II.   Sovereign

The formal system of conveyance of property under Roman law was called “mancipatio” and is a classic example of how the Romans considered ritual and procedure greater than oath and consent without duress.

The ceremony of mancipatio was typically conducted in the presence of the transferor, transferee, five (5) male Roman citizens as witnesses, an usher holding a pair of scales representing fair law and an ingot of copper or bronze (later gold) or some consideration for the transferee. If the land owner did not speak Latin – which most did not, then a “person” would be put in their place. The transferee then grasped the object being transferred and is alleged to have said in Latin, “I assert that this thing is mine by Quiritarian (Roman) law; and let it have been bought by me with this piece of copper and these copper scales.” He then struck the scales with the ingot, which he handed to the transferor “by way of price”.