Leges regiae
Encyclopedia
The Leges Regiae were early Roman laws, which classical historians, such as Plutarch
, claimed were introduced by the Kings of Rome.
By the 19th century most historians doubted the authenticity of the leges regiae story. More recently though some scholars have acknowledged that, while the sources look to have been rewritten or enriched in the course of time, these laws may indeed originate from the period of the Roman Kingdom
. New research has discovered previously unknown fragments quoted by ancient writers and some changes have been made about attribution to the various kings.
It must be remembered that the position of the king during the whole course of the Regal period was that of political, military, religious and judiciary chief of the community, even though these duties were entrusted to his many auxiliaries.
, Romulus organized the tribes of Rome into thirty units called "Curia
" and he then administered the affairs of the state on the basis of the opinion the Curiate Assembly
. This event is at the origin of lex regia.
Romulus is also credited with creating another institution involved in the emanation of leges regiae - the council of the elders or Senate of the Roman Kingdom
.
After an interregnum Numa Pompilius
succeeded to Romulus: as it will happen for each of his successors an interrex
held the government til the election of the new king.. Numa emanated a number of important leges regiae. To him was attributed the compilation of the book Commentari regi.
A great innovation of his concerned criminal law on voluntary and non voluntary crimes.
Some scholars argue on lexical grounds that in this period some leges regiae showed a Sabine influence.
Successor Tullus Hostilius
is traditionally called the warrior king. He celebrated the solemn sacrifices using the work by Numa Commentari Numae. He created the officials named Fetiales who were a sacerdotal collegium.
After him Ancus Marcius
had sacral norms from Numa's work transcribed and made public. He established the jus fetiale and imprisonment.
The last three kings were Etruscans according to tradition. Their cultural heritage influenced the leges regiae of this period.
Tarquinius Priscus
emanated many laws that covered different areas: he doubled the number of the senators and of the Vestals.
Servius Tullius
then used Numa's work for the election of the consuls.
Moreover he established the census
and the timocratic constitution that will be the basis for the future development of the republican institutions.
During the reign of Tarquinius Superbus there are to be mentioned repressive laws, international treaties and the adoption of the Libri Sibyllini.
The end of the kingdom is seen by some scholars as a slow, gradual process, while traditionally it was the abrupt expulsion of the king.. This event brought about the abrogation of the leges regiae. However certainly not of all of them as e.g. the auspicium and Servius Tullius's reform of the eighteen equites survived.
With the advent of the Roman Republic
the need was felt for an official figure who could perform the sacred rites or make decisions through auspicium, an institution governed by the lex regia. In short a figure who could took over the functions previously discharged by the rex.
Thus the office of rex sacrorum
was created. It will last til 390 AD when emperor Theodosius I
abolished it. His power was strictly limited to the sphere of the sacrum. Scholars point out that when Pomponius in his Enchiridion states that the emanation of laws by the king took place on the deliberation of the curiae he refers to this period, i.e. a time when the power of the king was lessened.
The fire caused by the Gauls of king Brennus
brought about the loss of the written records of leges regiae. The work of rewriting carried out by the sacerdotes was essential. Besides it is believed that Sextus Papirius's collection had survived, and was available for consultation at the times of Pomponius.
Pomponius maintaines that all the leges regiae were abolished and they indeed disappeared in the following times.
Nonetheless scholars's research proves that some laws were still in use, e.g. Servius Tullius's norm of the eighteen equites. Livy himself writes that after the fire not only were the laws of the XII Tables collected by the sacerdotes and the senate but also laws of the kings, some of which were made public while some other were kept secret by the sacerdotes.
Finally Justinian's compilation mentions the leges regiae.
Moreover at that time the king played the role of supreme judge and guarantor of the pax deorum
, the peace between the community and the gods. This aim was to be achieved by the juridical instrument of the lex regia, the sacral role of the king being in fact that of a supreme judge.
The lex regia performed the function of composing controversies when the mores
could not solve them. Moreover it bestowed the king a way of solving religious and military issues, either directly or by means of some ausiliary as the magister populi of the Tarquinian times.
While on one hand the leges regiae created a new law different from the mores on the other hand they transformed some of them into laws.
It is believed that in the early times of the republic they were used as a mnemonic tool and a framework by the decemviri in the drafting of the XII Tables. Besides they acted as an intermediary stage between the mores and the XII Tables, answering the requirements of a society that was no longer satisfied with the revelations of the Pontifex Maximus.
At the beginning a clear Greek influence is detectable. Tradition wants that Romulus studied at Gabii
, moreover the Greek element in original Roman culture is certain. Trading and later political relationships are attested during the 8th century.
Another influence is the Sabine one that is reflected in the use of ox skin as a support for writing. Besides it is detectable in the character of the laws themselves as in the cases of the ones emanated by Servius Tullius, Numa Pompilius and even Romulus, as he reigned together with Titus Tatius
.
Etruscan influences become apparent in the period of Etruscan kings and are of political, economic and juridical nature: an example is the attitude of the king towards the gentes
, whose function was weakened by Etruscan kings.
Many scholars though opine Pomponius refers to the republican period and the rex sacrorum
as he had few sources for the archaic period. They do not trust the accuracy of these sources: for one thing they believe Pomponius's account was influenced by the model of voting method of the assemblies of the people of the republic (Comitia tributa, Comitia centuriata) in which the voting of the law proposed by a tribunus was voted by groupings named units. Votes were not counted by head but by a majority within each single unit. The unit system had been established by king Servius Tullius: a unit could be made up by citizens who were not owners of any assets or the first class of cavalry.
Moreover on the grounds of the powers the king held at the time of the regal period they think it was more probable that he decided without the veto of the curiae but only by the support of the collegium pontificum.
and by deliberation of the senate.
Some speculate that the curiae had only a function of public participation. The leges regiae were promulgated publicly at the presence of the curiae (comitia curiata).
Other sources state that on some days the king held a comitial assembly similar to those of the republican period. This is attested by the words Q(uando) R(ex) C(omitiavit) F(as) present on the first Roman calender.
On the above grounds scholars opine that the curiae had no voting right but only that of being present to the act of the promulgation as a witness and of showing their attitude on the matter by means of acclamation or of loud dissent.
