Nexum
Encyclopedia
Nexum was a debt bondage
contract in the early Roman Republic
. The debtor pledged his person as collateral
should he default on his loan. Nexum was abolished by the Lex Poetelia Papiria
in 326 BC.
, a symbolic transfer of rights that involved a set of scales, copper weights, and a formulaic oath. Under the nexum contract, a free man became a bond slave, or nexus, until he could pay off his debt to the creditor, or obaeratus. Varro
derives the word nexum from nec suum, "not one's own," and although this etymology
is incorrect in light of modern scientific linguistics
, it illuminates how the Roman understood the term.
It remains unclear whether debtors entered into a nexum contract initially with their loan or if they entered voluntarily after they could not pay off an existing debt, though the former seems more likely to be the case. Additionally, there is no single formal nexum contract that all nexi entered – it is possible that there were many variations of the nexum contract, and that the details of nexum contracts were worked out on a case-by-case basis.
Debt-bondage existed in the early Republic largely as a result of increasing control over the ager publicus
, or public land, by individuals who acquired disproportionate wealth and power and distorted the republican ideal of a commonwealth
. As farmers and laborers lost access to the land that theoretically was held in common by the Roman people (populus Romanus)
, they were unable to earn a living, and nexum was resorted to as security for debts.
Despite constraining a free person's liberty
(libertas), nexum contracts were a preferable alternative to slavery for debtors, since slaves could be sold or killed by their masters at will. Though nexi were often beaten and abused by their obaerati, they maintained (if sometimes only in theory) their Roman citizenship
and rights. Creditors might profit more from a nexum contract, as they received a motivated contractual worker instead of a slave. An indebted paterfamilias, or legal head of the Roman household, might offer his own son for nexum instead of himself.
-era historian
Livy
, nexum was abolished because of the excessive cruelty and lust of a single “usurer,” Lucius Papirius. In 326 BC, a young boy named Gaius Publilius was guarantor to his father’s debt, becoming the nexus of Papirius. (In another version, Dionysius of Halicarnassus
records that Publilius borrowed the money for his father’s funeral.) The boy was noted for his youth and beauty, and Papirius desired him sexually. He tried to seduce Publilius with “lewd conversation,” but when the boy failed to respond, Papirius grew impatient and reminded the boy of his position as bond slave. When the boy again refused his forceful advances, Papirius had him stripped and lashed. The wounded boy ran into the street, and an outcry among the people led the consul
s to convene the senate
, resulting in the Lex Poetelia Papiria
, which forbade holding debtors in bondage for their debt and required instead that the debtor’s property be used as collateral. All people confined under the nexum contract were released, and nexum as a form of legal contract was forbidden thereafter.
Varro alternatively dates the abolishment of nexum to 313 BC, during the dictatorship
of Gaius Poetelius Libo Visolus. Poetelius, after whom the Lex Poetelia Papiria is named, held his third consulship in 326 BC, the date that Livy records.
Cicero
considered the abolishment of nexum primarily a political maneuver to temporarily appease the plebeian
masses, who by Cicero’s time (almost 300 years after the Lex Poetelia Papiria) had carried out three full-scale secessions:
Though nexum as a legal contract was abolished, debt bondage persisted in the case of defaulting debtors, since a court could grant creditors the right to take insolvent debtors as bond slaves.
Debt bondage
Debt bondage is when a person pledges him or herself against a loan. In debt bondage, the services required to repay the debt may be undefined, and the services' duration may be undefined...
contract in the early 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 debtor pledged his person as collateral
Collateral (finance)
In lending agreements, collateral is a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan.The collateral serves as protection for a lender against a borrower's default - that is, any borrower failing to pay the principal and interest under the terms of a loan obligation...
should he default on his loan. Nexum was abolished by the Lex Poetelia Papiria
Lex Poetelia Papiria
The Lex Poetelia Papiria was a law passed in Ancient Rome that abolished the contractual form of Nexum, or debt bondage. Livy dates the law in 326 BC, during the third consulship of Gaius Poetelius Libo Visolus, whereas...
in 326 BC.
The contract
Nexum was a form of mancipatioMancipatio
In Roman law, mancipatio was a verbal contract by which the ownership of certain goods, called res mancipi, was transferred....
, a symbolic transfer of rights that involved a set of scales, copper weights, and a formulaic oath. Under the nexum contract, a free man became a bond slave, or nexus, until he could pay off his debt to the creditor, or obaeratus. Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro was an ancient Roman scholar and writer. He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus.-Biography:...
derives the word nexum from nec suum, "not one's own," and although this etymology
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
is incorrect in light of modern scientific linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, it illuminates how the Roman understood the term.
