TITLE IV. CONCERNING INJURIES, WOUNDS, AND MUTILATIONS INFLICTED UPON MEN.
| I. | Concerning the Injury of Freemen and Slaves. |
| II. | Concerning Insolent Persons and their Acts. |
| III. | Concerning the Law of Retaliation, and the Amount to be Paid in Lieu of the Enforcement of said Law. |
| IV. | Where a Person Deprives a Traveller of his Liberty, against the Will of the Latter, and with Intent to do him Injury. |
| V. | He who Violates the Law by Inflicting Injury upon Another, shall undergo the same Punishment which he Himself Inflicted. |
| VI. | He shall not be Considered Guilty who Struck Another, when the Latter was about to Strike Him. |
| VII. | Where a Slave Insults a Freeborn Person. |
| VIII. | Where one Freeborn Person Strikes Another. |
| IX. | Where the Slave of Another is Mutilated by a Freeborn Person. |
| X. | Where a Slave Strikes a Freeborn Person. |
| XI. | Where One Slave Mutilates Another Slave. |
I. Concerning the Injury of Freemen and Slaves.
Where one freeborn person strikes another any kind of a blow upon the head, he shall pay five solidi for a bruise, ten solidi if the skin be broken, twenty solidi for a wound extending to the bone, and a hundred solidi where a bone is broken. If a freeborn man should commit any of the above named acts upon the slave of another, he shall pay half of the above named penalties, according to the degree of his offence. If one slave should strike another, as above stated, he shall pay a third part of the above penalties, proportionate to his offence, and shall receive fifty lashes. If a slave, however, should wound a freeborn person, he shall pay the largest sum hereinbefore mentioned, which is exacted from freeborn persons for assaults upon slaves, and shall receive seventy lashes. If the master should not be willing to give satisfaction for the acts of his slave, he must surrender him on account of his crime.
II. Concerning Insolent Persons and their Acts.
If anyone with a drawn sword, or armed with any kind of weapon, should insolently enter the house of another, with the design of killing the master of the same, and should be himself killed, no one shall be held responsible for his death; but if he who entered said house should kill anyone, he shall be put to death at once. But if he should not commit any crime, he must at once give satisfaction, according to law, for any injury resulting from his act. And if he who entered the house of another by violence, should steal anything there, he shall be compelled to pay elevenfold the value of what he carried away. And if he should not have the means to pay the amount due, he shall be given up to serve as a slave; and if no damage should result from his violent entrance into the house, and he should not steal anything therefrom; for the mere fact of his forcible entry, he shall be compelled to pay ten solidi and shall receive a hundred lashes in public; and if he should not be possessed of said sum, he shall receive two hundred lashes. If any other freeborn persons, who were not under his orders or subject to him, or under his protection, should enter with him into the house; all of them, as giving consent to a high-handed and illegal act, shall undergo similar condemnation and penalties. If they should not have the property wherewith to render satisfaction, each one of them shall receive a hundred and fifty lashes; but they shall not lose the right to testify in court. But if they were under the protection, or in the service of the aggressor, and it is proved that he ordered them to commit the act of violence, or that they participated in it with him, the patron alone shall be held liable for all damage committed, as well as for the penalty; for they were not guilty who only carried out the orders of their superior. If a slave should commit such an act of violence without the knowledge of his master, he shall receive two hundred lashes, and shall be compelled to restore whatever he carried away. If, however, the slave acted with the knowledge of his master, the latter must give satisfaction for his act, as has been hereinbefore provided in the cases of freeborn persons.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
III. Concerning the Law of Retaliation, and the Amount to be Paid in Lieu of the Enforcement of said Law.
The bloody rashness of some persons must be legally revenged by even the most severe penalties; for when anyone fears that he will suffer for what he has done, he is liable to abstain from the commission of crime. Therefore, if any freeborn person should dare to shave the head of another; or should mark, or scar him by violence inflicted either upon his face, or upon any other part of his body, by the use of a scourge, a whip, or any weapon; or, by maliciously dragging him upon the ground, should soil or defile him; or should maim him in any part of his limbs; or should restrain him of his liberty, by placing him in jail, or in any other place of confinement; or should order him to be imprisoned by others; or to be kept in custody and sold as a slave; having been apprehended by the judge, the same person shall receive by way of retaliation, whatever he inflicted, or attempted to inflict, upon another. And if he who suffered from his violence, or endured insult through his agency, should desire to receive pecuniary compensation from the culprit, he shall be entitled to recover such a sum as he may estimate will compensate him for the injuries he has sustained. We forbid, however, retaliation to be made for a blow with the fist or with the foot, or for any stroke upon the head; lest, when the retaliation is inflicted, a greater or more dangerous injury may result.