On some occasions though the king allowed the intervention of the curiae on decisions in trials. Only one case is recorded, that of Publius Horatius.
It was so until the repressive action in criminal matters became subject to the exclusive decision of the assembly of the people.
Some sources suggest that Servius Tullius has set aside the curiae and had his decisions were voted by militarily arranged centuriae. First he had the first class made up of eighty centuriae and the 18 of the equites vote. If they all agreed the law was passed, if they did not then the following five classes in order of decreasing census were in turn asked to vote, down to the lowest one, which was made up of citizens with no means and exempted from military service. This process ended when the number of ninety-seven centuriae in favour was reached.
Since the lex regia on one hand was meant to create a ius certum and on the other stemmed from the mores, the means to enforce it were in most instances sanctions of religious, sacral nature , (a piaculum or a sacrificium
).
However these were not the only sanctions in use: other included the confiscation of property and capital punishment, that was not administered on any sacral principle but on that of retribution of an offense with an equal punishment.
On the basis of the fragmentary condition of our information, it can be said that they concerned public, sacral, succession, procedural, agricoltural, family, criminal matters as well as contract and obligations, although seldom they concerned the private sphere that was left mostly to the pater familias
and the gens
.
A partial detailed exposition follows here below.
's leges regiae were in part made in common with Titus Tatius
.
Many concern public law. These include the union of the different tribes involved in the founding of Rome and the institution of the three legal tribes named after their three chiefs Romulus, Titus Tatius and Lucumo Ramnenses, Titienses and Luceres respectively. These were in turn divided into ten curiae each.
According to our sources they had the function of electing the magistrates, passing laws and examining questions concerning war if the rex so requested.
Another important act was the institution of the Roman Senate
. It was formed by one hundred patricians. Romolus granted it the power of decision on the laws he proposed on a majority basis.
He statuted that Roman citizens should be warriors too, able to till the land and to wage war. He created the military unit known as legio
and his personal guard named the celeres
.
He reserved to himself decisions concerning sacred rites and sacrifices to gods, by the institution of sixty sacerdotes devoted to officiate them. In relation to this purpose he created the auspices and the augures. These people were taken from each curia. He created the Fratres Arvales, a sacred brotherhood devoted to agricultural rites of propitiation, the three flaminates i.e., the three flamines
maiores, the flamen Dialis
, the flamen Martialis
and the flamen Quirinalis
each devoted to the cult of a major deity.
He created the first Roman calendar year of 304 days divided into ten months: six of thirty days and four of thirty-one.
He established the ritual for the dedication
of temples.
His provisions concerning private law were:
succession of the wife in manus
of the husband. If the husband dies first then the wife inherits his properties, in case there are children only by half.
He decided the jurisdiction of the rex as a guarantor of the lex regia. He also reserved to himself the right of judging most serious crimes while leaving other to the senate.
He decided to divide the land among the curiae, allotting it in part to agriculture and in part to the building temples or other sacred purposes.
He established that parents were obliged to nurture their children, at least the first (primogenitus) and were not allowed to kill them if they were under age three.
An exception was the case that the child was a monstrum (seriously handicapped): in this case though the procedure required that the child were shown to five neighbours who testified its condition. If this procedure was not observed the punishment was the confiscation of half of the property or other sanctions.
He established the power of patrimoniality and authority of the pater familias
, the patria potestas on illegal children (filius alieni iuris) that included the right to kill them.
In matrimonial law, he established the practice of manus marriage
, in which the wife comes into the "hand" of the husband; that is, she is subject to his control as were his children. By this provision the wife was subject to her husband and was obliged to follow him and support him in every business including cults. (From the 2nd century BC, this was no longer the predominate form of marriage in Rome; the wife instead remained legally a part of her own family, and was never subject to her husband's control.) In the social field he is supposed to have created the system of patronage (patronus and cliens)
.
Crimes of women such as adultery and wine drinking had to be punished according to the law, but the decision was allocated to the family of the woman.
. By this act he subordined his future power to the decision of the comitia curiata.
This law will be in future presented by every king til emperor Augustus
and even later.
He abolished the celeres.
He divided Rome into pagi
, each of them having their own magistrate and guard to police the territory.
He was the first to introduce the division of the people according to their profession thus creating the corporations.
In the religious domain he instituted the menses (lunar months) and reformed the calendar by creating a twelve lunar month year plus an intercalary month (mercedonium), created various flaminates (including those other sources attribute to Romulus) and sacerdotia among which the Fetiales and the Salii
, increased the number of the Vestales from four to six.
He instituted the Pontifex maximus
besides increasing the number of the sacerdotes and of the Collegium Pontificum and established various forms of dedication
concerning various cults.
In private law he made provision concerning the paelex (concubine).
He made new redistributions of land, as the allotting to plebeians of demanial land.
In the field of criminal law his innovations were remarkable: he established the distinction between voluntary homicide (named paricida) and non voluntary.
In the first instance were nominated the quaestores paricidi to investigate the case and the accused was classified as paricida if he had killed with intention a free man or even a parent or relative. In the first case paricida is connoted as homicida. The sanctioned parricidas punishment is unknown. In the second the parricidas punishment was the poena cullei. Its provisions consisted in closing the culprit murderer in a sack of ox skin and throwing him into the sea. Later it was changed to making the culprit exlege.
In case of non voluntary homicide it was only required the sacrifice of a goat to expiate the crime and purify the culprit.
Some sources attribute to Numa the creation of the Vestals . However according to tradition they existed In Latin towns since before the foundation of Rome and it must be remembered that Titus Tatius had already dedicated the aedes Vestae.
Theft of sacred objects or in sacred places was dealt with as paricidium, perjury was punished with death.
A father was allowed to sell his son unless he had already allowed him to get married.
Wives were forbidden to drink wine as well as having relationships of any kind, unless the husband decided to present them to a childless man to father children. Afterwards he could decide to take her back.
Marriage was allowed even with girls under twelfth.
However women were permitted to make testament while their father was still living.