It remains unclear whether debtors entered into a nexum contract initially with their loan or if they entered voluntarily after they could not pay off an existing debt, though the former seems more likely to be the case. Additionally, there is no single formal nexum contract that all nexi entered – it is possible that there were many variations of the nexum contract, and that the details of nexum contracts were worked out on a case-by-case basis.
Debt-bondage existed in the early Republic largely as a result of increasing control over the ager publicus
Ager publicus
The ager publicus is the Latin name for the public land of Ancient Rome. It was usually acquired by expropriation from Rome's enemies.In the earliest periods of Roman expansion in central Italy, the ager publicus was used for Roman and Latin colonies...
, or public land, by individuals who acquired disproportionate wealth and power and distorted the republican ideal of a commonwealth
Res publica
Res publica is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning "public affair". It is the root of the word republic, and the word commonwealth has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however translations vary widely according to the context...
. As farmers and laborers lost access to the land that theoretically was held in common by the Roman people (populus Romanus)
SPQR
SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus , referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official emblem of the modern day comune of Rome...
, they were unable to earn a living, and nexum was resorted to as security for debts.
Despite constraining a free person's liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
(libertas), nexum contracts were a preferable alternative to slavery for debtors, since slaves could be sold or killed by their masters at will. Though nexi were often beaten and abused by their obaerati, they maintained (if sometimes only in theory) their Roman citizenship
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....
and rights. Creditors might profit more from a nexum contract, as they received a motivated contractual worker instead of a slave. An indebted paterfamilias, or legal head of the Roman household, might offer his own son for nexum instead of himself.
Abolishment
According to the AugustanAugustan literature (ancient Rome)
Augustan literature is the period of Latin literature written during the reign of Augustus , the first Roman emperor. In literary histories of the first part of the 20th century and earlier, Augustan literature was regarded along with that of the Late Republic as constituting the Golden Age of...
-era historian
Roman historiography
Roman Historiography is indebted to the Greeks, who invented the form. The Romans had great models to base their works upon, such as Herodotus and Thucydides. Roman historiographical forms are different from the Greek ones however, and voice very Roman concerns. Unlike the Greeks, Roman...
Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, nexum was abolished because of the excessive cruelty and lust of a single “usurer,” Lucius Papirius. In 326 BC, a young boy named Gaius Publilius was guarantor to his father’s debt, becoming the nexus of Papirius. (In another version, Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...
records that Publilius borrowed the money for his father’s funeral.) The boy was noted for his youth and beauty, and Papirius desired him sexually. He tried to seduce Publilius with “lewd conversation,” but when the boy failed to respond, Papirius grew impatient and reminded the boy of his position as bond slave. When the boy again refused his forceful advances, Papirius had him stripped and lashed. The wounded boy ran into the street, and an outcry among the people led the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
s to convene the 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...
, resulting in the Lex Poetelia Papiria
Lex Poetelia Papiria
The Lex Poetelia Papiria was a law passed in Ancient Rome that abolished the contractual form of Nexum, or debt bondage. Livy dates the law in 326 BC, during the third consulship of Gaius Poetelius Libo Visolus, whereas...
, which forbade holding debtors in bondage for their debt and required instead that the debtor’s property be used as collateral. All people confined under the nexum contract were released, and nexum as a form of legal contract was forbidden thereafter.
Varro alternatively dates the abolishment of nexum to 313 BC, during the dictatorship
Roman dictator
In the Roman Republic, the dictator , was an extraordinary magistrate with the absolute authority to perform tasks beyond the authority of the ordinary magistrate . The office of dictator was a legal innovation originally named Magister Populi , i.e...
of Gaius Poetelius Libo Visolus. Poetelius, after whom the Lex Poetelia Papiria is named, held his third consulship in 326 BC, the date that Livy records.
Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
considered the abolishment of nexum primarily a political maneuver to temporarily appease the plebeian
Plebs
The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...
masses, who by Cicero’s time (almost 300 years after the Lex Poetelia Papiria) had carried out three full-scale secessions:
When the plebeians have been so weakened by the expenditures brought on by a public calamity that they give way under their burden, some relief or remedy has been sought for the difficulties of this class, for the sake of the safety of the whole body of citizens
Though nexum as a legal contract was abolished, debt bondage persisted in the case of defaulting debtors, since a court could grant creditors the right to take insolvent debtors as bond slaves.