‘Leges dare’ and ‘Constituere’

Municipal Charters

Bibliographic Data

ID23640263
AuthorsEdward Bispham (corresponding author)
Year2007
Pages205-246
Publication date2007-12-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueFrom Asculum to Actium (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University PressOxford (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231843.003.0006
OpenAlexW2497742844
ISBN9780199231843
LanguageEN
References cited65

This chapter begins with a discussion of the shape and content of the lex then considers the mechanisms for granting charters. It argues that for the municipia enfranchised after the Social War, their leges were not meant to be seen as an earnest of good behaviour or a token of civilization to come; they were however symbolically important, a public and judicial marker of the political ‘Romanization’ of the community. At the same time, the charter not only displayed Rome's expectations and the aspirations of the municipes, but was a vital means of balancing those aspirations against affective bonds between municipes and municipium, ties of sentiment, tradition, and loyalty.

Charter · Civilization · Loyalty · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classical Studies and Legal History · Law · Medieval and Early Modern Justice

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