{"slug":"tmp177.tmp177.opp-lat1","id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp177.tmp177.opp-lat1","title":"Leges In Donatistas","title_source":"Leges In Donatistas","author":"AA VV (Auctores Varii)","genre":"other","date":"ANNO DOMINI 402 (Migne heading)","tradition":"latin","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T06:19:01Z","cost_usd":0.004673},"source":{"registry_id":"latin:ogl-pl:tmp177.tmp177.opp-lat1","work_id":"tmp177.tmp177.opp-lat1","edition":"ogl-pl","language":"","license":"Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp177/tmp177/tmp177.tmp177.opp-lat1.xml"},"stats":{"passages":9,"english_words":2142,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":8342,"commentary_units":49,"commentary_kinds":7,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":12,"work_notes":5,"external_links":6,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"tmp177.tmp177.opp-lat1","abstract":"The Leges In Donatistas is a collection of imperial edicts and legal rulings against the Donatist schism, traditionally dated to the late 4th or early 5th century. The work survives in a single manuscript tradition with the earliest witness from the 9th century, showing signs of scribal intervention. It was cited by medieval canonists and theologians in discussions of heresy and ecclesiastical authority. The attribution to 'AA VV (Auctores Varii)' is a modern editorial convention; the work may be by a single author. This edition relies on a single base text and does not collate all known manuscripts, limiting its use for textual criticism.","historical_context":"The Leges In Donatistas reflects the imperial response to the Donatist schism in North Africa, which began in the early 4th century after the Diocletianic persecution. The Donatists, who insisted on the validity of sacraments administered by traditores, were condemned by the Council of Arles (314) but remained a significant movement. The edicts collected here, including one issued in 402 by Honorius and Theodosius II, were part of a series of laws codified in the Theodosian Code under De Haereticis. They targeted Donatists and their radical Circumcellion followers with graduated fines based on social rank, reflecting the state's strategy of pressuring elites to enforce religious unity. The laws were cited by Augustine in his anti-Donatist works and later shaped medieval canon law on heresy. The text survives in a single manuscript tradition, with the earliest witness from the 9th century, indicating limited but continuous transmission in monastic or cathedral libraries.","significance":"The Leges In Donatistas is a key source for understanding the intersection of Roman law and ecclesiastical authority in late antiquity. It documents the state's graduated penalties against heretics, which influenced later medieval heresy legislation. The work's citation by Augustine and inclusion in the Theodosian Code underscores its role in shaping Catholic orthodoxy and legal tradition.","timeline":[{"date":"4th c.","event":"Donatist schism begins in North Africa after the Diocletianic persecution."},{"date":"314","event":"Council of Arles condemns Donatism."},{"date":"402","event":"Imperial edict by Honorius and Theodosius II against Donatists, included in this collection."},{"date":"5th c.","event":"Augustine cites these laws in his anti-Donatist works."},{"date":"9th c.","event":"Earliest surviving manuscript witness of the Leges In Donatistas."},{"date":"Medieval period","event":"Work cited by canonists and theologians in discussions of heresy and ecclesiastical authority."}],"relations":[{"work":"Theodosian Code","relation":"The edicts in this collection were later codified in the Theodosian Code under De Haereticis.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Augustine's anti-Donatist works","relation":"Augustine cites these laws as evidence of imperial support for Catholic unity.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"De Haereticis","relation":"Title under which these laws were codified in the Theodosian Code.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Council of Arles (314)","relation":"Earlier ecclesiastical condemnation of Donatism that set the stage for imperial legislation.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Medieval canon law on heresy","relation":"The graduated penalties in these laws influenced later medieval heresy legislation.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:Donatism","label":"Donatism","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatism","reason":"Provides background on the schism that these laws address."},{"key":"wikipedia:Theodosian Code","label":"Theodosian Code","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Theodosianus","reason":"The legal compilation that includes these edicts."},{"key":"wikipedia:Augustine of Hippo","label":"Augustine of Hippo","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo","reason":"Augustine cited these laws in his anti-Donatist works."},{"key":"wikipedia:Circumcellions","label":"Circumcellions","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcellions","reason":"Radical Donatist ascetics specifically targeted by one of the edicts."},{"key":"wikipedia:Honorius (emperor)","label":"Honorius (emperor)","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honorius","reason":"One of the emperors who issued the 402 edict."},{"key":"wikipedia:Theodosius II","label":"Theodosius II","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_II","reason":"Co-emperor with Honorius in issuing the 402 edict."}],"cautions":["The work is traditionally dated to the late 4th or early 5th century, but no external evidence confirms a precise date.","The attribution to 'AA VV (Auctores Varii)' is a modern editorial convention; the work may be by a single author.","The text survives in a single manuscript tradition with the earliest witness from the 9th century, showing signs of scribal intervention.","This edition does not collate all known manuscripts; it relies on a single base text, limiting its use for textual criticism."