Ricerche sul «servus pignori datus»

This volume brings together a series of studies concerning the juridical effects of giving slaves in pledge. Through their labour and, more generally, through their conduct, slaves possessed the capacity to affect, even substantially, the patrimonial sphere of the dominus. Consequently, the pledging of the slave could reverberate its effects upon the assets of the pledgee as well. This has prompted an examination of the subject of servus pignori datus in a manner autonomous from the general themes of pignus and fiducia, analysing systematically the sources relating to this peculiar real security, apprehending its interconnections with the dynamics that the juridical existence of the servus typically engendered. What emerges is a systematic framework in which the texts of roman jurisprudence demonstrate substantial coherence in their theoretical elaboration, and which may constitute a touchstone for comparison with individual realities (predominantly provincial) for which we have access to documents of legal practice.