Lives behind the Laws: The World of the Codex Hermogenianus

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INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis www.iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 Indiana Cover illustration: Roman Mosaic of Horses and Cattle Threshing Wheat© Roger Wood/CORBIS Connolly Lives behind the Laws Serena Connolly is Assistant Professor of Classics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick. Classics & Antiquit y “A very interesting contribution to our picture of the imperial system of petition and response. . . . Connolly gives us . . . a synoptic view of what was arguably the most important role of the Roman emperor during the Early Empire.” Michael Peachin, New York University In this exploration of the administration of law and its role in the lives of ordinary people in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire, Serena Connolly draws upon a rich but little-known legal collection from the late third century known as the Codex Hermogenianus. The codex is composed of imperial responses to petitions sent to Rome, written by a team of the emperor’s legal experts. These petitions and responses provide a wealth of information about provincial legal administration and the lives of the non-elite petitioners. The man who prostituted his wife, the mother whose malicious son undersold her farm, and the slaves who posed as free men to get a loan are just a few of the lives to encounter. Lives behind the Laws makes a valuable contribution to Roman social, political, and legal history. Serena Connolly Lives behind the Laws The World of the Codex Hermogenianus Author photo: T. C. Brennan LivesBLmec2.indd 1 12/7/09 4:50 PM ...