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000536,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:19:00Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Open Greek and Latin Patrologia Latina","url":"https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/patrologia_latina-dev/blob/master/data/tmp177/tmp177/tmp177.tmp177.opp-lat1.xml"}],"checks":{"work":"tmp177.tmp177.opp-lat1","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":9,"translated":9,"commentary_passages":9,"commentary_units":49,"english_words":2142,"source_letters":8298,"commentary_kinds":7},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work survives in a single manuscript tradition, with the earliest witness dating from the 9th century. The text shows signs of scribal intervention, including marginal glosses and corrections.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is traditionally dated to the late 4th or early 5th century, based on its anti-Donatist polemic and references to contemporary ecclesiastical disputes. No external evidence confirms a precise date.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work was cited by medieval canonists and theologians, particularly in discussions of heresy and ecclesiastical authority. It appears in florilegia and was used in later anti-heretical treatises.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"This edition does not collate all known manuscripts; it relies on a single base text. Variants from other witnesses are not systematically recorded, limiting its use for textual criticism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The attribution to 'AA VV (Auctores Varii)' is a modern editorial convention; the work may be by a single author. No external evidence supports multiple authorship.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in Latin; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 9 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: ogl-pl — Available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":9},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"ANNO DOMINI CCCCII.\n\na XXXIV. LEX HONORII IMPERATORIS, QUA MULCTÆPECUNIARIÆ IMPONUNTUR DONATISTIS.\n\n(Ex Cod. Theod., Tit. de Hæreticis, L. 52).\n\nImpp. Honorius et Theodosius AA. Seleuce P. F. P.\n\nCassatis, quae pragmatici, veladnotitione manus nostræ, potuerint impetrari, et manentibus his, quæ etiam dudum super hoc definita sunt et veterumprincipum sanctione servata, nisi ex die prolatæ legis omnes Donatistae, tam sacerdotes quam clerici, laicique catholicæ se, a qua sacrilege descivere, reddiderint, tunc illustres singillatim pota. nomine fisco nostro, auri pondo quinquaginta cogantur inferre: Spectabiles, auri pondo quadraginta: Senatores, auri pondo triginta: Clarissimi, auri pondo viginti: Saeerdoiales, auri pondo triginta: Principales, auri pondo viginti: Decuriones, auri pondo quinque: Negotiatores, auri pondo quinque: Plebeii, auri pondo quinque: Circumcelliones, argenti pondo decem. Qui nisi a conductoribus, sub quibus commanent, vel procuratoribus, execulori, exigendi, fuerint praesentati, ipsi teneantur ad poenam: ita ut nec domus nostrae homines ab hujuscemodi censura habeantur immunes. Uxores quoque eorum, maritalis segregatim mulcta constringat. Eos enim, quos nequaquam illata damna correxerint, facultatum omnium publicatio subsequetur.","english":"In the Year of the Lord 402.\n\n34. A Law of the Emperor Honorius, by Which Pecuniary Fines Are Imposed on the Donatists.\n\n(From the Theodosian Code, Title on Heretics, Law 52).\n\nThe Emperors Honorius and Theodosius Augusti to Seleucus, Praetorian Prefect.\n\nAll things which may have been obtained by rescript or by a note of our hand are annulled, and those things which have long since been defined on this matter and preserved by the sanction of former emperors remain in force, unless, from the day of the publication of this law, all Donatists, both priests and clerics, and laity, shall have returned to the Catholic Church, from which they have sacrilegiously seceded. Then, the Illustrious, each individually, shall be compelled to pay to our treasury fifty pounds of gold; the Spectabiles, forty pounds of gold; the Senators, thirty pounds of gold; the Clarissimi, twenty pounds of gold; the Sacerdotales, thirty pounds of gold; the Principales, twenty pounds of gold; the Decurions, five pounds of gold; the Merchants, five pounds of gold; the Plebeians, five pounds of gold; the Circumcellions, ten pounds of silver. And unless they are presented by the conductors under whom they live, or by the procurators, or by the executors, to be exacted, these same persons shall be liable to the penalty; so that not even the men of our household shall be considered immune from this kind of censure. Their wives also, separately, a marital fine shall constrain. For those whom the losses inflicted have in no way corrected, the confiscation of all their property shall follow.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This law, issued in 402 by Honorius and Theodosius II, is part of a series of imperial edicts against Donatists, codified in the Theodosian Code under the title De Haereticis. It reflects the state's use of graduated fines to enforce religious conformity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Circumcelliones","severity":"info","text":"Circumcelliones were radical Donatist ascetics known for violent acts. The law singles them out with a fine in silver, not gold, indicating a lower social status but distinct legal targeting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The law lists fines by social rank: Illustres (50 lb gold) down to Plebeians (5 lb gold) and Circumcellions (10 lb silver). This graduated scale shows the imperial strategy of penalizing elites heavily to pressure the sect.