Kilka uwag na temat znajomości prawa u mówców sądowych republikańskiego Rzymu

Abstract

There is a prevalent view among current researchers of Roman law strongly depreciating the role of ancient orators in the development of Roman law, their social prestige, and their knowledge of law. However, this opinion, excessively generalized, does not take into consideration some dynamic changes that were taking place in the group’s contemporary society. In the Republic, a court speaker was patronus, deriving from the highest circles of the aristocracy and therefore enjoying the esteem and respect of the rest of the society. Oratory was considered one of the main virtues of a good citizen. Sometimes, because of the dominant educational system of ancient Rome and the social background of patrons, some of them were also jurists. Other patrons also knew the law very well, but not as well as iuris prudentes. Some of them definitely had no knowledge of Roman law, and „advocates” of this sort , have proved a nightmare for judicial systems throughout history. Gradually, even as early as Cicero’s times, a group of court speakers from the lower social stratum began to appear, who, as a rule, did not know the law and relied on the help of less significant jurists in court