The ''lex Hortensia'', also sometimes referred to as the Hortensian law, was a law passed in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

in 287 BC which made all resolutions passed by 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 ...

, known as ''plebiscita'', binding on all citizens. It was passed by the dictator

Quintus Hortensius Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114–50 BC) was a famous Roman lawyer, a renowned orator and a statesman. Politically he belonged to the Optimates. He was consul in 69 BC alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. His nickname was ''Dionysia'' ...

in a compromise to bring the plebeians back from their secession to the

Janiculum The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among t ...

. It was the final result of the long struggle between

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 ...

s and plebeians, where the plebeians would periodically secede from the city in protest (''

secessio plebis ''Secessio plebis'' (''withdrawal of the commoners'', or ''secession of the plebs'') was an informal exercise of power by Rome's plebeian citizens, similar in concept to the general strike. During the ''secessio plebis'', the plebs would aban ...

'') when they felt they were deprived of their rights. The law contained similar stipulations of the two earlier laws, the '' lex Valeria-Horatia'' of 449 BC and ''lex Publilia'' of 339 BC. Unlike the prior two laws, however, ''lex Hortensia'' eliminated the requirement that the Senate ratify, in the case of the ''lex Valeria-Horatia'', or give its prior approval to, in the case of the ''lex Publilia'', plebiscites before becoming binding on all citizens. Its passage secured the end of the

Conflict of the Orders The Conflict of the Orders, sometimes referred to as the Struggle of the Orders, was a political struggle between the plebeians (commoners) and patricians (aristocrats) of the ancient Roman Republic lasting from 500 BC to 287 BC in which the plebe ...

, and secured theoretically equal political rights between

patricians The patricians (from la, patricius, Greek: πατρίκιος) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom, and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after ...

and plebeians.

Causes

In the annalistic tradition, around the year 287 BC, a plebeian dictator by the name of Hortensius was appointed to handle a civil uprising that eventually led to the secession of the plebs to the Janiculum hill; only after the passage of the ''lex Hortensia'' in the Centuriate Assembly, or ''comitia centuriata'', did the plebs return to the city. The annals attribute the cause of the uprising to debt problems, with the proximate cause being the call to arms to fight against the Lucanians, giving the plebeians more leverage in depriving the patricians of needed manpower in the war. However, there is considerable reason to doubt this story, which Livy attributes to urban rabble in the forum, as large masses of urban poor did not really exist in the middle Republic. Furthermore, rural landowners controlled the vast majority of the votes in the

( lat, concilium plebis), as they controlled 29 of the voting blocs that never numbered more than 35, since the Council was organised in the same way as the

Tribal Assembly The Tribal Assembly (''comitia populi tributa'') was an assembly consisting of all Roman citizens convened by tribes (''tribus''). In the Roman Republic, citizens did not elect legislative representatives. Instead, they voted themselves on legisl ...

( lat, comitia tributa), just with the exclusion of patricians. The more likely cause is therefore the desire of rural plebeians to control the distribution of public lands ( lat, ager publicus) won in the

Third Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

. Due to the extreme measures taken by the consuls, however, it is likely that considerable urban unrest predicated this reform. With both the urban and the rural sections of the populace clamouring for reform and the military necessities of manpower granting the plebs a strong negotiating position, the law entered the realm of the inevitable. Of course, necessary to pass such specific and controlling legislation was an organised movement, likely coordinated by the plebeian

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

s in the city.

Provisions

The ''lex Hortensia'' was a step in a series of reforms that secured political freedom for the plebs. In the early Republic, before the start of reforms, laws passed by the

applied not to all Romans, but only to plebeians, because only plebeians could vote in the council. But after the '' lex Valeria-Horatia'' in 449 BC, plebiscites could become binding to all Romans, and not just plebeians, if they were ratified by the Senate. However, after the passage of ''

lex Pubilia 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 ...

'', the ratification of laws was moved to before the passage of the bill in the ''concilium plebis'', which apparently reduced the chance of senatorial obstruction. Furthermore, the law created restrictions on when votes could be scheduled. For example, votes could no longer be held on market days, which could have interfered in economic business. However, this served as an impediment towards the participation of rural plebeians in the ''concilium plebis'', as they were then unable to vote on convenient days when they would have been in the city. As a question of legal semantics, there remained a difference between a ''plebiscitum'', a plebeian law, and a ''lex'', a law ''per se''. The ''lex Hortensia'' simply changed the recognition of the ''plebiscitum'' such that it was treated as if it were a ''lex''. Later, as the distinction became immaterial, all binding laws, formerly ''leges'' or ''plebiscita'', became referred to ''leges'' as well.

Legacy

The passage of the Hortensian law ended a significant chapter in the

, a centuries long political conflict between the plebs and the patricians. It also cemented the pre-eminence of the

and the

in legislation, with primarily minor and procedural laws passed in the late Republic. The law cemented the authority of the Roman people, making plebeians and their tribunes important political players, which previous laws had failed to do.

References

{{reflist

External links

The Roman Law Library, incl. ''Leges''
Roman law 287 BC

Causes

Provisions

Legacy

See also

References

External links