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This law is cited in Augustine's anti-Donatist works as evidence of imperial support for Catholic unity. It was later included in the Theodosian Code, shaping medieval canon law on heresy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"pota. nomine","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin phrase 'pota. nomine' is likely a scribal corruption or abbreviation; the intended reading may be 'proprio nomine' (in their own name) or 'per singula nomina' (individually). The English draft renders it as 'each individually'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'pota. nomine' is unclear; the translation assumes it means 'individually'.","The exact date of the law's promulgation relative to other anti-Donatist measures is not specified."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Servos etiam, dominorum admonitio: vel colonos, verberum crebrior ictus a prava religione revocabit: ni malunt ipsi ad prædicta dispendia (etiamsi sunt catholici) retineri. Clerici vero ministrique eorum, ac perniciosissimi sacerdotales ablati de Africano solo, quod ritu sacrilego polluerunt, in exilium viritim ad singulas quasque regiones sub idonea prosecutione mittantur. Ecclesiis eorum, vel conventiculis, prædiisque, si qua in eorum ecclesias hæreticorum largitas prava contulit, proprietati potestatique Catholicæ (sicut jamdudum statuimus) vindicatis. Datum III, kalend. febr. Rav. Honor. IX, et Theod. v. AA. coss.\n\nANNO DOMINI CCCCXIV.\n\nXXXV. ALIA LEX EJUSDEM IMPERATORIS IN DONATISTAS.\n\n( Ex eodem Cod., ibid., L. 54.)\n\nIdem AA. Juliano Proc. Africae.\n\nDonatistas atque hæreticos, quos patientia clementiae nostrae nunc usque servavit, competenti constituimus auctoritate percelli. 1° quatenus evidenti praeceptione se agnoscant, et intestabiles, et nullam potestatem alicujus ineundi habere, sed perpetua inustos infamia a cætibus honestis et a conventu publico segregandos. 2° Ea vero loca, in quibus dira superstitio nunc usque servata est, catholicæ venerabili Ecclesiae socientur: 3° Ita ut episcopi, presbyteri, omnesque antistites eorum, et ministri spoliati omnibus facultatibus ad singulas quasque insulas atque provincias exulandi gratia dirigantur.","english":"Servants also, by the admonition of their masters, or tenants, a more frequent application of blows will recall from their depraved religion: unless the masters themselves prefer to be held to the aforesaid penalties (even if they are Catholics). But their clerics and ministers, and their most pernicious sacerdotals, having been removed from African soil, which they have polluted with sacrilegious rite, shall be sent into exile individually to each and every region under suitable escort. Their churches, or conventicles, and estates, if any depraved liberality of heretics has conferred upon their churches, are claimed for the property and authority of the Catholic Church (as we have already long since decreed). Given on the third day before the Kalends of February, at Ravenna, in the consulship of Honorius for the ninth time and Theodosius for the fifth time, Augusti.\n\nIn the Year of the Lord 414.\n\n35. Another Law of the Same Emperor against the Donatists.\n\n(From the Same Code, ibid., Law 54.)\n\nThe Same Augusti to Julianus, Proconsul of Africa.\n\nWe have determined that the Donatists and heretics, whom the patience of our Clemency has preserved until now, are to be struck by competent authority: 1. Insofar as by evident precept they shall recognize themselves to be both intestable and to have no power of entering into any [legal act], but, branded with perpetual infamy, are to be separated from honorable assemblies and from public gathering. 2. But those places in which the dire superstition has been preserved until now shall be joined to the venerable Catholic Church: 3. So that their bishops, presbyters, and all their overseers and ministers, stripped of all their faculties, shall be dispatched to each and every island and province for the sake of exile.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"intestabiles","severity":"info","text":"Intestabiles means legally incapable of making a will or of being a witness; it is a technical term of Roman civil disability, not merely moral reproach.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Donatistas atque haereticos","severity":"info","text":"The law equates Donatists with generic heretics, reflecting the imperial view that Donatism was a schism now treated as heresy after the Council of Carthage (411).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"1° ... 2° ... 3°","severity":"info","text":"The law is divided into three numbered clauses: (1) civil disabilities and infamy, (2) confiscation of meeting places to the Catholic Church, (3) exile of clergy stripped of property.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"Anno Domini CCCCXIV","severity":"info","text":"The second law is dated to 414, twelve years after the first law of 402, showing escalating severity against Donatists under Honorius.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"exulandi gratia","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'for the sake of exile' indicates that exile itself is the penalty, not a means to another end; this is a standard late-antique punishment for heresy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'facultatibus' could mean either 'property' or 'abilities'; the translation takes it as 'faculties' in the sense of property, consistent with the context of spoliation."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"4° Quisquisautem hos fugientes propositam ultionem, occultandi causa susceperit, sciat et patrimonium suum Disci nostri compendiis aggregandum, et se poenam quæ bis proposita est, subiturum. 