A lex regia traditionally ascribed to Numa is that concerning the spolia opima
, or more precisely one of the two definitions of this institution: there is the occasion for them whenever a Roman defeats a dux hostium (chief of enemies) even if the victor is not necessarily the Roman dux. Three kinds of spoils are mentioned: the first consists of an offer of the arms of the defeated to Jupiter Feretrius and the sacrifice of an ox, the second of their offer to Mars and the sacrifice of solitaurilia (probably suovetaurilia) and the third their offer to Janui Quirino and the sacrifice of a lamb. They apply to the case that the Roman was the chief, an army officer or a common soldiar respectively.
, introduced the use of the painted toga
named toga praetexta, created the office of the fetiales and their ritual function in the declaration of war. Only through this rite could a war be a just war (bellum iustum), i.e. a war in accord with the requirements of religion.
He also established the festivals Agonales and Saturnalia
devoted to god Saturn
us, as well as making the addition of another group (Collini related to god Quirinus
to the sacerdotium of the Salii
.
He allowed some landless Romans to settle the Caelium.
During his reign the case of Marcus Horatius is remarkable in the field of criminal law. When this Marcus Horatius was accused of perduellio
, the duumviri perduellionis emitted a virdict of culpability on the question of the provocatio ad populum, a peculiarly devised procedural condition. Horatius's father though objected to the virdict. King Hostilius was unable to reach a decision, thus remitted the judgement to the people, i.e. the curiae. Marcus was acquitted.
King Hostilius also made laws that punished treason towards the king and desertion with death.
To him is ascribed the creation of the penalty known as arbor infelix.
In the field of morals and the family he made a law that condemned incest
: the culprit would become sacred
to Diana in a public ceremony of derision and contempt. He also decided that the state would subsidise families who had a trigeminous delivery.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus Ant. Rom. 3, 36, 4
Marcius too emanated his own lex curiata de imperio.
In the field of public law established the foundations for the rerum repetitio, laws concerning sea trade and the taxation of the salt yielding ponds (salinae).
He decided to have king Numa's dispositions concerning the collegium pointificum
carved on small tables.
He created the first prison as a measure intended for the suppression of crime.
After defeating the Latins he allowed them to settle down in Rome.
He established the Roman games, doubled the number of the curiae and introduced differences of dressing for the different classes.
He added two Vestals to the original four and introduced the calendar of twelve months.
Some sources attribute to him the sanctions against the Vestals.
He statuted that the inhabitants were obliged to live in their pagus and could not move to a different location. This provision was intended for fiscal purposes, as people had to pay taxes in the pagus they belonged to.
Servius first established the census
. To take part in the census citizens were required to pay a fee. The census required citizens to provide an estimate of the value of their properties to enable the government to gather information by which impose taxes proportionally. Citizens were thus divided into five echelons or classes.
He created the markets, established the new festival of the Paganalia and dedicated temples such as those to goddess Fors Fortuna.
In the field of the judiciary he decided that he would only rule on public law cases and left to the pater familias and the gentes rulings on private law cases.
After conquering and annexing the territories of the collis Viminalis and Esquilinus he distributed them to landless Romans.
He ruled too that freed slaves couls take part in public life and be censed as if they were ordinary free men. Those who were unwilling to go back to their home land should be registered in one of the four tribes he had created.
He had the curiae approve fifty dispositions concerning crimes and contracts.
Finally it is ascribed to Servius the erection of the temple to Diana Nemorensis
on the Aventine.
He made various peace treaties.
In the religious field he adopted the Libri Sibyllini, books by which one could consult the will of gods and had their dispositions observed.
He also dedicated new temples and established new cults.
In the field of criminal law he used the arbor infelix, a provision of Tullus Hostilius's. He resorted to paricidal punishments (i.e. the poena cullei) e.g. in the cases of Marcus Aquilius and Atilius.
He abolished all of Servius Tullius's laws on obligations and contracts.
One remarkable example is that of a lex regia that forbids the inhumation of a pregnant woman before delivery since it is believed that so doing would mean killing a life.
They were transmitted orally even if it is not certain that a writing system did not exist. However Romulus's laws were written down only at the time of Numa by Numa himself.
In Numa's times Romulus's laws and Numa's himself (the Commentarius Numae and all of the pontificial work of the time that was ascribed to Numa, i.e. the Libri pontificum), were written on the bark of lime tree used as paper, according to the testimony of our sources.
Subsequently they were written on ox skin. This use is attested in the Tarquinian times.
According to another tradition they were written on a wooden table that had been spread upon with plaster (tabula dealbata). In this case the text would be painted instead of being carved.
Whatever the case it is sure they were written on perishable material. This might be the reason why we have been handed down very little of this kind of legislative production.
It must be remembered that the fire caused by the Galli Senones
in 390 or 387 BC was another reason of their disappearance.
To make amend for the loss it was necessary to resort to the memory of the sacerdotes who knew them by heart, or the work of historians and jurists. It is unlikely that such rielaborations were exact text quotations from the leges regiae as some sources maintain, simply they were reformulations containing some archaic expressions embedded.
One source is Sextus Pomponius
's Enchiridion of Sextus Pomponius, even if it is just a fragment, preserved to us in Justinian's Digesta. This source is surely rich in interpolations, thus not fully reliable.
Another source is Papirius
's Ius Papirianum.
Here below is the relevant quotation:
"Thus he (Romulus) proposed to the people some leges curiatae. Other were proposed by the following kings. All these laws are recorded together in Sextus Papirius's book, who lived at the time of Demaratus of Corinthus's proud son, among the most illustrious men. This book as we have said is called Ius Civile Papirianum".
(Sextus Pomponius Enchiridion par. 2, line 10)
This work should have contained lists of leges regiae but they have not been handed down to us.
The nature and attribution of this work though is disputed. Some scholars think it might be a reworking of the lex Papiria and thus would have not contained the lists, or that the author was not Sextus Papirius but Gaius Papirius, the first pontifex maximus of the Roman Republic (there should be a lapse of 40–50 years between these two characters, both members of the same patrician gens), or it might be a reelaboration of the Commentarii Numae.
Livy makes a clear reference to the existence of the leges regiae relating n the work of reconstruction of the laws done by magistrates and the senate at the turbulent times of Marcus Furius Camillus
. He also states that some books were not available in public archives but were preserved secretly in those of the pontiffs or even of private people.
