TITLE IV. CONCERNING EXCHANGES AND SALES.

I.What Constitutes a Valid Exchange, and what a Valid Purchase.
II.If the Vendor is not a Person of Good Character, he must give a Surety.
III.Any Sale made under Compulsion shall be Void.
IV.In Case the Price should not be Paid, after Earnest Money has been Given.
V.Where only Part of the Price is Paid.
VI.Where Fraud is Committed in Stating the Price of whatever is Sold.
VII.Where Anyone says that he Sold his Property for Less than it was Worth.
VIII.Concerning Those who Sell, or Give Away, the Property of Others.
IX.It shall not be Lawful to Sell, or Give Away, Property whose Ownership is in Dispute.
X.Where a Freeman Allows Himself to be Sold.
XI.Concerning Free Men and Free Women Sold by Slaves or Freemen.
XII.It shall be Illegal for Parents to Sell their Children, or, by any Contract whatsoever, to Place Them in the Power of Others.
XIII.Concerning Sales by Slaves.
XIV.Where a Slave, who has been Sold, Accuses his Former Master of Crime.
XV.A Master may Claim the Property of a Slave whom he has Sold.
XVI.Whether a Slave may be Redeemed with his own Private Property.
XVII.No One, against his Will, shall be Compelled to Sell his Slaves.
XVIII.Where a Slave, on Account of a Crime he has Committed, is Transferred to the Possession of Another.
XIX.Concerning Property Belonging to Private Persons, and to the Court, which may not be Alienated.
XX.Where Anyone Sells, or Gives Away Property, whose Possession should first have been Transferred by Judicial Decree.
XXI.Of Slaves Captured and Sold by the Enemy.
XXII.For what Price this Book shall be Bought.

ANCIENT LAW.

I. What Constitutes a Valid Exchange, and what a Valid Purchase.

An exchange, if not made under fear or force, shall have the same validity as a purchase.

ANCIENT LAW.

II. If the Vendor is not a Person of Good Character, he must give a Surety.

If the vendor is not a person of highly respectable character, he shall give a freeborn bondsman as surety to the purchaser, and the sale shall then be valid.

ANCIENT LAW.

III. Any Sale made under Compulsion shall be Void.

Any sale evidenced by an instrument in writing shall be perfectly valid. If there should be no written evidence of it, and it should be proved that the price was paid in the presence of witnesses, the purchase shall be legal. A sale shall be void in case it was extorted by violence or fear.

ANCIENT LAW.

IV. In Case the Price should not be Paid, after Earnest Money has been Given.

He who receives earnest money for the sale of anything, can be forced to fulfil his contract. But if the purchaser, either through sickness or unavoidable necessity, cannot be present upon the designated day, he may appoint any one he chooses to pay the price at the time agreed upon. But where he himself is not present, or does not appoint any one to act for him, he shall only be entitled to receive the earnest money which he gave, and the contract shall be cancelled.

ANCIENT LAW.

V. Where only Part of the Price is Paid.

If only a part of the price is paid, and the balance should not be forthcoming, the sale shall not be invalid on this account. But if the purchaser should not pay the balance of the price at the time appointed, he shall pay interest on what he owes; unless it should be agreed upon by both parties that the property in question shall be returned to the vendor.

FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.

VI. Where Fraud is Committed in Stating the Price of whatever is Sold.

If, in the sale of property, a smaller price is paid than was agreed upon, and the purchaser should, fraudulently, and against the will of the vendor, declare that he has paid a higher price than he should have done, he shall be compelled to pay to the vendor double the amount of which the latter has been defrauded.

ANCIENT LAW.

VII. Where Anyone says that he Sold his Property for Less than it was Worth.

This rule must be observed in all sales where any property consisting of lands, slaves, or any species of animals, is disposed of, to wit: that no one shall attack the validity of the transaction by declaring that he sold the property for less than it was worth.

ANCIENT LAW.

VIII. Concerning Those who Sell, or Give Away, the Property of Others.

Whenever a dispute arises concerning the ownership of property which has been sold or given away: that is to say, if it should be established that anyone has sold or given away what belonged to another, no blame shall attach to the purchaser. But he who has been so bold as to sell or give away the property of another, shall be forced to pay double its value to the owner thereof, shall return the price which he has received to the purchaser, and shall undergo the penalty prescribed by the bill of sale. Whatever the purchaser, or he who received the gift, shall have added to the value of the property which was bought, shall be estimated by the judges of the district; and full satisfaction of the same shall be made, either by the vendor or the donor of said property, to him by whose efforts its value has been increased. The same rule shall apply to every description of property, including slaves and animals.

ANCIENT LAW.

IX. It shall not be Lawful to Sell, or Give Away, Property whose Ownership is in Dispute.

It shall not be lawful to give, or sell, or in any way transfer possession of, any property whose ownership is in dispute: that is to say, which any one else claims, or of which he has a reasonable hope of recovery.

