Liberto is both a
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
and a surname of Italian origin.
Etymology
The term liberto derives from , which means a freed slave. In
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...
, those freed slaves had various kinds of obligations toward their former owners and they did not have full citizens rights.
In
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
they were called , a
freedman
A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...
(feminine: ''liberta'') or an emancipated person who acts for and on behalf of its former master, who became his patron (). During the
Empire period and after the judgment of a
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
they were freed from a . Despite being freed by
manumission
Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing slaves by their owners. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that the most wi ...
and acquiring the
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome () 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, traditions, and cu ...
and a
legal personality
Legal capacity is a quality denoting either the legal aptitude of a person to have rights and liabilities (in this sense also called transaction capacity), or the personhood itself in regard to an entity other than a natural person (in this sen ...
, they did not have the same legal rights of the free-born and were excluded from the main offices, maintaining a subordinate position and many obligations on behalf of their former masters, which can be summarized in three duties: (obedience; respecting the patron as a father), (work), and (honesty; masters maintain the right of inheritance). This status could be revoked by . During the late imperial period a liberto can achieve the full status of
naive
Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...
by .
However, the name Liberto has also been traced to an unrelated Germanic given name.
[
]
Notable people
* Giuseppe Liberto
Giuseppe Liberto (Chiusa Sclafani, 21 August 1943) is an Italian priest, choral director and composer. He was director of the Choir of the Sistine Chapel 1997–2010.
Life
In 1997 Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef ...
(born 1943), Italian priest, choral director and composer
* Liberto Beltrán
Liberto Luis Beltrán Martínez (born 26 December 1996), sometimes known as just Liberto, is a Spanish footballer who plays mainly as a left winger for SD Huesca.
Club career
Born in Castellón de la Plana, Valencian Community, Liberto started ...
(born 1996), Spanish footballer
* Liberto Corney (1905–1955), Uruguayan boxer
* Vivian Cash
Vivian Distin ( Liberto, formerly Cash; April 23, 1934 – May 24, 2005) was an American homemaker and author. She is notable as the first wife of singer Johnny Cash and mother of their four daughters. She inspired his first hit single "I Walk th ...
(born Vivian Liberto; 1934–2005), American homemaker and author
See also
*Roman law
Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I.
Roman law also den ...
*Slavery in ancient Greece
Slavery was a widely accepted practice in ancient Greece, as it was in contemporaneous societies. The principal use of slaves was in agriculture, but they were also used in stone quarries or mines, as domestic servants, or even as a public ut ...
*Slavery in ancient Rome
Slavery in ancient Rome played an important role in society and the economy. Unskilled or low-skill slaves labored in the fields, mines, and mills with few opportunities for advancement and little chance of freedom. Skilled and educated slaves ...
References
External links
{{given name, type=both
Italian masculine given names
Masculine given names
Portuguese masculine given names
Spanish masculine given names
Italian-language surnames