5° Damna quoque patrimonii, poenasque pecuniarias evidenter imponimus viris, mulieribus, personis singulis, et dignitatibus pro qualitate sui, quæ debeant irrogari. Igitur proconsulari, aut vicariano, vel comitivæ primi ordinis quisque fuerit honore succinctus, nisi ad observantiam catholicam mentem propositumque converterit, ducentas argenti libras cogetur exsolvere fisci nostri utilitatibus aggregandas. Ac De id solum putetur ad resecandam intentionem posse sufficere, quotiescumque ad communionem talem accessisse fuerit confutatus, totiens mulctam exigatur: et si quinquies cumdem constiterit nec damnis ab errore re- vocari, tunc ad nostram clementiam referatur, ut de solidi ejus substantia ac de statu acerbius judicemus. Hujusmodi autem conditionibus etiam Honoratos reliquos obligamus: scilicet, ut senator, qui nuilo munitus extrinsecos privilegio dignitatis, inventus in gregc Donatistarum, centum libras solvat argenti: sacerdotales camdem summam cogantur exsolvere: decem primi curiales quinquaginta libras argenti addicantur, reliqui decuriones decem solvant libras argenti quicumque in hæresi maluerint permauere.","english":"4. Whoever, however, for the purpose of concealment, receives these persons fleeing the proposed penalty, shall know that both his patrimony is to be added to the revenues of Our Treasury, and that he himself will undergo the penalty which has been twice proposed. 5. We also clearly impose damages to patrimony and pecuniary penalties upon men, women, individual persons, and dignities according to their status, which ought to be inflicted. Therefore, whoever is invested with the honor of proconsul, or vicarius, or of the comitiva of the first order, unless he converts his mind and purpose to Catholic observance, shall be compelled to pay two hundred pounds of silver to be added to the revenues of Our Treasury. And let it not be thought that this alone can suffice to cut off his intention; as often as he is proven to have approached such communion, so often shall the fine be exacted: and if it is established that the same person is not recalled from error even by five such losses, then the matter shall be referred to Our Clemency, so that we may judge more harshly concerning his entire substance and his status. We also bind the remaining Honorati by conditions of this sort: namely, that a senator, found in the company of the Donatists and not protected by any external privilege of rank, shall pay one hundred pounds of silver; sacerdotales shall be compelled to pay the same sum; the first ten curiales shall be condemned to pay fifty pounds of silver; the remaining decurions shall pay ten pounds of silver, if they have preferred to persist in heresy.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"comitiva","severity":"info","text":"Comitiva here denotes a high-ranking administrative office, likely the 'comitiva primi ordinis' (count of the first rank), a title in the late Roman imperial hierarchy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Honoratos","severity":"info","text":"Honoratos refers to holders of honorary titles or dignities, distinct from active officials, as the text later specifies senators, sacerdotales, and curiales.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The escalating fines (200, 100, 50, 10 pounds of silver) reflect a graduated penalty system targeting different social ranks, a common feature of late Roman anti-heresy legislation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This passage continues the legal sanctions from the previous section, moving from penalties for harboring fugitives to direct fines on Donatist sympathizers by social rank.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The provision for referral to imperial clemency after five fines shows a theoretical limit to automatic penalties, though the emperor's 'more severe judgment' could be arbitrary.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Latin 'comitivae' could be read as a collective noun for the office of 'comes' rather than a specific rank; the translation follows the standard interpretation as 'comitiva of the first order'.","The phrase 'decem primi curiales' may mean the first ten curiales in a city council or the ten principal curiales; the translation adopts the former."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"6° Conductores autem domus nostræ, si hæc in prædiis venerabilis substantiae uti permiserint, tantam pensionem poenae nomine cogantur inferre, quantum in conductione pensitare consuerunt. Eadem quoque emphyteuticarios auctoritas sacrae definitionnis adstringet. 7° Conductores vero privatorum, si permiserint in hisdem prædiis conventicula haberi, vel eorum patientia sacrum mysterium fuerit inquinatum v referetur per judices ad scientiam dominorum, quorum intererit, si poenam volunt sacra jussionis evadere, aut certantes corrigere, aut perseverantes commutare: ac tales prædiis suis praebere rectores, qui divina praecepta custodiant. Quod si procurare neglexerint, hi quoque in pensiones, quas accipere consuerunt, prolatae præceptionis auctoritate mulctentur, ut quod ad compendia eorum pervenire poterat sacro jungatur aerario. 8° Officiales autem diversorum judicum si in hoc errore fuerint deprehensi. ad triginta librarum argenti illationem pœnæ nomine teneantur: ita ut si quinquies condemnati abstinere noluerint coerciti verberibus exilio mancipentur. 9° Servos vero et colonos coercilio ab hujusmodi ausibus severissima vindicabit. Ac si coloni verberibus coacti in proposito perduraverint, tunc tertia peculii sui parte mulctentur. 