ANCIENT LAW.

X. Where a Freeman Allows Himself to be Sold.

Any freeman who permits himself to be sold, and shares the price with the vendor, and, afterwards, desiring to cheat the purchaser, publishes the fact for the sake of reclaiming his liberty, shall not be heard, but shall remain in slavery; for it is dishonorable that a freeman should voluntarily subject himself to servitude. But if he who sold himself, or permitted himself to be sold, should have sufficient property to redeem himself; or, if his parents should choose to give the price of his redemption to him who owns him; then the entire amount for which he was sold shall be returned to the purchaser, and the person who was the object of the sale shall regain his freedom.

ANCIENT LAW.

XI. Concerning Free Men and Free Women Sold by Slaves or Freemen.

If anyone should dare to sell or give away a freeborn person, the judge shall at once cause the offender to be arrested. And in order that the said freeborn person may be restored to his proper rank, the judge shall require the vendor of such person to pay a hundred solidi of gold; and if he should not have sufficient property to pay this sum, he shall receive a hundred lashes in public, and shall be delivered over as a slave to him whom he had the audacity to sell, or give away. If a slave should treat a freeborn person in this manner, after being arrested he shall receive two hundred lashes in public, by order of the judge, and having been scalped he shall be condemned to perpetual servitude. This rule shall apply also to donations and sales of freeborn women.

ANCIENT LAW.

XII. It shall be Illegal for Parents to Sell their Children, or, by any Contract whatsoever, to Place Them in the Power of Others.

It shall not be lawful for parents to sell, give away, or pledge their children. And no one who purchases or receives a child under such circumstances, shall have any legal right to it whatever, but, on the other hand, he shall lose the price, or the amount advanced as a loan, which he paid to the parents of said child.[28]

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

XIII. Concerning Sales by Slaves.

The property of another cannot be sold contrary to the will of him who is entitled to legal ownership of the same. Therefore, for the reason that an ancient law declared all sales by slaves invalid, which were made at the expense of their masters, we have determined to promulgate a more equitable decree, in order to bring the laws of the country within the bounds of justice; for it is better to amend the acts of those who have fallen into error, than to err in like manner. Wherefore, if any one, hereafter, should knowingly receive from any slave of either sex, who belongs to another person, a house, or land, or a vineyard, or any personal property, upon any terms whatsoever, the sale, gift, or pledge, made by such a person shall be invalid, and the delivery of the property shall not be required. Where the sale is attended with expense to the purchaser, the property shall be returned intact to the master of the slave, and the purchaser shall lose the price he paid for it; for it is but just that he should sustain loss who attempted to appropriate the property of another for his own advantage. But if the aforesaid slave should sell any animals, or any personal property, or any ornaments of any kind, which belong to himself, or which he had received from his master to be disposed of, such transaction shall be forever valid; and if the master of any servant who has made such a sale should wish to rescind the sale, and should declare that the property which was sold did not belong to the slave, but was his own, the sale shall not be rescinded, unless he who proposes to do so shall establish, either by the testimony of legitimate witnesses, or by his own oath, that the property which he seeks to recover did not belong to the slave, but to himself, and has been disposed of without his permission. This law shall apply only to chattels of trifling value, for the authority of the master is necessary in order to confirm a contract relating to the sale of property of great value and importance.

ANCIENT LAW.

XIV. Where a Slave, who has been Sold, Accuses his Former Master of Crime.

If anyone should sell a slave, and the latter should accuse his former master of crime, he who sold him may recover said slave from the purchaser by returning the price for which he was sold, in order that he may avenge upon him the crime of which he himself was accused. And we decree that the same law shall be observed concerning female slaves. No servant of either sex, whether sold, given, or exchanged, shall be tortured to obtain evidence against his or her former master, nor shall he or she be believed if they should accuse their former master of crime.

XV. A Master may Claim the Property of a Slave whom he has Sold.

If any one should sell a slave, and not know what property he possessed, he shall have power to make full inquiry, and to claim as his own, whatever property belonging to said slave that he can find.

ANCIENT LAW.

XVI. Whether a Slave may be Redeemed with his own Private Property.

If a slave should be ransomed with his own money, and his master should be ignorant of his possession of the same, he shall not be entitled to his freedom; because the ransom that he paid was not his own, but the property of his master.

ANCIENT LAW.

