Lex Manciana
The Lex Manciana is a Roman law dealing with tenancy agreements of imperial estates in Roman North Africa.
Location
The Imperial estates in question are all from the
Inscription
The inscription from Henchir Mettich details the tenancy agreement for coloni tenant farmers on the Fundus Villae Magnae Variane (an Imperial estate). The content of the translation[3] runs as follows:
1. Preamble – Identifies Licinius Maximus (an
2. Authorisation to cultivate subseciva – Allows unused land (subseciva) on this Imperial estate to be brought under cultivation under the following agreement.
3. Assessment of share rents – Tenants will pay rents in kind (i.e., part of the total crop) according to their own judgement.
4. Rents of subseciva – Rents are one third total crop of wheat, barley, wine and olive oil. Additional rents include one quarter or one fifth of beans and of honey if over five hives are owned.
5. Penalties – Beehives cannot be moved from the estate onto free land in order to avoid rent.
6. Incentives – No rents are charged on newly planted vines and
7. Grazing – An annual fee of 4
8. Damage – Avoidable damage to other tenants' crops is paid for by the offender.
9. Bequesting – Land under tenancy can be bequeathed to an heir in a legally binding contract. This clause intends to promote generational farming of the same land and thus further investment.
10. Confiscation – Land neglected and uncultivated for two consecutive years will be reclaimed by the landlord.
11. Labour Services – In addition to rents, each tenant must supply two consecutive days labour for ploughing and two for harvesting, on top of a day supervising the livestock. Labour services could be seconded to slaves or retainers of the tenants.
Subsistence farming for a family of six in the ancient world requires three
Sharecropping forces the
See also
- Roman agriculture
- Roman Law
References
- ^ Tenney Frank, A Commentary on the Inscription from Henchir Mettich in Africa The American Journal of Philology Vol. 47, No. 2 (1926), pp. 153-170.
- ^ Flach, Dieter. "« Inschriftenuntersuchungen zum römischen Kolonat in Nordafrika »". Chiron. 8: 441–492, see particularly 443.
- ^ a b Kehoe, D, 1988, Econonmics of Agriculture on Roman Imperial Estates in North Africa, Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht