If a slave should be convicted of having carried off a woman who has been freed, and if the said slave is of good character, and the woman also, his master shall pay a hundred solidi on his behalf. Should he be unwilling to do this, he must surrender the slave, without delay, so that it may not be possible for him to marry the woman. If, however, they should be married at any time, and children should be born to them, the master shall have both the slave and his children, as slaves. But if a slave should be known to be coarse and degraded, and should be convicted of having carried off a freedwoman of good character, his master shall pay to the aforesaid woman as much as the slave is worth, and the latter shall receive a hundred lashes with the scourge, shall be scalped, and shall forever remain in servitude in the power of his master.
FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.
X. Where a Slave carries off the Female Slave of Another by Force.
If a slave should carry off the female slave of another by force, he shall receive two hundred lashes, and have his head shaved; and, if the master of the female slave desires it, he shall be separated from her.
XI. Concerning those who Deceive Girls, or the Wives of Others, or Widows; and Concerning those who Compel by Force, and without the Royal Command, any Freeborn Girl or Widow to take a Husband.
Everything that pollutes the honor and dignity of human life must be restrained by law. Therefore those who solicit wives to commit adultery, or deceive the daughters of others; or widows; or women who are betrothed; whether they use, as their agents, persons who have been freed, or who are born free, or slaves of either sex; as soon as their crime shall be made apparent by positive testimony, they shall be arrested, along with their emissaries, by order of the judge; and shall be delivered up into the power of him, whose wife, daughter, or betrothed relative, they are convicted of having solicited, to be disposed of at his pleasure; as he is the person whom the conjugal condition, or the relationship by blood, designates as the legal avenger of such a crime. Any person who shall, by force, compel a freeborn girl or widow, without the royal order, to take a husband, shall be compelled to pay five pounds of gold to him to whom the injury was done; and the marriage shall be declared void, unless the woman shall consent to it of her own free will.
THE GLORIOUS FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.
XII. Concerning Freemen and Slaves who are Proved to have been Implicated in the Crime of Rape.
Any one who is known to have assisted, or to have been present, at the carrying off of any woman by force, if he is a freeman, shall pay a fine of six ounces of gold, and shall publicly receive fifty lashes with the scourge. If he is a slave, and acted without the consent of his master, he shall receive a hundred lashes. But if he should commit this crime with the consent of his master, the latter must give such satisfaction in his stead as has already been stated.