Nutricula causidicorum

The Roman imperial system of law, courts and jurisdiction was a sphere in which the Roman empire exercised a profound impact on the society and culture of its provinces. In Roman Africa, law and courts were central to what it meant to be and become ‘Roman’. This was the case both in the sense of adopting Roman legal forms and institutions, and also in the sense of adopting a Roman model of elite education, where training in forensic rhetoric and pleading in the courts was instrumental for the making of successful careers in politics and administration. This chapter examines the development and professionalization of legal and forensic activity in Roman Africa, from the establishment of the Principate to the age of Augustine ( c .31 BCE–435 CE). Key topics that are addressed include: career structures, the typology and social profile of ‘lawyers’ (advocates, legal consultants, assessors, judges, notaries), the place of law in the rhetorical curriculum, profession and professionalization as analytical categories.

Art · Cicero · Elite · Jurisdiction · Legal culture · Literature · Pleading · Political science · Politics · Principate · Professionalization · Rhetorical question · Roman Empire · Sociology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Studies and Legal History · Classics · History · Law · Legal principles and applications