Berger's dictionary under the entry Papirius (with no praenomen
) states that "he was a pontifex maximus author of a collection called Ius Papirianum of rules of sacral law generally ascribed to the Leges Regiae. Existence of such a collection is based on the mention of a commentary thereon written by Granius Flaccus
in the time of Caesar or Augustus, entitled De iure Papiriano.
Many other sources however contain relevant material.
There are very few epigraphic sources contemporary to the kings of Rome.
The translator while adhering to the principle of making as few alterations as possible has taken the liberty of improving language, correcting obvious mistakes and adding bibliographic information.
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, claimed were introduced by the Kings of Rome.
By the 19th century most historians doubted the authenticity of the leges regiae story. More recently though some scholars have acknowledged that, while the sources look to have been rewritten or enriched in the course of time, these laws may indeed originate from the period of the Roman Kingdom
Roman Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....
. New research has discovered previously unknown fragments quoted by ancient writers and some changes have been made about attribution to the various kings.
It must be remembered that the position of the king during the whole course of the Regal period was that of political, military, religious and judiciary chief of the community, even though these duties were entrusted to his many auxiliaries.
Historical overview
According to Sextus PomponiusSextus Pomponius
Sextus Pomponius was a jurist who lived during the reigns of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He wrote a book on the law up to the time of Hadrian, the Enchiridion of Sextus Pomponius.-References:...
, Romulus organized the tribes of Rome into thirty units called "Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...
" and he then administered the affairs of the state on the basis of the opinion the Curiate Assembly
Curiate Assembly
The Curiate Assembly was the principal assembly during the first two decades of the Roman Republic. During these first decades, the People of Rome were organized into thirty units called "Curia"...
. This event is at the origin of lex regia.
Romulus is also credited with creating another institution involved in the emanation of leges regiae - the council of the elders or Senate of the Roman Kingdom
Senate of the Roman Kingdom
The Senate of the Roman Kingdom was a political institution in the ancient Roman Kingdom. The word senate derives from the Latin word senex, which means "old man"...
.
After an interregnum Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. What tales are descended to us about him come from Valerius Antias, an author from the early part of the 1st century BC known through limited mentions of later authors , Dionysius of Halicarnassus circa 60BC-...
succeeded to Romulus: as it will happen for each of his successors an interrex
Interrex
The Interrex was literally a ruler "between kings" during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent....
held the government til the election of the new king.. Numa emanated a number of important leges regiae. To him was attributed the compilation of the book Commentari regi.
A great innovation of his concerned criminal law on voluntary and non voluntary crimes.
Some scholars argue on lexical grounds that in this period some leges regiae showed a Sabine influence.
Successor Tullus Hostilius
Tullus Hostilius
Tullus Hostilius was the legendary third of the Kings of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius, and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius...
is traditionally called the warrior king. He celebrated the solemn sacrifices using the work by Numa Commentari Numae. He created the officials named Fetiales who were a sacerdotal collegium.
After him Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth of the Kings of Rome.He was the son of Marcius and Pompilia...
had sacral norms from Numa's work transcribed and made public. He established the jus fetiale and imprisonment.
The last three kings were Etruscans according to tradition. Their cultural heritage influenced the leges regiae of this period.
Tarquinius Priscus
Tarquinius Priscus
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, also called Tarquin the Elder or Tarquin I, was the legendary fifth King of Rome from 616 BC to 579 BC. His wife was Tanaquil.-Early life:According to Livy, Tarquinius Priscus came from the Etruria...
emanated many laws that covered different areas: he doubled the number of the senators and of the Vestals.
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...
then used Numa's work for the election of the consuls.
Moreover he established the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
and the timocratic constitution that will be the basis for the future development of the republican institutions.
During the reign of Tarquinius Superbus there are to be mentioned repressive laws, international treaties and the adoption of the Libri Sibyllini.
The end of the kingdom is seen by some scholars as a slow, gradual process, while traditionally it was the abrupt expulsion of the king.. This event brought about the abrogation of the leges regiae. However certainly not of all of them as e.g. the auspicium and Servius Tullius's reform of the eighteen equites survived.
With the advent of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
the need was felt for an official figure who could perform the sacred rites or make decisions through auspicium, an institution governed by the lex regia. In short a figure who could took over the functions previously discharged by the rex.
Thus the office of rex sacrorum
Rex Sacrorum
In ancient Roman religion, the rex sacrorum was a senatorial priesthood reserved for patricians. Although in the historical era the pontifex maximus was the head of Roman state religion, Festus says that in the ranking of priests, the rex sacrorum was of highest prestige, followed by the flamines...
was created. It will last til 390 AD when emperor Theodosius I
Theodosius I
Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...
abolished it. His power was strictly limited to the sphere of the sacrum. Scholars point out that when Pomponius in his Enchiridion states that the emanation of laws by the king took place on the deliberation of the curiae he refers to this period, i.e. a time when the power of the king was lessened.
The fire caused by the Gauls of king Brennus
Brennus
Brennus is the name of two Gaulish chieftains famous in ancient history:* Brennus , chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe originating from the modern areas of France known as Seine-et-Marne, Loiret, and Yonne; in 387 BC, in the Battle of the Allia, he led an army of Cisalpine Gauls in their...
brought about the loss of the written records of leges regiae. The work of rewriting carried out by the sacerdotes was essential. Besides it is believed that Sextus Papirius's collection had survived, and was available for consultation at the times of Pomponius.
Pomponius maintaines that all the leges regiae were abolished and they indeed disappeared in the following times.
Nonetheless scholars's research proves that some laws were still in use, e.g. Servius Tullius's norm of the eighteen equites. Livy himself writes that after the fire not only were the laws of the XII Tables collected by the sacerdotes and the senate but also laws of the kings, some of which were made public while some other were kept secret by the sacerdotes.
Finally Justinian's compilation mentions the leges regiae.
