Please read through this translation of the the Twelve Tables, Rome's first written laws (also available in an abridged version here). How impressed are you with this law code? Cite an example of what you consider to be a particularly good law or a particularly bad law from this code. Explain how the law you cite would have tended to either strengthen or weaken the Roman Republic.
Tuesday, September 9, 2025
The Twelve Tables
Please read through this translation of the the Twelve Tables, Rome's first written laws (also available in an abridged version here). How impressed are you with this law code? Cite an example of what you consider to be a particularly good law or a particularly bad law from this code. Explain how the law you cite would have tended to either strengthen or weaken the Roman Republic.
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For the first written laws of a republic, they are rather impressive. They seem to be well thought out (for the most part) and detailed. One thing I found interesting was the amount of laws relating to "summons." Clearly that was a major part of Roman history, and it is obvious that they did not take a missing summons lightly. One law I found to be a bit alarming was the first law in table IV--"A dreadfully deformed child shall be quickly killed." I seemed to have forgotten that this was written over 1000 years ago. When reading this in the present day, it is rather shocking to consider a law where a deformed child would be quickly killed just because of its deformities. Also, you have to think about what the Romans considered a "dreadful" deformity. You can imagine the reactions of people when seeing a cleft palate or clubbed foot for the first time--probably not very encouraging. As for the mothers, how did they feel about it? I wonder if they anxiously lived while being pregnant in fear that their child would be killed if something didn't look right. But alas, people thought quite differently back then, so maybe the mothers didn't care at all. If the Roman Republic's goal was to increase the population, maybe they should reconsider this particular law and define "dreadful deformities" in the margins.
ReplyDelete-Lauren Bland
After reading this law code I was very disappointed in condition of the laws. I feel that as the greatest civilization on Earth they could have done much better in writing there laws. I am sure these laws got much better over time since these were written early into the Republic, but still there were disappointing to me. One that really stand out to me and almost just seems like it was made out of spite was is in Table 10, Law 3, and it states "The women shall not tear their faces nor wail on account of the funeral". I have many questions why this was made. My first is why is it only women who can't cry? And what happened for this to even become a law? My only reasoning I can think of for why this is a law is to show Roman strength and mental toughness.
ReplyDeleteI really think this law would have weakened the Roman Republic, because it seems like a law people really wouldn't take seriously and probably not follow. This can spill over into not following other laws as well. Plus I feel like this would lead to resentment of the Republic for they decided you can't cry at your husbands funeral. This probably would have made a lot of sisters, wives, mother, and daughters very angry.
The laws provided are detailed, clear, and offer exceptions that others may or may not have considered. This is understandable - throughout all of human history, we have learned the crazy things people will do when it comes to crime. This may or may not have been the case when it comes to how many laws there are written here.
ReplyDeleteSome of the laws I found to be good were those relating to fruit from trees. It goes into more detail than just 'if the fruit falls from the tree, it is free for everyone else to take'. Instead, it even explains that it would be fine if someone else were to have their animals take the fallen fruit. In a way, these laws sound much like a mother: "If you didn't want your brother to take your fruit, then you should have picked it up before he got to it."
This would have strengthened the Republic because it dismisses small qualms such as fruit. And, by establishing a law, it dissuades others from bringing such a petty issue up with the courts and wasting time and resources.
A bad law, in my personal opinion, would be 8-1. As we have learned from the witch trials, anyone would be willing to use the law against others to obtain wealth or simply to get their enemies out of the way. Not only that, sometimes people are silly and pretend to cast spells. This law seems like something that can quickly get out of hand. But again, that is my personal opinion.
This law would have weakened the Republic because it can become a source of contention - anything can suddenly become an incantation if one deludes themself enough.
The Twelve Tables seem kind of weak, especially compare to other ancient law codes like Hammurabi, because they aren’t very clear or detailed. Some laws are hard to understand or feel incomplete, and they don’t explain things very well. Unlike other law codes, they don’t give much reasoning or show a clear sense of fairness.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the laws mostly protect the rich and powerful. They treat poor people, women, and slaves unfairly, and some punishments are way too harsh for small crimes. Instead of making society more equal, the laws mostly keep things the way they are. It feels more like a list of rules than a strong system of justice.
Andrew
Harsh punishments for minor offenses, like death for cutting crops at night, also show a lack of balance in the legal system.
DeleteThe Twelve Tables are, in my opinion, a quite solid set of laws, especially as the first set of laws for a new nation in the ancient world. On the other hand, however, there are no doubt some laws that left me a little unsure as to why they were in there.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, some of those laws are actually really good. The ones about treason, dishonesty, theft, summoning, and court cases all seemed pretty fair. For example, the 6th law in Table IX is very fair, speaking about how the putting to death of any unconvicted man is forbidden. The laws like that showed me a glimpse of Rome's honorable virtue in their law and their character. I could see how this law, alike other similar laws, could improve the morality of the Roman people greatly.
Overall, this isn't an amazing set of laws by any means, due to the unfairness and randomness of some. However, there are definitely some laws that make a lot of sense and are very fair.
For the most part, I like these laws. I like how straight forward and practical they are. There are some that I find to be horrible, like "a dreadfully deformed child shall be quickly killed," but for the most part I think they prevent a lot of disputes that could arise from trivial matters.
ReplyDeleteOne law that I personally don't like, though some may not see an issue with it is, "No person shall hold meetings by night in the city."
I think I see the reasoning behind this law: people could be plotting against the government at night.
If you have a good government, you might want to protect it with such a law, but I don't think that governments should tell people when they can or cannot assemble. I think that good governments can be ruined by the very laws that are created to protect those governments if the laws begin to infringe on the rights of the people.
-Emily Ekanger
I’m impressed with the Twelve Tables because they gave Rome one of the first public, written law codes, making the system less open to abuse by higher ups. A good example is Table VIII Law 2, which requires someone who injures another to pay damages. This strengthened the Republic by discouraging violence and promoting fairness. A weaker law is Table IV Law 1, which gave fathers absolute power over their children, even to sell them into slavery. That undermined individual rights and concentrated too much power in one person. The code was a step forward for stability, even if some laws were unfair.
ReplyDelete