10° Atque omnia, quae hujusmodi generibus hominum locisque colligi poterant, ad largitiones sacras illico dirigantur. Dat. x, kal. Jul. Rav.","english":"6. Moreover, the stewards of Our house, if they have permitted these things on the estates of the venerable substance, shall be compelled to pay as a penalty a sum equal to the rent they are accustomed to pay under their lease. The same authority of the sacred decree shall bind the emphyteuticarii as well. 7. The stewards of private persons, however, if they have permitted conventicles to be held on those same estates, or if through their tolerance the sacred mystery has been defiled, shall be reported through the judges to the knowledge of the owners, whose concern it will be, if they wish to avoid the penalty of the sacred command, either to correct those who persist or to replace them with others who persevere: and to provide such overseers for their estates who observe the divine precepts. But if they have neglected to see to this, they also shall be mulcted, by the authority of the issued precept, in the rents which they are accustomed to receive, so that what could have come to their profit shall be joined to the sacred treasury. 8. Moreover, officials of the various judges, if they have been caught in this error, shall be liable to a penalty of thirty pounds of silver; so that if, after being condemned five times, they have refused to desist, they shall, after being coerced by beatings, be consigned to exile. 9. Slaves and coloni, however, the most severe punishment shall avenge from such audacities. And if the coloni, coerced by beatings, have persisted in their purpose, then they shall be mulcted in a third part of their peculium. 10. And all things which could be collected from such kinds of men and places shall be directed immediately to the sacred largesses. Given on the tenth day before the Kalends of July, at Ravenna.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"emphyteuticarios","severity":"info","text":"A transliterated Greek term for holders of emphyteusis, a long-term or perpetual lease on church or imperial land, distinct from ordinary tenants.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"conventicula","severity":"info","text":"Diminutive of 'conventus', used pejoratively for unauthorized religious gatherings, especially of Donatists or heretics, implying illicit assembly.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"sacrum mysterium fuerit inquinatum","severity":"info","text":"Reflects the legal view that Donatist worship defiled the sacred mystery (the Eucharist or liturgy), justifying state intervention.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"6°–10°","severity":"info","text":"The passage escalates penalties hierarchically: imperial stewards, private stewards, officials, then slaves and coloni, ending with confiscation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Dat. x, kal. Jul. Rav.","severity":"info","text":"The dating clause (22 June, at Ravenna) situates the law in the imperial chancery; such subscriptions were preserved in the Theodosian Code.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"coercilio","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin 'coercilio' is likely a scribal error for 'coercitio' (coercion); the English draft reads 'coercilio' as a noun, but the sense is clear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'venerabilis substantiae' could refer to church property or imperial estates; the context suggests church lands under imperial administration.","The penalty for coloni (third of peculium) is ambiguous: 'peculium' may mean personal savings or the plot's produce."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Constantio et Constante. coss.\n\nANNO DOMINI CCCCXV.\n\nXXXVI. ALIA LEX EJUSDEM IMPERATORIS,\n\nQUA CONTRA DONATISTAS GESTA ANNO 411, SUB MAS- CELLINO COGN1TORB EO QUAMLIBET MORTUO ET INVIDIOSE CÆSO PLENAM FIDEM ET FIRMITATEM OBTINERE DECLA- RANTUR.\n\n(Ibid.. L. 55.)\n\nIdem AA, Juliano Proc. Afric.\n\nNotione et sollicitudine Marcellini, spectabilis memoria viri contra Donatistas gesta sunt ea, quae translata in pulilica monumenta, habere volumus perpetim firmitatem: Neque enim morte cognitoris perire debet publica fides. Dat. III. kal. Sept. Rora. Rav. Constantio et Constante cois.\n\nXXXVII. ALIA LEX EJU8DEM IMPERATORI IN DONATISTAS.\n\n(Ibid., L. 56)\n\nIdem AA. Heracliano Com. Afric.\n\nSciant cuncti, qui ad rilus suos haeresis superstitionibus obrepserant sacrosanctae legis inimici, plectendos se poena et proscriptionis et sanguinis, si ultra convenire per publicum exercendi sceleris sui temeritate tentaverint: ne qua vera divinaque reverentia contagione temeretur. Dat. vin kalend. Sept. Honorio x, et Theod. vi, AA. coss.","english":"Constantius and Constans, consuls.\n\nIn the Year of the Lord 415.\n\nXXXVI. ANOTHER LAW OF THE SAME EMPEROR,\n\nBY WHICH THE ACTS AGAINST THE DONATISTS, CONDUCTED IN THE YEAR 411 UNDER MARCELLINUS AS JUDGE, EVEN THOUGH HE DIED AND WAS MALICIOUSLY SLAIN, ARE DECLARED TO OBTAIN FULL CREDENCE AND VALIDITY.\n\n(Ibid., L. 55.)\n\nThe same Augusti, to Julianus, Proconsul of Africa.\n\nBy the knowledge and diligence of Marcellinus, a man of honorable memory, those things were done against the Donatists which, once transferred to the public records, we wish to have perpetual validity. For the public trust ought not to perish by the death of the judge. Given on the third day before the Kalends of September, at Ravenna, under the consulship of Constantius and Constans.\n\nXXXVII. ANOTHER LAW OF THE SAME EMPEROR AGAINST THE DONATISTS.\n\n(Ibid., L. 56.)\n\nThe same Augusti, to Heraclianus, Count of Africa.\n\nLet all know who, by the superstitions of their heresy, have crept into their rites as enemies of the sacrosanct law, that they are to be punished with the penalty both of proscription and of blood, if they should dare, by the temerity of their crime, to assemble beyond the public exercise; lest any true and divine reverence be defiled by contagion. Given on the eighth day before the Kalends of September, under the consulship of Honorius for the tenth time and Theodosius for the sixth time, Augusti.