Twelve Tables of Roman Law

Audience

The laws of the Twelve Tables were aimed at the entirety of the Roman population in an attempt to clarify the content of the law for all. Their posting in the Roman Forum, a central meeting area and marketplace, ensured that anyone who wished to consult the laws would be able to do so. This availability was especially helpful for plebeians suffering under the debt laws, which, though not ameliorated by the Twelve Tables, were clearly spelled out for both creditor and debtor. It is said that the first ten tables were displayed for public perusal to showcase what the decemvirs had planned and to allow for any possible amendments that the people might want. Once the laws had been posted for an undisclosed amount of time, they were taken back, finalized, and put forth to the Roman government.

In order for the laws to become official, they needed to be examined and approved, not just by the public but also by the legislative bodies of the Roman Republic, including both the Senate and the Comitia Centuriata, an advisory body made up of members of the Roman military. The Senate consisted mostly of patricians, though some plebeians were members. Highly aristocratic, the Senate was made up of the highest element of Roman society.

Once the laws passed through the Senate without censure, they were put to the Comitia Centuriata to be voted on by members of the Roman military. The divisions between the voting blocks, “centuries,” in the assembly were determined by wealth and were devised so that the most wealthy, though they were the least numerous, were most influential. Because the majority of the assembly consisted of plebeians, some of whom were proletarii (members of one of the poorest social classes), it was the patricians and the wealthiest members of the plebeian families who again held most of the power.