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The
Roman practice of slavery utilized slaves for both production and domestic labour, overseen by their wealthy masters. Urban and domestic slaves especially could achieve high levels of education, acting as agents and representatives of their masters' affairs and finances. Within
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...
there was a set of practices for freeing trusted slaves, granting them a limited form of
Roman Citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
or
Latin Rights
Latin rights (also Latin citizenship, Latin: ''ius Latii'' or ''ius latinum'') were a set of legal rights that were originally granted to the Latins (Latin: "Latini", the People of Latium, the land of the Latins) under Roman law in their origin ...
. These freed slaves were known in Latin as ''liberti'' (
freedmen
A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...
), and formed a class set apart from freeborn Romans. While freedmen were barred from most forms of
social mobility in Roman society, many achieved high levels of wealth and status. The legal and social status of freedmen remained a point of cultural and legal contention throughout the Republic and Empire.
Manumission
Freedmen in Ancient Rome existed as a distinct social class, with former slaves granted freedom and rights through the legal process of
manumission
Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that t ...
. Manumission was codified during the Early Republic, with three main legal forms being observed: ''Manumissio Vindicta'', ''Censu'', and ''Testamento.'' The ''
Institutes of Gaius
The ''Institutes'' ( la, Institutiones; from , 'to establish') is a beginners' textbook on Roman private law written around 161 CE by the classical Roman jurist Gaius. The ''Institutes'' are considered to be "by far the most influential el ...
,'' compiled c. 160 CE detail these three processes. ''Manumissio Vindicta:'' a "vindication of freedom", wherein a master revokes his ownership of a slave before a local magistrate (''praetor),'' who would touch the slave with a rod of office to signify his change in status. ''Manumissio Censu:'' A master would enroll a slave in the
Roman Census
The censor (at any time, there were two) was a magistrate in ancient Rome who was responsible for maintaining the census, supervising public morality, and overseeing certain aspects of the government's finances.
The power of the censor was ab ...
, declaring them as a ''libertus'' of his household. Finally, a slave could be freed in a deceased master's will (''testamento)'', releasing them, from the former master's ''familia.'' All three methods imply a legal change in status.
A freed slave would thereon be known as a ''libertus'' of his former family, with mutual obligations to each other within the traditional
patronage network. The terms of his manumission might specify the services (''operae)'' a ''libertus'' owed. Following manumission, the freed slave would take on the ''
nomen gentilicium
The (or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by patrilineal descent. However, as Rome exp ...
'' (family name) of his former master, who would adopt the freedman into a pseudo-paternal relationship; should they be alive the freedman would be expected to honor and serve his patron. Freedmen were permitted to form their own networks of patrons and freedmen, as well as own slaves. Upon manumission, freedmen were permitted to wear the
Pileus, a type of cap commonly taken as a sign of freedom. Freedmen were often depicted wearing a Pileus on their commemoration celebrating their manumission.
Social status
As a social class, former slaves were ''libertini,'' a social status that conferred either Roman citizenship or Latin rights depending on circumstance. As citizens, men could vote and participate in politics, but could not run for office, nor be admitted to the senatorial class. The commonly-held cultural belief, especially amongst the Roman elite was that slavery conferred a "moral taint", from which freedmen were not exempt. This moral taint was a common theme in Roman literature, with the traits of "subservience", "deceitfulness", and "intractability" being seen as specific to slaves and freedmen, unbefitting of freeborn Roman values.
Freedmen were also viewed as lacking their own social identity, with their reputation, station, and wealth being tied to their patron and the circumstances of their manumission. A freedman who became rich and influential might still be looked down on by the traditional aristocracy as a vulgar ''
nouveau riche
''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...
,'' as they engaged directly in commerce, while the traditional aristocracy only indirectly interacted with the markets.
Trimalchio
Trimalchio is a character in the 1st-century AD Roman work of fiction '' Satyricon'' by Petronius. He features as the ostentatious, nouveau-riche host in the section titled the "Cēna Trīmalchiōnis" (The Banquet of Trimalchio, often translated a ...
