Control of the Sacred in Roman Law

Abstract

This chapter reconsiders the juristic treatment of the words sacer , sanctus , and religiosus . It suggests that underlying the extant discussions uncover traces of an ongoing attempt by the elite, especially in their capacity as religious and legal experts, to exercise control over the category of the in Roman society. The fullest and most clearly organized extant discussion of the category sacred in Roman law is found in the Institutiones of Gaius , near the beginning of the book that deals with the law of res . Res ,Gaius says, can be divided into two classes: those subject to ius divinum , and those subject to ius humanum . Valeton's argument provides the best explanation for the fact that res sanctae belonged to the category of res divini iuris yet were somehow distinguished from res sacrae and res religiosae . Keywords: res divini iuris ; res religiosae ; res sacrae ; Roman law