Any person who, within the limits of Spain, desires to purchase any slave from a party unknown to him, must not conclude said purchase until inquiries have been made to determine whether said stranger is selling a slave of his own, or one belonging to some other person. Said inquiries shall take place in the presence of the judge, or of persons of respectability who are present where said slave is offered for sale; and the vendor of the slave shall make his statements under oath. The slave who is offered for sale shall himself be subjected to a severe examination; and, should it be ascertained that he is not the property of the person who offered him for sale, but that he belongs to another, then the judge shall order him to be restored to his master. The judge shall retain in custody the party who attempted to sell the slave of another, as well as the slave in question, until the arrival of the master, when the judicial examination shall be completed, and the satisfaction required by law shall be made. Given and confirmed at Cordova, in the sixteenth year of our happy reign.[46]

TITLE II. CONCERNING THOSE WHO REFUSE TO GO TO WAR, AND DESERTERS.

I.Where an Officer of the Army, Corrupted by a Bribe, Permits a Soldier to Depart, or does not Compel him to Leave his Home.
II.Where Conscription Officers Appropriate the Property of Those they Call to Arms.
III.Where an Officer of the Army Abandons the War, and Returns Home, or Permits Others to do so.
IV.Where an Officer of the Army, Deserting the Service, Returns Home, or Compels Others to do so.
V.Where a Conscription Officer Receives a Bribe to Permit Soldiers who are not Ill, to Remain at Home.
VI.Concerning those who Appropriate Army Rations, or are Guilty of Fraud in the Distribution of the Same.
VII.What Reward he who Rescues Slaves, or Property, from the Possession of the Enemy, shall be Entitled to.
VIII.What Conduct shall be Pursued when Public Scandal Arises within the Bounds of Spain.
IX.Concerning Those who Fail to Enlist at the Appointed Time or Place, or Desert; and What Proportion of the Slaves Belonging to any Person shall Join the Army.

I. Where an Officer of the Army, Corrupted by a Bribe, Permits a Soldier to Depart, or does not Compel him to Leave his Home.

Where the commander of a force of a thousand men, corrupted by a bribe, permits a soldier to return to his home, he shall pay ninefold the amount which he received, to the governor of the city in whose territory he was at the time. If, however, without receiving any bribe, he should permit a soldier, who is well, to depart as aforesaid, or should not compel him to leave his home and join the army, he shall pay thirty solidi; a commander of five hundred men shall pay fifteen solidi; a centurion, ten solidi; and a decurion, five solidi; and the said sums shall be divided among the soldiers, by hundreds, where said sums were paid.[47]

II. Where Conscription Officers Appropriate the Property of those they call to Arms.

If the conscription officers of the army, when they summon the Goths to arms, should take anything from any person, or should presume to seize, against his will, any of his property, in his presence, or while he is absent, and this fact should be established in court, the offender shall be forced to restore said property elevenfold, and shall receive a hundred lashes in the presence of his assembled command.

ANCIENT LAW.

III. Where an Officer of the Army Abandons the War, and Returns Home, or Permits Others to do so.

Where a centurion deserts, in the face of the enemy, and returns home, he shall be beheaded. If, however, he should seek sanctuary at the altar, or with the bishop, he shall pay three hundred solidi to the governor of the city, and shall not be liable to the penalty of death. The governor of the city shall then notify the king of the occurrence, and the above mentioned solidi shall be divided among the soldiers under the command of said centurion. The latter shall not thereafter be entitled to the command of a hundred men, under any circumstances; but he may be appointed to the command of ten. Where a centurion, without the consent of the general, or of any of his superior officers, and induced by a bribe, or persuaded by the entreaty of any of his soldiers, permits said soldiers to return home, or releases them from service in the army, he shall be compelled to pay to the governor of the city where he was at the time, ninefold the amount he corruptly received; and, as has been hereinbefore stated, said governor shall, at once, give notice to the king; in order that the fine paid to said officer may, under our direction, be divided among the soldiers of his command. But if a centurion, without receiving any bribe, should permit a soldier to return home, he shall pay to the governor of the city ten solidi, as above mentioned.