Where an aggressor commits such acts without causing any injury to the limbs, for a slap, he shall receive ten lashes; for a blow with the fist, or a kick, he shall receive twenty lashes; for a stroke on the head, if the blood should not flow, thirty lashes. And if he by whom the injury was produced, or who is said to have instigated it, where the act was not deliberately committed, but was the result of a sudden quarrel, should prove that it was caused by the fault of another, and against his own will, and, in the affray, an eye should have been lost, he shall pay a hundred solidi as a penalty. But if it should appear that the party injured can still see with the damaged eye, he may accept a pound of gold from the aggressor, by way of compensation. Where anyone is struck on the nose, and it should be entirely destroyed, the culprit shall pay a hundred solidi. If the blow upon the nose should be of such a character as to lay open the nostrils, the judge shall impose a penalty according to the deformity produced; and we decree that the same rule shall apply to injuries done to the lips and to the ears. A hundred solidi shall be paid for any injury to the loins. Whoever cuts off the hand of another entirely, or injures it with a blow so that the party cannot make use of it, shall pay a hundred solidi by way of reparation for such injury. Fifty solidi shall be paid for the loss of the thumb; for that of the forefinger, forty solidi; for that of the middle finger, thirty; for that of the fourth, twenty; for that of the fifth finger, ten solidi. Similar sums also shall be exacted for injuries inflicted upon the feet. For every tooth lost by violence, twelve solidi shall be paid. Whoever breaks the leg of another, and the latter thereby is rendered lame, shall pay him a pound of gold; and all the provisions above stated in regard to such injuries, shall apply where the rights of freemen are involved. But if a slave should commit any of the unlawful acts hereinbefore specified, or should he only shave the head of a freeman, he shall be delivered up into the power of the latter to be dealt with according to his pleasure. If, on the other hand, a freeborn person should shave the head of a slave belonging to another, or should give orders to shave the head of a peasant, he shall pay his master ten solidi. Where the slave is of superior rank, the offender shall not only be forced to pay the aforesaid sum of ten solidi to his master, but shall also receive a hundred lashes. If he has maimed the slave in any part of his body, or has ordered another to mutilate him, he shall receive two hundred lashes; and shall be compelled to give to the master of said slave, another of equal value to the one he has injured, by way of satisfaction. And if any freedman should commit any of the crimes hereinbefore specified against any freeman; for the reason that he was of inferior rank, not only shall the violence he committed be visited also upon him, but he shall, in addition, receive a hundred lashes with the scourge. And if a person born free should injure a freedman in any of the ways hereinbefore mentioned, he shall pay the third part of the amount for which freeborn persons are liable. If one slave should mutilate another without the knowledge of his master, or should shave his head, he shall undergo the same injury which he has inflicted, and shall receive a hundred lashes in public. If a slave, without the knowledge of his master, should seize and confine a freeborn person, he shall receive two hundred lashes in public. But where a slave commits any of these acts, with the consent of his master, the master only shall undergo the penalty, and pay the damages which are prescribed by this law in the case of freeborn persons. Where a freeborn person imprisons the slave of another who is innocent, he shall pay three solidi to his master. If one slave should imprison another, without the consent of the latter’s master, he shall receive a hundred lashes. Where the slave committed the act, with the knowledge of his master, the master of said slave shall be compelled to pay three solidi. If any freeborn man shall detain the innocent slave of another in custody, day or night, or should cause him to be detained by another, he shall pay to the master of the said slave, for every day that he is thus restrained of his liberty, three solidi, and for every night an equal sum; and if the innocent slave is proved to have been thus imprisoned by the said freeman for several days, the latter shall be compelled to pay to the master the same sum of three solidi for every single day and night during which said slave was imprisoned. Any freeman who shall strike the slave of another with a whip, or scourge, or any kind of weapon, in such a way as to cause the blood to flow, or a bruise to appear, shall pay to the master of the slave one solidus for every blow inflicted; or, if serious injury should result, by which he who was struck was either killed or maimed, the offender shall pay for such an act, whatever sum the court, in its judgment, shall deem proper. Where one slave commits an assault upon another slave, the judge shall determine, according to the nature of the injury, the amount of the sum to be paid by the slave, or his master; which sum shall be equal to half that paid by a freeman under similar circumstances, and the slave shall receive a hundred lashes, in addition, for his insolence. All the provisions of this law shall apply to the cases of men as well as to those of women, in order that the questions left to the discretion of the judge by this and other laws, may be quickly decided.
If a judge, influenced by friendship, or corrupted by a bribe, should not dispose of a case in an equitable manner, or should neglect to at once impose a penalty, he shall be deprived of his judicial power for the future, and shall be compelled by the bishop, or the governor, to render satisfaction out of his own property, to an amount which said bishop or governor shall determine, to him to whom he refused to do justice; in order that he, who voluntarily refused to redress the wrongs of another, may be forced to undergo the loss of his own possessions.
ANCIENT LAW.
IV. Where a Person Deprives a Traveller of his Liberty, against the Will of the Latter, and with Intent to do him Injury.