Function of the lex regia in Roman society
Not only were the laws of the king an instrument of his power, they also answered the need of a society that was made up by different tribes to have certain law, a ius certum as is stated by Pomponius.Moreover at that time the king played the role of supreme judge and guarantor of the pax deorum
Pax Deorum
Pax Deorum may refer to:*"Pax Deorum", a song from The Memory of Trees, an album by Enya*"Pax Deorum", a cover of the aforementioned song from the album Maiden of Mysteries: The Music of Enya, by the Taliesin Orchestra...
, the peace between the community and the gods. This aim was to be achieved by the juridical instrument of the lex regia, the sacral role of the king being in fact that of a supreme judge.
The lex regia performed the function of composing controversies when the mores
Mores
Mores, in sociology, are any given society's particular norms, virtues, or values. The word mores is a plurale tantum term borrowed from Latin, which has been used in the English language since the 1890s....
could not solve them. Moreover it bestowed the king a way of solving religious and military issues, either directly or by means of some ausiliary as the magister populi of the Tarquinian times.
While on one hand the leges regiae created a new law different from the mores on the other hand they transformed some of them into laws.
It is believed that in the early times of the republic they were used as a mnemonic tool and a framework by the decemviri in the drafting of the XII Tables. Besides they acted as an intermediary stage between the mores and the XII Tables, answering the requirements of a society that was no longer satisfied with the revelations of the Pontifex Maximus.
Influences present in the Lex Regia
Influences vary according to times and are mostly apparent in text edition.At the beginning a clear Greek influence is detectable. Tradition wants that Romulus studied at Gabii
Gabii
Gabii was an ancient city of Latium, located due east of Rome along the Via Praenestina, which was in early times known as the Via Gabina....
, moreover the Greek element in original Roman culture is certain. Trading and later political relationships are attested during the 8th century.
Another influence is the Sabine one that is reflected in the use of ox skin as a support for writing. Besides it is detectable in the character of the laws themselves as in the cases of the ones emanated by Servius Tullius, Numa Pompilius and even Romulus, as he reigned together with Titus Tatius
Titus Tatius
The traditions of ancient Rome held that Titus Tatius was the Sabine king of Cures, who, after the rape of the Sabine women, attacked Rome and captured the Capitol with the treachery of Tarpeia. The Sabine women, however, convinced Tatius and the Roman king, Romulus, to reconcile and subsequently...
.
Etruscan influences become apparent in the period of Etruscan kings and are of political, economic and juridical nature: an example is the attitude of the king towards the gentes
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
, whose function was weakened by Etruscan kings.
Legislative and executive aspects of the Lex Regia
Fragments found in Pomponius and in other authors on the subject show the lex regia was a deliberation of both the curiae and the senate which were approved by the rex with the support of the pontiff.Many scholars though opine Pomponius refers to the republican period and the rex sacrorum
Rex Sacrorum
In ancient Roman religion, the rex sacrorum was a senatorial priesthood reserved for patricians. Although in the historical era the pontifex maximus was the head of Roman state religion, Festus says that in the ranking of priests, the rex sacrorum was of highest prestige, followed by the flamines...
as he had few sources for the archaic period. They do not trust the accuracy of these sources: for one thing they believe Pomponius's account was influenced by the model of voting method of the assemblies of the people of the republic (Comitia tributa, Comitia centuriata) in which the voting of the law proposed by a tribunus was voted by groupings named units. Votes were not counted by head but by a majority within each single unit. The unit system had been established by king Servius Tullius: a unit could be made up by citizens who were not owners of any assets or the first class of cavalry.
Moreover on the grounds of the powers the king held at the time of the regal period they think it was more probable that he decided without the veto of the curiae but only by the support of the collegium pontificum.
and by deliberation of the senate.
Some speculate that the curiae had only a function of public participation. The leges regiae were promulgated publicly at the presence of the curiae (comitia curiata).
Other sources state that on some days the king held a comitial assembly similar to those of the republican period. This is attested by the words Q(uando) R(ex) C(omitiavit) F(as) present on the first Roman calender.
On the above grounds scholars opine that the curiae had no voting right but only that of being present to the act of the promulgation as a witness and of showing their attitude on the matter by means of acclamation or of loud dissent.
On some occasions though the king allowed the intervention of the curiae on decisions in trials. Only one case is recorded, that of Publius Horatius.
It was so until the repressive action in criminal matters became subject to the exclusive decision of the assembly of the people.
Some sources suggest that Servius Tullius has set aside the curiae and had his decisions were voted by militarily arranged centuriae. First he had the first class made up of eighty centuriae and the 18 of the equites vote. If they all agreed the law was passed, if they did not then the following five classes in order of decreasing census were in turn asked to vote, down to the lowest one, which was made up of citizens with no means and exempted from military service. This process ended when the number of ninety-seven centuriae in favour was reached.
Since the lex regia on one hand was meant to create a ius certum and on the other stemmed from the mores, the means to enforce it were in most instances sanctions of religious, sacral nature , (a piaculum or a sacrificium
Sacrificium
Sacrificium is a death metal band from Stuttgart, Germany, formed in 1993. The band made its breakthrough in the metal scene with its 2002 album Cold Black Piece of Flesh. The second album Escaping the Stupor was released on Black Lotus Records...
).
However these were not the only sanctions in use: other included the confiscation of property and capital punishment, that was not administered on any sacral principle but on that of retribution of an offense with an equal punishment.
On the basis of the fragmentary condition of our information, it can be said that they concerned public, sacral, succession, procedural, agricoltural, family, criminal matters as well as contract and obligations, although seldom they concerned the private sphere that was left mostly to the pater familias
Pater familias
The pater familias, also written as paterfamilias was the head of a Roman family. The term is Latin for "father of the family" or the "owner of the family estate". The form is irregular and archaic in Latin, preserving the old genitive ending in -as...
and the gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
.
A partial detailed exposition follows here below.
Romulus
RomulusRomulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
's leges regiae were in part made in common with Titus Tatius
Titus Tatius
The traditions of ancient Rome held that Titus Tatius was the Sabine king of Cures, who, after the rape of the Sabine women, attacked Rome and captured the Capitol with the treachery of Tarpeia. The Sabine women, however, convinced Tatius and the Roman king, Romulus, to reconcile and subsequently...
.