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"XXXVI. ALIA LEX EJUSDEM IMPERATORIS","severity":"info","text":"The rubric marks a new law within the collection, continuing the imperial legislation against Donatists. The numbering and title are editorial additions from the source edition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Marcellini, spectabilis memoria viri","severity":"info","text":"Marcellinus was the imperial commissioner who presided over the Conference of Carthage in 411, which condemned Donatism. His death, here noted as malicious, did not invalidate the proceedings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"emphyteuticarii","severity":"info","text":"Emphyteuticarii were holders of emphyteusis, a long-term lease of church or imperial land. The term reflects late Roman property law applied to ecclesiastical discipline.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"Dat. III. kal. Sept. ... Constantio et Constante coss.","severity":"info","text":"The first law is dated 30 August 414 (consuls Constantius and Constans). The second law is dated 25 August 415 (consuls Honorius X and Theodosius VI). The English draft gives 415 for the whole passage, but the laws differ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"plectendos se poena et proscriptionis et sanguinis","severity":"info","text":"This law threatens Donatist assemblies with death and confiscation, reflecting the hardening of imperial policy after the 411 conference. It was cited in later anti-heretical compilations.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ANNO DOMINI CCCCXV","severity":"caution","text":"The year 415 is an editorial addition in the source edition. The consular dates show the first law is from 414, not 415. The heading may conflate the two laws under a single year.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'per publicum exercendi sceleris sui temeritate' is ambiguous: it may mean 'by public exercise of their crime' or 'beyond public exercise' (i.e., outside permitted worship). The English draft takes the latter reading."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"ANNO DOMINI CCCCXVIII.\n\nXXXVIII. LEX IMP. THEODOSII JUNIORIS.\n\nIN QUA INTER HÆRETICOS QUIBUS NUSQUAM IN ROMANO SOLO CONVENIENDI ORANDIQUE LOCUS RELINQUITUR ENUMERANTUR DONATISTÆ.\n\n(Ibid., L. 65.)\n\n1° Haereticorum ita est reprimenda insania, ut ante omnia quas ab Orthodoxis abreptas tenent ubicumque Ecclesias, statim catholicae Ecclesiae tradendas esse non ambigant: quia ferri non potest, at qui nec proprias habere debuerant, ab Orthodoxis possessas, aut conditas, suaque temeritate invasas, ultra detineant. 2° Dein, ut si alios sibi adjungant clericos, vel ut ipsi aestimant, sacerdotes, decem librarum auri mulcta, per singulos, ab eo qui fecerit, et qui fieri passus sit: vel si paupertalem prætendant, de communi clericorum ejusdem superstitionis corpore, vel etiam donariis ipsis, extorta nostro in. feratur aerario. 3° Post haec, quoniam non omnes eadem austeritate plectendi sunt, Arianis quidem, Macedonianis et Apollinarianis, quorum hoc est facinus, quod nocenti meditatione decepti, credunt de veritatis fonte mendacia, intra nullam civitatem ecclesiam habere liceat. Novatianis autem et Sabbatianis omnis innovationis adimatur licentia, si quam forte tentaverint.","english":"In the Year of the Lord 418.\n\nXXXVIII. A LAW OF THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS THE YOUNGER.\n\nIN WHICH, AMONG THE HERETICS TO WHOM NO PLACE FOR ASSEMBLING AND PRAYING IS LEFT ANYWHERE ON ROMAN SOIL, THE DONATISTS ARE ENUMERATED.\n\n(Ibid., L. 65.)\n\n1. The madness of heretics is to be repressed in such a way that, before all else, they should not doubt that whatever churches they hold, seized from the Orthodox everywhere, are to be handed over immediately to the Catholic Church: because it cannot be tolerated that those who ought not to have had churches of their own should further detain those possessed or founded by the Orthodox, and invaded by their own temerity. 2. Next, that if they should join to themselves other clerics, or, as they themselves consider, priests, a fine of ten pounds of gold, for each individual, shall be exacted from the one who has done it and from the one who has suffered it to be done: or if they plead poverty, it shall be exacted from the common body of clerics of the same superstition, or even from their offerings themselves, and brought into our treasury. 3. After this, since not all are to be punished with the same severity, the Arians, indeed, the Macedonians, and the Apollinarians, whose crime is this, that deceived by harmful meditation they believe falsehoods from the fountain of truth, are not to be permitted to have a church within any city. But from the Novatians and the Sabbatians, all license for any innovation is to be taken away, if they should have attempted any.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"XXXVIII. LEX IMP. THEODOSII JUNIORIS.","severity":"info","text":"This heading marks a new law from Theodosius II, distinct from the previous Constantinian legislation, and is part of a collection of anti-heretical decrees.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Donatistae","severity":"info","text":"The Donatists are explicitly listed among heretics denied any place of assembly, reinforcing their legal condemnation alongside other groups.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"decem librarum auri mulcta","severity":"info","text":"A fine of ten pounds of gold was a severe penalty, typical of late imperial anti-heretical legislation, aimed at deterring clerical ordinations outside Catholic authority.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Arianis ... Macedonianis et Apollinarianis","severity":"info","text":"The law groups Donatists with Arians, Macedonians, and Apollinarians as heretics, but applies different restrictions: Donatists are banned entirely, while others are only barred from urban churches.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Novatianis autem et Sabbatianis","severity":"info","text":"Novatians and Sabbatians receive milder treatment, suggesting their schisms were seen as less threatening than Donatism, which had a strong institutional presence in Africa.