XVII. No One, against his Will, shall be Compelled to Sell his Slaves.

Laws frequently arise from legal disputes in court, and when evidence of fraud exists, it becomes necessary to promulgate new decrees to restrain acts dictated by shrewdness and duplicity. Many slaves of both sexes, influenced by the suggestions of others, are in the habit of taking refuge in churches, and there complaining of the injustice and oppression of their masters; in order that, through the intercession of priests, and the aid of religion, they may compel their masters to sell them. In this manner frequently an injury is inflicted upon the master; as when a priest, or any one else, representing himself as a purchaser, buys the slave, while in fact he is acting for another party; and, by this collusion, it sometimes happens that the slave is sold to an enemy without his master’s knowledge, and thus, some one, under such circumstances, may obtain possession of the slave who could not have purchased him openly. We declare that, henceforth, the following shall be the law, viz: that no one, against his will, shall sell his slave; but the priest or custodian of the church, as provided by other laws, shall at once deliver the slave to his master, providing the latter pardons him for the fault he has committed; for it is highly improper that the slave should maintain his obstinacy and rebellion by taking refuge in a place where the doctrines of restraint and punishment are preached.

If any one should deceive a master in the manner aforesaid, he himself shall forfeit a sum equal to the price which was paid by him while acting as the agent of another; and, whether the master became aware of the fraud at the time of the transaction, or afterwards, he shall be entitled to recover the slave upon application to the court. He who acted fraudulently as the agent of another in the sale, shall be forced to give another slave of equal value to the master whom he deceived, in order that the wickedness of such a dishonorable transaction may be suitably punished.

THE GLORIOUS FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

XVIII. Where a Slave, on Account of a Crime He has Committed, is Transferred to the Possession of Another.

We must not omit to provide, by legal enactment, for the settlement of questions frequently involved in dispute. For this reason, if a slave who has been guilty of crime should be transferred, either by gift, sale, or exchange, to another master, his former master shall either cause him to be delivered up to justice to be punished for said crime, or shall render full satisfaction to the party who has been injured. In case he who bought said slave is unwilling to answer for him, or to render satisfaction for his crime, he must return him to his former master, on receipt of the price which he paid; and his former master must answer to the person making the complaint, for the offence committed by his slave while under his control.

FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.

XIX. Concerning Property Belonging to Private Persons, and to the Court, which may not be Alienated.

If the care of private property must not be neglected, how much more important is it to guard the interests of the public, whose possessions should always be preserved, or increased. For this reason, persons attached to the court, or private persons who are under obligations to furnish horses to the king, or who exercise any duties in connection with the royal treasury, shall have no right to sell, give, or exchange, any property in their possession. But if it should happen that any of them, either willingly, or impelled by necessity, should transfer all of his property, either by sale, donation, or exchange; both he who disposed of, and he who received it, shall have an inventory of the same drawn up, in which all of said property shall be specifically described; but he who has received only half of the said property, or a certain portion of the same, in slaves, lands, vineyards, and houses, shall be accountable for only the price of the portion which has been thus disposed of. And if any one purchasing property of any kind from such persons, should not, as aforesaid, within a year, render an account of the transaction in writing, showing the source from which said property was derived; as soon as information of this shall come to the king, or the governor, or the judge, the former possessor shall lose the price he received, as well as the property which was disposed of; but the king shall have the power to either restore said property to him who transferred it, or to bestow it upon any one else, should he desire to do so. It shall, however, be lawful for persons attached to the court, as well as for private persons, to sell, give, or exchange, property among themselves, provided he who receives said property shall not refuse to account for it publicly; but no plebeian shall have the right to sell his land. And if any one, after the adoption of this law, should purchase vineyards, lands, houses, or slaves from men employed in the public service, he shall inevitably lose the price paid for said property.

ANCIENT LAW

XX. Where Anyone Sells, or Gives Away Property, whose Possession should first have been Transferred by Judicial Decree.

If anyone should sell or give to any person any property which is in litigation, before the claim of his adversary to said property shall have been judicially determined, or should permit any one to make use of said property, so that the possessor may be deprived of its control, without an order of court, he in whose possession the property formerly was shall have it at once restored to him by the judge, and the adverse party shall not be permitted to claim it again, even if his title to the same is found to be good. And he who gave such property, or permitted it to be made use of, as aforesaid, for the reason that he can allege no just excuse for such conduct, shall be forced to give something of equal value to said property, or to the price paid for it, to his adversary; because he appropriated something before his title to it was legally established.

XXI. Of Slaves Captured and Sold by the Enemy.

If any slaves, residents of our kingdom, should be taken by an enemy, and said slaves should be recovered by our subjects, every one who recaptures a slave shall have one-third of what is estimated to be his just value, and shall restore him to his master; but if said slave was sold by the enemy to him, he shall make oath as to the price which he paid for him, and shall receive from the master said amount, together with a sum equal to any increased value which may have accrued since the capture of said slave, and the latter shall be at once restored to his master.

XXII. For what Price this Book shall be Bought.

In order that any extortion on the part of a vendor and any unnecessary expenditure by a purchaser, may alike be prevented, it is decreed by the present law, that it shall not be legal for a vendor to sell a copy of this book for more than four hundred solidi, or for the purchaser to give more than that sum. And if any one should presume either to give, or to receive, an amount greater than that above mentioned, he shall receive a hundred lashes by order of the judge.[29]