Chapter XXIV: Book VII: Concerning Theft and Fraud

TITLE I. CONCERNING INFORMERS OF THEFT.

=I.= _Concerning Informers and Persons who give Information of
Theft._

=II.= _A Slave, Acting as Informer, must not be Believed,
unless the Testimony of his Master is also Given._

=III.= _Where the Informer Knew of the Commission of the Theft._

=IV.= _Concerning the Compensation of an Informer._

=V.= _Where an Innocent Person is Accused of Crime by an
Informer._

=I. Concerning Informers and Persons who give Information of Theft.=

A judge shall not inflict torture upon any person accused of crime, before he who brings the accusation (if he is unwilling to produce the informer in court), enters into an obligation in writing, confirmed by the signatures of three witnesses, that if the accused is proved to be innocent by competent evidence, he himself will suffer the penalty which he attempted to inflict upon another. After the innocence of the accused has been established, the accuser shall be placed in custody by the judge, until he brings the informer into court, that the truth may be ascertained; and, should he not produce said informer, he shall, without delay, give his name, so that, when brought before the judge, he may prove what he has alleged. If, however, the judge is unable to elicit the truth, on account of the intervention of some powerful person, or the patronage of a noble, or through fear of the royal power, he must attempt to bring the matter to the attention of the king, if he be near at hand; but, if he is at a distance, he must lay his information before the bishop, or the governor of the province; in order that the superior authority of these officials may cause the matter to be properly investigated. Where the judge neglects to give such notice, the complainant shall be indemnified, at the expense of the said judge, for the entire property lost or stolen, by order of the king or of the bishop. If the informer cannot prove what he alleged, he alone shall be liable to make amends for the consequences of his act. If the property stolen is of great value, and a freeborn person is implicated, he shall return ninefold the value of the property, by way of reparation, and shall be rendered infamous; and, if the culprit is a slave, he shall pay sixfold the value of the property, and shall receive in addition, a hundred lashes. Where said freeman has not sufficient property to render satisfaction as aforesaid, he shall be surrendered as a slave to him whom he attempted to render infamous by a false accusation, and to him whom he attempted to deceive. If a slave should not have the property wherewith to render satisfaction, as aforesaid, or, if his master should be unwilling to pay the sum required in his behalf, he shall at once surrender the slave in satisfaction of his crime.

=II. A Slave, Acting as Informer, must not be Believed, unless the Testimony of his Master is also Given.=

If a slave, without the knowledge of his master, should give information of a theft, his statement shall not be believed, unless his master should testify that he was trustworthy, and should thereby establish his honor and credibility.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=III. Where the Informer Knew of the Commission of the Theft.=

If the informer should be proved to have had knowledge of the theft, he shall incur no penalty, and shall not be subject to payment of damages; but he cannot demand any reward for the information he furnishes, because it is sufficient compensation for him to be permitted to depart in safety. Where the property stolen was divided between him and the thief, he shall only be required to restore to the owner what he received and kept for himself.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=IV. Concerning the Compensation of an Informer.=

Where anyone gives information concerning a thief, even if he should not personally have been aware that the theft was committed, he shall not receive any more for the information he furnishes than the stolen property was worth; and then only after full satisfaction has been made to the owner. If the circumstances should be such, that the execution of the thief was necessary, and no property belonging to him could be found; or if he was a slave, and his master claimed his property as his own, and therefore no compensation was available for him who was robbed; in such cases the third part of the property recovered shall be set aside as a reward for the information, and the informer shall not be permitted to demand more than that amount.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=V. Where an Innocent Person is Accused of Crime by an Informer.=

When anyone is accused of crime, that is to say, of poisoning, witchcraft, theft, or any other unlawful act, his accuser must go before the governor of the city, or the judge who has jurisdiction in the district, in order that the case may be investigated according to law; and as soon as the commission of the crime has been established, the governor or the judge shall cause the culprit to be arrested; and if he should not be convicted of a capital offence, the accuser shall be compelled to give him pecuniary satisfaction; and where the latter has not the means to do so, he shall be delivered up to him as a slave. Where the accused person is proved to be innocent, he shall be discharged; and the accuser shall pay both the penalty and the damages for which the accused would have been liable, had he been convicted. Neither the governor nor the judge shall presume to apply torture, unless in public; lest there may be some collusion, so that an innocent man may suffer unjustly. But he shall not undergo the penalty for the crime until its commission has been proved in court by competent testimony; or, as has been provided for by other laws, before the accuser has bound himself to substantiate the charge; and then, and then only, torture may be applied in the presence of the judges.

TITLE II. CONCERNING THIEVES AND STOLEN PROPERTY.