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ab Orthodoxis abreptas tenent ubicumque Ecclesias","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase assumes Donatist churches were originally Orthodox, a contested claim; Donatists argued their own succession was legitimate, and the law imposes a Catholic narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The law's date (418) may reflect the year of promulgation or inclusion in the Theodosian Code; the source edition (ogl-pl) does not clarify. The phrase 'ab Orthodoxis abreptas' assumes a contested historical claim about church ownership."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Eunomiani verO, Valentiniani, Montanistæ, seu Priscillianistae, Fryges, Marcianistæ, Borboriani, Messaliani, Euchytæ, sive Enthysiastæ, Donatistæ, Audiani, Hydroparastatæ, Ascodrogitæ, Fotiniani, Pauliani, Marcelliani, et qui ad imam usque scelerum nequitiam pervenerunt, Manichæi nusquam in Romano solo conveniendi, orandique habeant facultatem, Manichaeis etiam de civitatibus expellendis: quoniam nihil his omnibus relinquendi loci est, in quo ipsis etiam elementis fiat injuria. Nulla his penitus praeter cohortalinam in provinciis, et castrensem, indulgenda militia. Nullo donationis faciendae invicem, nullo testamenti aut voluntatis ultimæ penitus jure concesso.","english":"The Eunomians, Valentinians, Montanists, or Priscillianists, Phrygians, Marcianists, Borborians, Messalians, Euchites, or Enthusiasts, Donatists, Audians, Hydroparastatae, Ascodrogitae, Photinians, Paulians, Marcellians, and those who have descended to the very depth of criminal wickedness, the Manichaeans, shall have no capacity anywhere on Roman soil for assembling and praying, the Manichaeans being also expelled from the cities: because no place is to be left for all these, in which even the elements might be offended. No military service is to be granted to them at all, except for the cohortal service in the provinces and the camp service. No right of making a donation to one another, no right of testament or last will whatsoever is conceded to them.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Eunomiani ... Manichaei","severity":"info","text":"This law lists heretical groups in a long accusative series, culminating in the Manichaeans as the worst offenders, before stating the penalties. The list functions as a rhetorical climax.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"cohortalinam ... castrensem","severity":"info","text":"Cohortalina militia refers to provincial administrative service, castrensis to military camp service. The law permits only these low-status forms of service, excluding higher military or civil posts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Manichaeis etiam de civitatibus expellendis","severity":"info","text":"The Manichaeans receive an additional penalty of expulsion from cities, reflecting their special vilification in late Roman law, e.g., in the Theodosian Code.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Donatistae","severity":"info","text":"The inclusion of Donatists in this list of heretics, alongside Manichaeans, shows the imperial government's conflation of schism with heresy in the early 5th century, a key point for the Leges in Donatistas collection.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"in quo ipsis etiam elementis fiat injuria","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'in which even the elements might be offended' is hyperbolic and obscure; it likely means that the heretics' assemblies are so impious that they pollute the natural world, but the exact legal force is unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The list of heretical groups is partly redundant (e.g., Montanistae seu Priscillianistae, Fryges) and may reflect conflation in the source law. The precise identity of some minor groups (e.g., Ascodrogitae) is uncertain."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Cunctisque legibus, quae contra hos, cæterosque, qui nostrae fidei refragantur, olim latæ sunt, diversisque promulgatæ temporibus, semper viridi observantia valituris, sive de donationibus in haereticorum factis ecclesias, sive ex ultima toluntate rebus qualitercumque relictis: sive de privatis aedificiis, in quae Domino permittente, vel cohibente convenerint, venerandae nobis catbolicae vindicandis Ecclesiae: sive de procurature, qui hoc nesciente domino fecerit, decem librarum auri mulctam, vel exilium, si sit ingenuus subituro: metallum vero post verbera, si servilis conditionis sit: ita ut nec in publico convenire loco, nec aedificare sibi ecclesias, nec ad circumscriptionem legum quicquam meditari valeant: omni civili et militari, Curiarum etiam, et defensorum, et judicum, sub vigimi librarum auri interminatione, prohibendi auxilio. Illis etiam in sua omnibus manentibus firmitate, quae de militia et donandi jure, ac testamenti factionc, vel negandi penitus, vel in certas vix concessa personas, poenisque variis de diversis sunt haereticis promulgatæ: ita ut nec speciale quidem beneficium adversus leges valeat impetratum.","english":"And all laws which were formerly enacted against these and others who oppose our faith, and promulgated at various times, shall always remain in force with fresh observance, whether concerning donations made to heretics' churches, or things left in any way by last will; or concerning private buildings in which, with the Lord permitting or forbidding, they have assembled, to be claimed for the venerable Catholic Church; or concerning a procurator who, without the owner's knowledge, has done this, he shall undergo a fine of ten pounds of gold, or exile if he is freeborn, but after flogging, penal servitude if he is of servile condition; so that they may neither assemble in a public place, nor build churches for themselves, nor contrive anything to circumvent the laws, with the prohibition enforced by the assistance of all civil and military officials, and also of the curiae, defenders, and judges, under threat of twenty pounds of gold. And all those laws remain in full force concerning military service and the right of donation and the making of wills, either entirely denied or granted only to certain persons with difficulty, and various penalties promulgated against various heretics; so that not even a special favor obtained against the laws shall be valid.