, a character in the ''
Satyricon
The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...
'', is a caricature of such a freedman. Some of the common arguments against manumission are encapsulated by
Dionysius of Halicarnassus in ''Antiquities 4.24'', wherein he states that manumission could introduce criminal elements to the populace, be used to exploit the
grain dole, and be used for merely to improve the perception of the master's virtue.
The freeborn children of former slaves enjoyed the full privileges of Roman citizenship without restrictions, although laws introduced by Augustus barred the descendants of freedmen from the senatorial class. The Latin poet
Horace was the son of a freedman, and in his ''Satires'' portrays his father as the very model of the ideal freedman, in opposition to the common stereotypes of his time. Some freedmen enjoyed high levels of wealth and station; of note are the imperial freedmen, the ''familia caesaris'', who had a large degree of influence in imperial administration and bureaucracy. The brothers who owned
House of the Vettii, one of the biggest and most magnificent houses in
Pompeii, are thought to have been freedmen. Additionally, scholars have been able to identify the presence of wealth freedmen properties through their distinct interest in funerary epitaphs which commemorated their manumission and economic success.
While freedmen were barred from most forms of social and political climbing, they were able to gain influence in local and district politics, especially in serving as ''magistri'' of local cults and through working in municipal bureaucracy. These post allowed for freedmen to extend their reputations among the community through public works. Freedmen were also known to dedicate these works to their freeborn children, ensuring their future reputation in the community. Freedmen also played a role in the Roman education system, as many pedagogues in Rome were either slaves or freedmen, indicating the degree of education and trust achievable by some slaves and freedmen.
The reforms of Augustus and the early empire
Following Augustus' rise to prominence in Rome, he enacted a program of laws intended to rectify what he perceived as the moral decay of the late Republic. These laws had an impact on freedmen to varying degrees, but Augustus' specific relationship and views towards freedmen suggest that he was committed to reducing the number of "undesirable" freedmen being manumitted. The ''
lex Aelia Sentia
''Lex Aelia Sentia'' was a law established in ancient Rome in 4 AD. It was one of the laws that the Roman assemblies had to pass (after they were asked to do so by emperor Augustus). This law (as well as '' Lex Fufia Caninia''), has made limitation ...
'' introduced limits to the number of slaves that could be freed, the preventing young or insane from freeing slaves, and stipulating that in order to gain Roman citizenship a freed slave be over 30 years of age. Furthermore, the ''
lex Papia Poppaea
The ''Lex Papia et Poppaea'' was a Roman law introduced in 9 AD to encourage and strengthen marriage. It included provisions against adultery and against celibacy after a certain age and complemented and supplemented Augustus' ''Lex Iulia de ma ...
'' and ''
lex Iulia de maritandis ordinibus
Lex or LEX may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lex'', a daily featured column in the ''Financial Times''
Games
* Lex, the mascot of the word-forming puzzle video game ''Bookworm''
* Lex, the protagonist of the word-forming puzzle video ga ...
'' restricted who freedmen were permitted to marry, including barring the female descendants of freedmen from marrying into the senatorial class. While Augustus' new social laws imposed some restriction on manumission, his program of laws promoting marriage also permitted female slaves to be manumitted via marriage to their master, fully legalizing the practice. The ''lex Iunia'' also sured up the freedman's legal protections and more solidly codified the practices of manumission, having the dual purpose of introducing mechanisms of punishment for ungrateful freedmen, but also preventing a patron's abuse of his power over his freepersons.
Following the death of Augustus,
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
instituted a new priesthood, the ''
Sodales Augustales
The Sodales or Sacerdotes Augustales (''singular'' Sodalis or Sacerdos Augustalis), or simply Augustales,Tacitus, ''Annales'' 1.54 were an order ('' sodalitas'') of Roman priests originally instituted by Tiberius to attend to the maintenance of t ...