Many concern public law. These include the union of the different tribes involved in the founding of Rome and the institution of the three legal tribes named after their three chiefs Romulus, Titus Tatius and Lucumo Ramnenses, Titienses and Luceres respectively. These were in turn divided into ten curiae each.
According to our sources they had the function of electing the magistrates, passing laws and examining questions concerning war if the rex so requested.
Another important act was the institution of the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
. It was formed by one hundred patricians. Romolus granted it the power of decision on the laws he proposed on a majority basis.
He statuted that Roman citizens should be warriors too, able to till the land and to wage war. He created the military unit known as legio
Legio
Legio was a Roman Catholic titular see in the former Roman province of Palestina Secunda, which was suffragan of ScythopolisIt figures for the first time in a Latin episcopal notitia, dating probably from the eleventh century, where it is given under the name of Legionum, between the Bishoprics of...
and his personal guard named the celeres
Celeres
The Celeres were a personal armed guard of 300-500 men maintained by Romulus, the mythical founder of ancient Rome. The Celeres were associated with Celer, the lieutenant of Romulus responsible for Remus' slaying in some stories. Livy mentions that they served in peacetime and in war, unlike the...
.
He reserved to himself decisions concerning sacred rites and sacrifices to gods, by the institution of sixty sacerdotes devoted to officiate them. In relation to this purpose he created the auspices and the augures. These people were taken from each curia. He created the Fratres Arvales, a sacred brotherhood devoted to agricultural rites of propitiation, the three flaminates i.e., the three flamines
Flamen
In ancient Roman religion, a flamen was a priest assigned to one of fifteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important three were the flamines maiores , who served the three chief Roman gods of the Archaic Triad. The remaining twelve were the flamines minores...
maiores, the flamen Dialis
Flamen Dialis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Dialis was the high priest of Jupiter. There were 15 flamines, of which three were flamines maiores, serving the three gods of the Archaic Triad...
, the flamen Martialis
Flamen Martialis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of Mars, the god of war. He was one of the flamines maiores, the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen...
and the flamen Quirinalis
Flamen Quirinalis
In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen devoted to the cult of god Quirinus. He was one of the three flamines majores, third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis and the Flamen Martialis....
each devoted to the cult of a major deity.
He created the first Roman calendar year of 304 days divided into ten months: six of thirty days and four of thirty-one.
He established the ritual for the dedication
Dedication
Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church or other sacred building. It also refers to the inscription of books or other artifacts when these are specifically addressed or presented to a particular person. This practice, which once was used to gain the patronage and support of...
of temples.
His provisions concerning private law were:
succession of the wife in manus
Manus Marriage
Manus is Ancient Roman marriage, of which there were two forms: cum manu and sine manu. In a cum manu marriage the wife was placed under the legal control of the husband. In a sine manu marriage the wife was still under the legal control of her father...
of the husband. If the husband dies first then the wife inherits his properties, in case there are children only by half.
He decided the jurisdiction of the rex as a guarantor of the lex regia. He also reserved to himself the right of judging most serious crimes while leaving other to the senate.
He decided to divide the land among the curiae, allotting it in part to agriculture and in part to the building temples or other sacred purposes.
He established that parents were obliged to nurture their children, at least the first (primogenitus) and were not allowed to kill them if they were under age three.
An exception was the case that the child was a monstrum (seriously handicapped): in this case though the procedure required that the child were shown to five neighbours who testified its condition. If this procedure was not observed the punishment was the confiscation of half of the property or other sanctions.
He established the power of patrimoniality and authority of the pater familias
Pater familias
The pater familias, also written as paterfamilias was the head of a Roman family. The term is Latin for "father of the family" or the "owner of the family estate". The form is irregular and archaic in Latin, preserving the old genitive ending in -as...
, the patria potestas on illegal children (filius alieni iuris) that included the right to kill them.
In matrimonial law, he established the practice of manus marriage
Manus Marriage
Manus is Ancient Roman marriage, of which there were two forms: cum manu and sine manu. In a cum manu marriage the wife was placed under the legal control of the husband. In a sine manu marriage the wife was still under the legal control of her father...
, in which the wife comes into the "hand" of the husband; that is, she is subject to his control as were his children. By this provision the wife was subject to her husband and was obliged to follow him and support him in every business including cults. (From the 2nd century BC, this was no longer the predominate form of marriage in Rome; the wife instead remained legally a part of her own family, and was never subject to her husband's control.) In the social field he is supposed to have created the system of patronage (patronus and cliens)
Patronage in ancient Rome
Patronage was the distinctive relationship in ancient Roman society between the patronus and his client . The relationship was hierarchical, but obligations were mutual. The patronus was the protector, sponsor, and benefactor of the client...
.
Crimes of women such as adultery and wine drinking had to be punished according to the law, but the decision was allocated to the family of the woman.
Numa Pompilus
Numa was enthroned through the famous lex curiata de imperioLex curiata de imperio
In the constitution of ancient Rome, the lex curiata de imperio was the law confirming the rights of higher magistrates to hold power, or imperium...
. By this act he subordined his future power to the decision of the comitia curiata.
This law will be in future presented by every king til emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
and even later.
He abolished the celeres.
He divided Rome into pagi
Pagi
Pagoi or Pagi is a village in the NW corner of Corfu Island in Greece. It is a community of the municipal unit Agios Georgios.-Agios Georgios Pagon :...
, each of them having their own magistrate and guard to police the territory.
He was the first to introduce the division of the people according to their profession thus creating the corporations.
In the religious domain he instituted the menses (lunar months) and reformed the calendar by creating a twelve lunar month year plus an intercalary month (mercedonium), created various flaminates (including those other sources attribute to Romulus) and sacerdotia among which the Fetiales and the Salii
Salii
In ancient Roman religion, the Salii were the "leaping priests" of Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve patrician youths, dressed as archaic warriors: an embroidered tunic, a breastplate, a short red cloak , a sword, and a spiked headdress called an apex...
, increased the number of the Vestales from four to six.
He instituted the Pontifex maximus
Pontifex Maximus
The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. 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...
besides increasing the number of the sacerdotes and of the Collegium Pontificum and established various forms of dedication
Dedication
Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church or other sacred building. It also refers to the inscription of books or other artifacts when these are specifically addressed or presented to a particular person. This practice, which once was used to gain the patronage and support of...
concerning various cults.
