Latrocinium
Latrocinium (from Latin latro, "bandit", ultimately from Greek latron, "pay" or "hire"[1]) was a war not preceded by a formal declaration of war as understood in Roman law; thus guerrilla warfare conducted against Rome was a form of latrocinium.[2] It is typically translated into English as "banditry" or "brigandage", but in antiquity encompassed a wider range of subversive or anti-authoritarian actions, especially slave rebellions organized under charismatic leaders.[3] In designating acts of violence that have ideological motives instead of or in addition to material gain, the modern distinction between terrorism and war may be a more illuminating comparison for the 21st century.[4] The Greek term was leisteia; Plato and Aristotle regarded banditry as a way of life, like fishing or hunting.[5]
Ecclesiastical councils as latrocinia
In
Medieval usage
In the Middle Ages, latrocinium was a war without just cause, or piracy.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "Larceny". Webster's Online Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
- ISBN 9780415327442.
- ^ Grunewald, Bandits in the Roman Empire, pp. 10ff., 58, et passim.
- ^ Michael Gaddis, There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ: Religious Violence in the Christian Roman Empire (University of California Press, 2005), pp. 20, 151.
- ISBN 9780226290492.
- ^ Gaddis, Religious Violence in the Christian Roman Empire, p. 75.
- ^ John-Peter Pham, Heirs of the Fisherman : Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession (Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 296.
- ISBN 9780521292764.
External links
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