.'' With most elements of social standing and advancement barred to both past and present slaves, wealthy freedmen made up much of the organization's membership. Aside from religious affairs, the ''Augustales'' were active in public life, and evidence from Pompeii and Herculaneum suggests that they were involved in funding public works, entertainment and celebrations.
Freedmen under the Empire
In the early empire the overall status of freedmen varied little from their status under the Republican system; while the Augustan reforms had moderately shifted their place in society, new opportunities for freedmen emerged under the new
Principate
The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate.
...
. The emperor's household held both slaves and freedmen, creating a group known as the ''familia Caesaris''. Within the household the imperial freedmen functioned in much the same way as other urban ''familia,'' acting as representatives and bureaucrats for the imperial family. Members of the ''familia Caesaris'' were particularly prominent under the rule of
Claudius, with a triad of freedmen, Pallas, Narcissus, and Callistus being highly influential. Claudius's association with his freedmen was well-known and controversial, with historians such as Dio accusing him of having slavish qualities. Outside of the City Rome, especially in Roman ''
colonia,'' freedmen were offered greater opportunities for influence in local politics, especially in cities with high plebian and freed populations, where the traditional hierarchies were somewhat disrupted.
The treatment of freedmen in far-flung parts of the Empire differed slightly from Rome and Italy. With less judicial oversight regarding the treatment of freedmen, there were community concerns over patron's abuse of their labour and the possibility of re enslavement. Therefore, the manumission process was often overseen by religious bodies, framing a slave's manumission as protected by both the gods and Roman law.
During the late Empire, on the edict of
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
*Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
, these religious protections were expanded to the Christian Church, creating a new form of manumission, ''Manumission in Ecclesia'' (Manumission before a Congregation).
Constantine's reforms also codified and solidified the authority of the patron over their freedom, codifying concrete punishments for truant, "ungrateful", and disobedient freedmen, up to and including re enslavement,
although these laws were annulled, altered, and reinstated by a number of Constantine's successors.
Freedwomen
Freedwomen are poorly attested in Roman sources, although their treatment in law demonstrates a different experience from their male counterparts. As freepersons were not seen as having a distinct civic identity from their patrons, there was a social paradox for a freedwoman, who would be expected to conform to the social role of ''matrona''. While a freedwoman may be granted citizenship, they were restricted from politics and most forms of independent money-making. The cultural expectation of a free Roman woman was to maintain social respectability and sexual integrity, which conflicted heavily with the master's treatment of enslaved women. Unwed freedwomen could expect to be bound to their patron for their entire lives, entering into the same pseudo-paternal relationship as freedmen, but with similar restrictions placed on freeborn daughters. The patron would retain the guardianship ''(tutor legitimus)'' of a freedwoman and would have more direct influence in her affairs and finances. Laws like the l''ex Papia Poppaea'' and ''lex Aelia Sentia'' permitted masters to wed and free their female slaves, although the freedwoman had little legal say in the matter. The forms of labour (''operae)'' that a freedwoman could perform for their patron were limited by law; while they could engage in commerce and craft for their patron, they were legally protected from being forced into prostitution by their master.
Freedwomen had some opportunities to gain public status, as in a similar way to male freedmen, freedwomen were permitted to gain high station in local religious cults and act as public priestesses. Inscriptions from freedwomen are present at Pompeii and Herculaneum, typically alongside the names of their husbands and children but, more rarely, dedicated solely by them.
Bibliography
* Mouritsen, Henrik (2011). The freedman in the Roman world. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
* Bradley, K. R. (1987). Slaves and masters in the Roman Empire : a study in social control. New York: Oxford University Press.
* Cooley, Alison (2014). Pompeii and Herculaneum : a sourcebook. M. G. L. Cooley (2nd ed.). London
* Hartnett, Jeremy, ''The Roman Street'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
* Harper, Kyle (2011). Slavery in the late Roman world, AD 275–425. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
* Perry, Matthew J.", ''Gender, Manumission, and the Roman Freedwoman'', Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
References
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