In private law he made provision concerning the paelex (concubine).
He made new redistributions of land, as the allotting to plebeians of demanial land.
In the field of criminal law his innovations were remarkable: he established the distinction between voluntary homicide (named paricida) and non voluntary.
In the first instance were nominated the quaestores paricidi to investigate the case and the accused was classified as paricida if he had killed with intention a free man or even a parent or relative. In the first case paricida is connoted as homicida. The sanctioned parricidas punishment is unknown. In the second the parricidas punishment was the poena cullei. Its provisions consisted in closing the culprit murderer in a sack of ox skin and throwing him into the sea. Later it was changed to making the culprit exlege.
In case of non voluntary homicide it was only required the sacrifice of a goat to expiate the crime and purify the culprit.
Some sources attribute to Numa the creation of the Vestals . However according to tradition they existed In Latin towns since before the foundation of Rome and it must be remembered that Titus Tatius had already dedicated the aedes Vestae.
Theft of sacred objects or in sacred places was dealt with as paricidium, perjury was punished with death.
A father was allowed to sell his son unless he had already allowed him to get married.
Wives were forbidden to drink wine as well as having relationships of any kind, unless the husband decided to present them to a childless man to father children. Afterwards he could decide to take her back.
Marriage was allowed even with girls under twelfth.
However women were permitted to make testament while their father was still living.
A lex regia traditionally ascribed to Numa is that concerning the spolia opima
Spolia opima
Spolia opima refers to the armor, arms, and other effects that an ancient Roman general had stripped from the body of an opposing commander slain in single combat...
, or more precisely one of the two definitions of this institution: there is the occasion for them whenever a Roman defeats a dux hostium (chief of enemies) even if the victor is not necessarily the Roman dux. Three kinds of spoils are mentioned: the first consists of an offer of the arms of the defeated to Jupiter Feretrius and the sacrifice of an ox, the second of their offer to Mars and the sacrifice of solitaurilia (probably suovetaurilia) and the third their offer to Janui Quirino and the sacrifice of a lamb. They apply to the case that the Roman was the chief, an army officer or a common soldiar respectively.
Tullus Hostilius
According to the sources king Tullus established the office of the lictorLictor
The lictor was a member of a special class of Roman civil servant, with special tasks of attending and guarding magistrates of the Roman Republic and Empire who held imperium, the right and power to command; essentially, a bodyguard...
, introduced the use of the painted toga
Toga
The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn...
named toga praetexta, created the office of the fetiales and their ritual function in the declaration of war. Only through this rite could a war be a just war (bellum iustum), i.e. a war in accord with the requirements of religion.
He also established the festivals Agonales and Saturnalia
Saturnalia
Saturnalia is an Ancient Roman festival/ celebration held in honour of Saturn , the youngest of the Titans, father of the major gods of the Greeks and Romans, and son of Uranus and Gaia...
devoted to god Saturn
Saturn (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Saturn was a major god presiding over agriculture and the harvest time. His reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace by many Roman authors. In medieval times he was known as the Roman god of agriculture, justice and strength. He held a sickle in...
us, as well as making the addition of another group (Collini related to god Quirinus
Quirinus
In Roman mythology, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was also an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus. His name is derived from Quiris meaning "spear."-History:...
to the sacerdotium of the Salii
Salii
In ancient Roman religion, the Salii were the "leaping priests" of Mars supposed to have been introduced by King Numa Pompilius. They were twelve patrician youths, dressed as archaic warriors: an embroidered tunic, a breastplate, a short red cloak , a sword, and a spiked headdress called an apex...
.
He allowed some landless Romans to settle the Caelium.
During his reign the case of Marcus Horatius is remarkable in the field of criminal law. When this Marcus Horatius was accused of perduellio
Perduellio
In the early days of Ancient Rome, perduellio was the term for the capital offense of high treason. It was set down plainly in the Law of the Twelve Tables as thus:...
, the duumviri perduellionis emitted a virdict of culpability on the question of the provocatio ad populum, a peculiarly devised procedural condition. Horatius's father though objected to the virdict. King Hostilius was unable to reach a decision, thus remitted the judgement to the people, i.e. the curiae. Marcus was acquitted.
King Hostilius also made laws that punished treason towards the king and desertion with death.
To him is ascribed the creation of the penalty known as arbor infelix.
In the field of morals and the family he made a law that condemned incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
: the culprit would become sacred
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
to Diana in a public ceremony of derision and contempt. He also decided that the state would subsidise families who had a trigeminous delivery.
Ancus Marcius
"Moreover having summoned the pontiffs and received from them the dispositions concerning the res sacrae that Pompilius had established, had them carved on small tables and exposed in the Forum for all those who would like to look at them"Dionysius of Halicarnassus Ant. Rom. 3, 36, 4
Marcius too emanated his own lex curiata de imperio.
In the field of public law established the foundations for the rerum repetitio, laws concerning sea trade and the taxation of the salt yielding ponds (salinae).
He decided to have king Numa's dispositions concerning the collegium pointificum
Collegium (ancient Rome)
In Ancient Rome, a collegium was any association with a legal personality. Such associations had various functions.-Functioning:...
carved on small tables.
He created the first prison as a measure intended for the suppression of crime.
After defeating the Latins he allowed them to settle down in Rome.
Tarquinius Priscus
Tarquinius increased the number of senators from two to three hundred or according to other sources by the double. He divided them into gentes maiores and gentes minores.He established the Roman games, doubled the number of the curiae and introduced differences of dressing for the different classes.
He added two Vestals to the original four and introduced the calendar of twelve months.
Some sources attribute to him the sanctions against the Vestals.
Servius Tullius
Servius divided once again the territory of Rome into pagi: four of them were urban (regio Palatina, Suburana, Collina, and Esquilina) and twentysix suburban or rural.He statuted that the inhabitants were obliged to live in their pagus and could not move to a different location. This provision was intended for fiscal purposes, as people had to pay taxes in the pagus they belonged to.
