# Twelve Tables # Twelve Tables ## Overview The Twelve Tables (~451–450 BCE) were the foundation of Roman law, the first written legal code of the Roman Republic. They were created in response to plebeian demands for publicly accessible laws. @t[451 BCE..450 BCE] ## Key Facts - Date: ~451–450 BCE @t[451 BCE..450 BCE] - Issuer: Decemviri (commission of ten men) - Language: Archaic Latin - Context: Conflict of the Orders between patricians and plebeians ## Content - Originally inscribed on twelve bronze tablets displayed in the Roman Forum - Covered: Court procedure, debt, family law, property, inheritance, torts, public law [^1] - Established legal equality (in principle) between patricians and plebeians - Prohibited intermarriage between classes (later repealed by *Lex Canuleia*, 445 BCE) @t[=445 BCE] ## Significance - Foundation of all subsequent Roman law (*ius civile*) - First written Roman law, ending patrician monopoly on legal interpretation - Roman schoolchildren memorized them for centuries - Original tablets lost (possibly in the Gallic sack of Rome, 390 BCE) @t[=390 BCE] [^2] - Survived through quotations in later Roman legal and literary sources --- [^1]: Crawford, M.H. *Roman Statutes* (1996) [^2]: Watson, A. *Rome of the XII Tables* (Princeton, 1975) --- ## Review Queue - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Date: ~451–450 BCE" - when was this true? > 450 BCE event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Issuer: Decemviri (commission of ten men)" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Language: Archaic Latin" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Context: Conflict of the Orders between patricians and plebeians" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Originally inscribed on twelve bronze tablets displayed in the Roman Forum" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Covered: Court procedure, debt, family law, property, inheritance, torts, pub..." - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Established legal equality (in principle) between patricians and plebeians" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Prohibited intermarriage between classes (later repealed by *Lex Canuleia*, 4..." - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "Foundation of all subsequent Roman law (*ius civile*)" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "First written Roman law, ending patrician monopoly on legal interpretation" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Roman schoolchildren memorized them for centuries" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Original tablets lost (possibly in the Gallic sack of Rome, 390 BCE) [^2]" - when was this true? > 390 BCE event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 26: "Survived through quotations in later Roman legal and literary sources" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Crawford (1996) [^1]; Watson (1975) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Date: ~451–450 BCE" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Issuer: Decemviri (commission of ten men)" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Language: Archaic Latin" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Context: Conflict of the Orders between patricians and plebeians" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 16: "Originally inscribed on twelve bronze tablets displayed in the Roman Forum" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Established legal equality (in principle) between patricians and plebeians" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Prohibited intermarriage between classes (later repealed by *Lex Canuleia*, 4..." - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 22: "Foundation of all subsequent Roman law (*ius civile*)" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "First written Roman law, ending patrician monopoly on legal interpretation" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Roman schoolchildren memorized them for centuries" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 26: "Survived through quotations in later Roman legal and literary sources" - what is the source? > Crawford (1996) [^1], Watson (1975) [^2] - [x] `@q[stale]` Line 17: "Covered: Court procedure, debt, family law, property, inheritance, torts, pub..." - Crawford source from 1996 may be outdated, is this still accurate? > Scholarship remains current. Crawford's work on early Roman law is still authoritative. - [x] `@q[stale]` Line 25: "Original tablets lost (possibly in the Gallic sack of Rome, 390 BCE) [^2]" - Watson source from 1975 may be outdated, is this still accurate? > Scholarship remains current. Watson's work on Roman legal history is still foundational.