historical period 1 . As such, the laws tend to differ in many aspects and purposes. For example, some of the laws served the purpose of sustaining social stratification in Rome after Romulus had differentiated the inhabitants of Rome regarding higher social ranking and general social conditioning. In one of such laws, duties were apportioned by the incumbent King according to the rank occupied by the individual in the Roman society. In this case, patricians were made to be priests, judges and magistrates; plebeians were made to be cattle breeders, farmers and artisans.
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In the law of patronage, “ the patricians were required to interpret the law for their own clients; ... to bring suit on behalf of clients when wronged; ... and to support them in the action; ... the clients were required to contribute to the dowry of their patrons;... to pay ransom to the enemy, if their patrons or their children became prisoners of war; to discharge the obligation from their own resources, if their patron was condemned in a private suit or incurred a monetary penalty in a public suit.... In common to both, it was neither holy nor lawful to bring suit, to testify, or to cast a vote one against the other” 2 . From the content of this law, it becomes clear that Romulus was bent on stratifying the Roman society according to classes. In a sense, the desire of Romulus was to ensure that individuals within the Roman society who happened to occupy a higher rank in the Roman social structure occupied the power of manipulation and control over the other segment of the Roman population predominated by low-ranking members of the society. From a political perspective, this kind of law meant that the lower ranking members of the society such as the clients to patricians already mentioned remained restrained from possessing or accumulating any form of political clout that could, in the long run, be detrimental to the political stability of the Roman society.
By giving their daughters in marriage to the patricians, the clients were by extension forming a political and social alliance with the patricians in such a way that chances of dissent or opposition to the members of the top Roman social and political class were downscaled if not outrightly eliminated. In other words, Romulus intended the Roman society to be governed by individuals who possessed certain important skills that the other section of the society to be governed did not possess.
In the law of absolute power over fatherhood, the father had total power over the son throughout the lifetime of the son. The law allowed for the imprisonment of the son by the father. In addition, it allowed for flogging, putting him to death, selling him, keeping the son in bond for field labors, and profiteering from the son till the third sale when the son became released from the power of the father 3 . The intention of Romulus, in regards to this law, was to form a patriarchal society whereby the male figure in Rome, dominated the general aspect of the society starting from the family level to include the conduct of justice and commerce. In another sense, the law was meant to act as a kind of ritual for the male folk in the Roman society, especially the younger ones. By giving this kind of extraordinary power to the father, Romulus was, in fact, making the upcoming generation of Romans to be ready for the challenge that comes with fatherhood and the larger benefit of the Roman society. Through the measures contained in this law, an upcoming individual in the Roman society was deliberately made to man up for the murky waters that characterized the position of manhood and fatherhood in life.
Bibliography
Ancient Roman Statutes: translation, with introduction, commentary, glossary, and index by Allan Chester Johnson, Paul Robinson Coleman-Norton, Frank Card Bourne; general editor, Clyde Pharr Austin: University of Texas Press, 1961
1 Ancient Roman Statutes: translation, with introduction, commentary, glossary, and index by Allan Chester Johnson, Paul Robinson Coleman-Norton, Frank Card Bourne; general editor, Clyde Pharr Austin: University of Texas Press, 1961
2 Ancient Roman Statutes: translation, with introduction, commentary, glossary, and index by Allan Chester Johnson, Paul Robinson Coleman-Norton, Frank Card Bourne; general editor, Clyde Pharr Austin: University of Texas Press, 1961
3 Ancient Roman Statutes: translation, with introduction, commentary, glossary, and index by Allan Chester Johnson, Paul Robinson Coleman-Norton, Frank Card Bourne; general editor, Clyde Pharr Austin: University of Texas Press, 1961