Servius first established the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
. To take part in the census citizens were required to pay a fee. The census required citizens to provide an estimate of the value of their properties to enable the government to gather information by which impose taxes proportionally. Citizens were thus divided into five echelons or classes.
He created the markets, established the new festival of the Paganalia and dedicated temples such as those to goddess Fors Fortuna.
In the field of the judiciary he decided that he would only rule on public law cases and left to the pater familias and the gentes rulings on private law cases.
After conquering and annexing the territories of the collis Viminalis and Esquilinus he distributed them to landless Romans.
He ruled too that freed slaves couls take part in public life and be censed as if they were ordinary free men. Those who were unwilling to go back to their home land should be registered in one of the four tribes he had created.
He had the curiae approve fifty dispositions concerning crimes and contracts.
Finally it is ascribed to Servius the erection of the temple to Diana Nemorensis
Diana Nemorensis
Diana Nemorensis, "Diana of Nemi" also known as “Diana of the Wood”, was an Italic form of the goddess who became Hellenised during the fourth century BCE and conflated with Artemis. Her sanctuary was to be found on the northern shore of Lake Nemi beneath the cliffs of the modern city Nemi...
on the Aventine.
Tarquinius Superbus
King Tarquinius Superbus abolished the taxation system based on the census and imposed an equal fiscal burden on every citizen.He made various peace treaties.
In the religious field he adopted the Libri Sibyllini, books by which one could consult the will of gods and had their dispositions observed.
He also dedicated new temples and established new cults.
In the field of criminal law he used the arbor infelix, a provision of Tullus Hostilius's. He resorted to paricidal punishments (i.e. the poena cullei) e.g. in the cases of Marcus Aquilius and Atilius.
He abolished all of Servius Tullius's laws on obligations and contracts.
Leges regiae of uncertain attribution
Some fragments contain laws the attribution of which is uncertain.One remarkable example is that of a lex regia that forbids the inhumation of a pregnant woman before delivery since it is believed that so doing would mean killing a life.
Material used for writing the leges regiae
At the beginning (i.e. at the time of Romulus) the leges regiae were unwritten.They were transmitted orally even if it is not certain that a writing system did not exist. However Romulus's laws were written down only at the time of Numa by Numa himself.
In Numa's times Romulus's laws and Numa's himself (the Commentarius Numae and all of the pontificial work of the time that was ascribed to Numa, i.e. the Libri pontificum), were written on the bark of lime tree used as paper, according to the testimony of our sources.
Subsequently they were written on ox skin. This use is attested in the Tarquinian times.
According to another tradition they were written on a wooden table that had been spread upon with plaster (tabula dealbata). In this case the text would be painted instead of being carved.
Whatever the case it is sure they were written on perishable material. This might be the reason why we have been handed down very little of this kind of legislative production.
It must be remembered that the fire caused by the Galli Senones
Senones
The Senones were an ancient Gaulish tribe.In about 400 BC they crossed the Alps and, having driven out the Umbrians settled on the east coast of Italy from Forlì to Ancona, in the so-called ager Gallicus, and founded the town of Sena Gallica , which became their capital. In 391 BC they invaded...
in 390 or 387 BC was another reason of their disappearance.
To make amend for the loss it was necessary to resort to the memory of the sacerdotes who knew them by heart, or the work of historians and jurists. It is unlikely that such rielaborations were exact text quotations from the leges regiae as some sources maintain, simply they were reformulations containing some archaic expressions embedded.
Known sources
We have different sources for the lex regia.One source is Sextus Pomponius
Sextus Pomponius
Sextus Pomponius was a jurist who lived during the reigns of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He wrote a book on the law up to the time of Hadrian, the Enchiridion of Sextus Pomponius.-References:...
's Enchiridion of Sextus Pomponius, even if it is just a fragment, preserved to us in Justinian's Digesta. This source is surely rich in interpolations, thus not fully reliable.
Another source is Papirius
Papirius
Papirius is the name of a gens whose most notable members were active mainly during the Roman Republic.*Papirius, pontifex in 509 BC, was the author of a supposed collection of Leges Regiae, referred to as the Ius Papirianum....
's Ius Papirianum.
Here below is the relevant quotation:
"Thus he (Romulus) proposed to the people some leges curiatae. Other were proposed by the following kings. All these laws are recorded together in Sextus Papirius's book, who lived at the time of Demaratus of Corinthus's proud son, among the most illustrious men. This book as we have said is called Ius Civile Papirianum".
(Sextus Pomponius Enchiridion par. 2, line 10)
This work should have contained lists of leges regiae but they have not been handed down to us.
The nature and attribution of this work though is disputed. Some scholars think it might be a reworking of the lex Papiria and thus would have not contained the lists, or that the author was not Sextus Papirius but Gaius Papirius, the first pontifex maximus of the Roman Republic (there should be a lapse of 40–50 years between these two characters, both members of the same patrician gens), or it might be a reelaboration of the Commentarii Numae.
Livy makes a clear reference to the existence of the leges regiae relating n the work of reconstruction of the laws done by magistrates and the senate at the turbulent times of Marcus Furius Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus
Marcus Furius Camillus was a Roman soldier and statesman of patrician descent. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of Second Founder of Rome....
. He also states that some books were not available in public archives but were preserved secretly in those of the pontiffs or even of private people.
Berger's dictionary under the entry Papirius (with no praenomen
Praenomen
The praenomen was a personal name chosen by the parents of a Roman child. It was first bestowed on the dies lustricus , the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the birth of a boy...
) states that "he was a pontifex maximus author of a collection called Ius Papirianum of rules of sacral law generally ascribed to the Leges Regiae. Existence of such a collection is based on the mention of a commentary thereon written by Granius Flaccus
Granius Flaccus
Granius Flaccus was an antiquarian and scholar of Roman law and religion, probably in the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus.-Religious scholar:...
in the time of Caesar or Augustus, entitled De iure Papiriano.
Many other sources however contain relevant material.
There are very few epigraphic sources contemporary to the kings of Rome.
Note
This article is a translation of the article on the same subject on the Italian Wikipedia.The translator while adhering to the principle of making as few alterations as possible has taken the liberty of improving language, correcting obvious mistakes and adding bibliographic information.