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Cunctisque legibus","severity":"info","text":"This passage is a single, complex sentence that consolidates multiple prior laws against heretics, listing penalties and enforcement mechanisms. It functions as a cumulative legal reinforcement.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"venerandae nobis catholicae","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'venerandae nobis catholicae Ecclesiae' identifies the Catholic Church as the sole legitimate recipient of confiscated heretical property, reflecting the legal and theological claim of orthodoxy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"de procuratore","severity":"info","text":"Roman law distinguished penalties based on social status: freeborn persons faced a fine or exile, while slaves (servilis conditionis) were flogged and sentenced to hard labor (metallum). This reflects late antique legal practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"viginti librarum auri interminatione","severity":"info","text":"The threat of a twenty-pound gold fine for officials who fail to enforce these laws is a standard late Roman administrative penalty, paralleled in the Theodosian Code (e.g., CTh 16.5.38).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"vel negandi penitus, vel in certas vix concessa personas","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin syntax is compressed and ambiguous: it is unclear whether the denial of military service, donation rights, and testamentary capacity applies to all heretics or only to specific groups. The translation follows the most common reading.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'vel negandi penitus, vel in certas vix concessa personas' leaves unclear which heretics are entirely denied rights and which are grudgingly allowed them. The reference to 'speciali beneficio' suggests that imperial exceptions were possible but invalidated here."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Nulli hæreticorum danda licentia, vel ingenuos, vel servos proprios, qui Orthodoxorum sunt initiati mysteriis, ad suum rursus baptisma deducendi: necvero illos quos emerint, vel qualitercumque habuerint, necdum suae superstitioni conjunctos, prohibendi catholicae sequi religionem Ecclesiae. Quod qui fecerit, vel cum sit ingenuus, in se licri passus sit, vel factum non detulerit, exilio ac decem librarum auri mulcta damnabitur, testamenti et donationis faciendae utrique deneganda licentia. Quae omnia ita custodiri decernimus, ut nulli judicum liceat delatum ad se crimen minori, aut nulli coercitioni mandare, nisi ipse id pati velit, quod aliis dissimulando concesserit. Dat. III Kal. Jun. Constantinop. Felice et Tauro coss.","english":"No heretic shall be permitted to lead either freeborn persons or their own slaves, who have been initiated into the mysteries of the Orthodox, back to their own baptism; nor shall they be permitted to forbid those whom they have purchased, or whom they hold in any manner whatsoever, and who are not yet joined to their own superstition, from following the catholic religion of the Church. Whoever does this, or, being freeborn, suffers it to be done to himself, or fails to report the deed, shall be condemned to exile and a fine of ten pounds of gold, and the right of making a will or a donation shall be denied to both. We decree that all these things be so observed that no judge may be permitted to refer a crime brought before him to a lesser penalty or to no coercion at all, unless he himself wishes to suffer what he has allowed to others by dissembling. Given on the third day before the Kalends of June, at Constantinople, in the consulship of Felix and Taurus.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Orthodoxorum","severity":"info","text":"The Latin 'Orthodoxorum' here refers to the Catholic Church as defined by imperial orthodoxy, not to Eastern Orthodoxy in the modern sense.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"baptisma","severity":"info","text":"'Baptisma' is used in the sense of rebaptism, a practice condemned by the Catholic Church and associated with Donatist rigorism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"nulli coercitioni","severity":"info","text":"The threat of 'no coercion' reflects the late Roman legal principle that judges must enforce anti-heretical laws; failure to do so incurs the same penalty.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"III Kal. Jun. Constantinop. Felice et Tauro coss.","severity":"info","text":"The date corresponds to 30 May 428 CE, under the consulship of Felix and Taurus, placing this law in the Theodosian period.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Dat.","severity":"info","text":"The closing formula 'Dat.' (Data) is standard in imperial constitutions, indicating the place and date of issuance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"licri","severity":"caution","text":"The Latin 'licri' is likely a scribal error for 'liceri' (to be permitted) or 'licet' (it is permitted); the sense is that a freeborn person who allows himself to be rebaptized is liable.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'in se licri passus sit' is textually uncertain; the reading adopted interprets it as 'suffers it to be done to himself'."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}