Lucius Valerius Poplicola Potitus ( 450–449 BC) was a

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

who, together with

Marcus Horatius Barbatus Marcus Horatius Turrinus Barbatus ( 450–449 BC) was a Roman senator from the early Roman Republic, Republic, who served as consul in 449 BC alongside Lucius Valerius Poplicola Potitus. According to Roman historical tradition, he and Valerius pla ...

, opposed the second decemvirate in 449 BC when that body showed despotic tendencies. In honor of their efforts, the pair were elected

consuls A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

for the remainder of that year.

Potitus and the Decemvirate

The two men were patricians who stood up when a plebeian was being abused by the despotic second decemvirate, spoke critically of the decemviri and showed sympathy towards the plebeians. When the plebeians rebelled in the second plebeian secession they were chosen as negotiators because their previous actions had put them in a favourable light in the eyes of the plebeians, who felt that they were trustworthy. When the demands of the plebeians were met and the secession was called off, both men were elected as consuls. They passed the

Valerio-Horatian Laws The Valerio-Horatian laws ( la, leges Valeriae Horatiae) were three laws which were passed by the consuls of Rome for 449 BC, Lucius Valerius Poplicola Potitus and Marcus Horatius Barbatus. They restored the right of appeal to the people and introd ...

(''Leges Veleriae-Horatiae''). The first law established that the resolutions (plebiscites) of the

Plebeian Council The ''Concilium Plebis'' (English: Plebeian Council., Plebeian Assembly, People's Assembly or Council of the Plebs) was the principal assembly of the common people of the ancient Roman Republic. It functioned as a legislative/judicial assembly, ...

were binding on whole people, including the patricians. The second law restored the right of appeal to the people which had been suspended during the two decemvirates and added the provision that no official exempt from the right of appeal was to be appointed and in the case of such an appointment anyone could lawfully kill him. The third law put the principle of the inviolability (

sacrosanctity Sacrosanctity was the declaration of physical inviolability of a temple, a sacred object, or a person through the ''lex sacrata'' (sacred law), which had religious connotations. Festus explained that: “Sacred laws are laws which have the sanction ...

) of the plebeian tribunes (the representatives of the plebeians) into the statutes. Previously, this principle was only enshrined in the religious sanction of the ''lex sacrata''. Both the story of the first and the second decemvirates have been questioned by some modern historians who think that the second decemvirate was a fiction. This would put into question the historicity of the second plebeian secession, the consulship of Lucius Valerius and his colleague and the Valerio-Horatian Laws. Mommsen and Cornell are among the historians who defend the historicity of at least the core of the story. The Valerio-Horatian Laws have also been questioned. Regarding the law on the right of appeal, there were two other such laws by consuls from the Valeria family (dated 509 BC and 300 BC) and the argument is that only the last one is historical. Regarding the law of the resolution of the Plebeian Council, there were two other laws with the same provision, the ''

Lex Publilia 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 ...

'' of 339 BC and the ''

Lex Hortensia The ''lex Hortensia'', also sometimes referred to as the Hortensian law, was a law passed in Ancient Rome in 287 BC which made all resolutions passed by the Plebeian Council, known as ''plebiscita'', binding on all citizens. It was passed by the d ...

'' of 287 BC. Again, it is argued that only the last law is historical. Other historians have defended the historicity of these laws.

Quaestorship

Three years after his consulship, in 446 BC, Valerius was elected

Quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

together with

Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus Mamercus Aemilius Mamercinus was a political figure in the Roman Republic, serving as consular tribune in 438 BC and dictator three times in 437, 434, and 426 BC. Prior to gaining the imperium Aemilius was, in 446 BC, elected Quaestor together wit ...

. They were, according to

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

, the first elected quaestors of the Republic. Broughton, vol i, pp.51

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valerius Poplicola Potitus, Lucius 5th-century BC Roman consuls Roman triumphators Poplicola Potitus, Lucius