If anyone, while on a journey, should be unlawfully restrained of his liberty by another, and no indebtedness should exist between them, he who has been so restrained shall be entitled to five solidi for the injury he has undergone; and if the offender should not have such a sum, he shall receive fifty lashes. But if one party should be indebted to another, and should refuse to pay the debt, the creditor may, without inflicting any injury upon him, bring him before the judge of the district, and the latter shall make such an order as he thinks to be just. Where a slave commits such an act, without the order of his master, he shall receive a hundred lashes. But if he should have done this under the direction of his master, said master shall be liable for the payment of the sum hereinbefore mentioned.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
V. He who Violates the Law by Inflicting Injury upon Another, shall undergo the same Punishment which he Himself Inflicted.
It is no less a fault to be ignorant of the laws than, knowing them, to commit crimes. Wherefore, whoever, up to this time, or hereafter, has perpetrated, or shall perpetrate, any act forbidden by law, and shall either declare that he was ignorant of the law, or shall plot to carry out any act that shall enure to the injury or danger of anyone, alleging, at the same time, that such act is not prohibited by law, and that for this reason he cannot be held liable for its commission, and should such person be convicted, he shall at once undergo the same dangers, ignominy, tortures, suffering, or pecuniary loss, which he inflicted, or attempted to inflict, upon another; shall receive, in addition, a hundred lashes in public, and shall be scalped, as a mark of perpetual infamy.[36]
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
VI. He shall not be Considered Guilty who Struck Another, when the Latter was about to Strike Him.
It is no crime to resist another, where the violence of the attacking party is manifest. Whoever, therefore, should recklessly attempt to strike, or should strike, another with a whip, or sword, or with any weapon whatsoever, and the offender should then be so wounded by the party whom he attacks that he dies, such death shall not be considered homicide, nor shall he be liable to any reproach who struck the fatal blow; because it is more proper for a living person to defend himself against an angry man, than to be revenged after his own death. And whoever, in anger, draws a sword against anyone, even though he should not strike him, shall be forced, on account of his insolence, to give ten solidi to him whom he thus threatened.
FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
VII. Where a Slave Insults a Freeborn Person.
No slave, however respectable he may be, shall act insolently, arrogantly, or seditiously, towards a person of noble and illustrious lineage; and, should one be guilty of such conduct, he shall be sentenced by the judge to receive forty lashes with the scourge. A slave of inferior position shall be punished with fifty lashes with the scourge. Where a person of exalted rank first provokes the slave of another, and is insulted in consequence, he must attribute it to his own bad behavior; since, as he was forgetful of honor and patience, he only received what he deserved.
ANCIENT LAW.
VIII. Where One Freeborn Person Strikes Another.
If one freeborn person should inflict a wound upon another, and the wounded person should die at once, the attacking party shall be punished for homicide; and if he who was wounded should not die immediately, the aggressor must either be confined in prison, or released on bail. Should the person who was wounded escape with his life, he who injured him must pay him twenty solidi, on account of the attack alone; and, if he should not have that sum, he shall receive two hundred lashes in public, and, in addition to this, he shall be compelled to pay such damages, for the wound he inflicted, as may be assessed by the judges.
ANCIENT LAW.
IX. Where the Slave of Another is Mutilated by a Freeborn Person.
If any freeman should voluntarily mutilate the slave of another, he shall be compelled to give at once to his master, another slave of equal value; and he shall retain the one that was injured, to be cared for at his expense until he is cured. And if he should afterwards recover, the person who inflicted the wound shall pay such an amount in damages as may seem just to the court. And should he, afterwards, be restored to his master, safe and sound, said master shall receive him again as his slave. The aggressor, on account of the boldness of his act, inasmuch as he did not commit murder, but only ventured to wound the slave of another, shall pay ten solidi to his master.
X. Where a Slave Strikes a Freeborn Person.
If a slave, without the order of his master, should strike a freeborn person, and the latter should die at once, from the effect of the blow, the slave shall be punished for homicide; but if the wounded person should not die immediately, the slave shall be imprisoned; and if he who was wounded should recover, his assailant shall receive two hundred lashes. The master, if he should wish to do so, may pay, in satisfaction of the injury, whatever sum may be assessed by the court; and, if he should refuse to do this, the slave shall be given to the party injured, in satisfaction for his crime.
XI. Where One Slave Mutilates Another Slave.
Where one slave inflicts mutilation upon another, he shall receive a hundred lashes, in addition to the pecuniary satisfaction due for the wound; and if, as a result of said wound, the other should be partially disabled, the judge shall estimate how much his value has been diminished in consequence. If his master should refuse to accept the sum thus estimated, as satisfaction, he shall be entitled to receive the price of the slave who was injured, or one of equal value, from him whose slave committed the attack; and said master shall retain the mutilated slave as his own. We decree that this law shall also apply to female slaves.