=I.= _He who is Searching for Stolen Property must Describe
it._

=II.= _Where a Slave Commits a Theft Before, or After, he has
Received his Freedom._

=III.= _Where a Slave who has Become the Property of Another
Master, Commits an Unlawful Act._

=IV.= _Where a Freeman Commits a Theft in Company with the
Slave of Another Person._

=V.= _Where a Master Commits a Theft in Company with his
Slave._

=VI.= _Where a Slave, Belonging to Another Person, is
Instigated by Anyone to the Commission of Unlawful
Acts._

=VII.= _Concerning Those who Knowingly Associate with Thieves._

=VIII.= _Where Anyone, Ignorantly, Buys Stolen Property of a
Thief._

=IX.= _Where Anyone, Knowingly, Buys Stolen Property of a
Thief._

=X.= _Concerning Money, and Other Property, Stolen from the
King._

=XI.= _Concerning the Stealing of Bells from Cattle._

=XII.= _Concerning the Theft of Mill Machinery._

=XIII.= _Concerning the Punishment of a Thief._

=XIV.= _A Thief, when Taken, shall be Brought Before the Judge;
and Where a Freeman Commits a Theft in Company with a
Slave, Both shall Undergo the Same Penalty._

=XV.= _Where a Thief, Defending Himself with a Sword, is
Killed._

=XVI.= _Where a Thief is Killed at Night, while he is Being
Taken._

=XVII.= _Concerning Property Injured or Destroyed; and the
Reparation to be Made for what has been Damaged or
Stolen._

=XVIII.= _Concerning Property Rescued from Shipwreck._

=XIX.= _Concerning the Property and the Heirs of Thieves._

=XX.= _Concerning Those who Rescue Thieves and Other
Criminals, after their Capture._

=XXI.= _Where a Slave Steals from his Master, or from a
Fellow-Slave._

=XXII.= _Within what Time, after his Arrest, a Thief must be
Brought Before the Judge._

=XXIII.= _Where Anyone Secretly Kills an Animal Belonging to
Another._

=I. He who is Searching for Stolen Property must Describe it.=

Whoever makes a demand for any stolen property, must privately describe to the judge what he seeks, and show, by manifest proof, what he has lost; as the truth may not be established, where sufficient evidence is not introduced.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=II. Where a Slave Commits a Theft Before, or After, he has Received his Freedom.=

If a slave should be guilty of theft, and should be afterwards set free by his master, the master shall not be liable for any loss on account of any acts previously committed by said slave; but the slave himself shall suffer the penalties prescribed by the law against the perpetrators of crime. Where he commits a theft after he has received his freedom, he shall be compelled to make the same reparation as he would have done while a slave, and shall receive a hundred lashes. If said offence should not be of such a character as to render him liable to be returned to slavery, he shall remain in the full enjoyment of his freedom.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=III. Where a Slave, who has Become the Property of Another Master, Commits an Unlawful Act.=

If a slave who has passed under the control of another master, should steal anything from his former owner, or should inflict any injury upon anyone, the judge shall determine whether he committed the crime; and if he is convicted, his last master, should he desire, may render satisfaction for the acts committed by said slave. But if he should refuse to do so, the slave must be surrendered to be punished according to the nature of his offence.

=IV. Where a Freeman Commits a Theft in Company with the Slave of Another Person.=

Where a freeman is implicated with the slave of another person in the commission of any crime, whether they steal, or appropriate any property, or are guilty of any other unlawful act; each shall be liable for half the pecuniary compensation required by a former law, and both shall be scourged together in public. And if the master should not be willing to render full satisfaction for the act of said slave, the latter must be surrendered in lieu thereof. But if they have committed a capital crime, the slave and the freeman shall, at the same time, be condemned to death.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=V. Where a Master Commits a Theft in Company with his Slave.=

If a master should commit a theft in company with his slave, we hereby decree that the master, and not the slave, shall make full pecuniary reparation for the same; and the master shall receive a hundred lashes in public, as prescribed by law. The slave, however, shall go free, because he obeyed the commands of his master.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=VI. Where a Slave, Belonging to Another Person, is Instigated by Anyone to the Commission of Unlawful Acts.=

If anyone should instigate the slave of another person to commit a theft, or any other unlawful act; or should persuade him to do anything contrary to his own interest, which may also be the occasion of loss to his master, in order that, by his evil and iniquitous influence, he may fraudulently obtain possession of said slave for himself; and, after proper investigation by the judge, the fraud is detected, the said master shall not lose his slave, or be liable to any penalty; but he, by whose artifice and persuasion, the slave was induced to commit the crime, in order that he might obtain possession of him as aforesaid, shall be forced to pay to the master of the slave sevenfold the value of the property stolen, or the legal damages prescribed for his act. The slave shall receive a hundred lashes in public; for the reason that, despising his master, he plotted against him, and, after the infliction of said punishment, he shall be restored to his master.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=VII. Concerning those who Knowingly Associate with Thieves.=

Not only he who actually commits a theft, but also any person who was aware of it at the time, or knowingly received the stolen goods, shall be considered a thief, and liable to the penalty prescribed for the crime.

=FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.=

=VIII. Where Anyone, Ignorantly, Buys Stolen Property of a Thief.=

It shall not be lawful for a freeman to buy any property from a person unknown to him, unless he can produce a reliable person as a witness, and thereby be able to allege the excuse of ignorance. If he should do otherwise, he shall be compelled by the judge to produce, within a reasonable time, the person of whom he bought said property; and if he cannot find him, he must prove his innocence, either by oath or by witnesses, and show that he did not know that the vendor was a thief; and he must restore the property which he purchased to the owner, after having received from the latter an amount equal to half the price paid for said property; and both shall promise, under oath, that they will make diligent search for the thief. If, however, the latter cannot be found, the purchaser shall only be compelled to restore to the owner the property which he bought. In case the owner of said property should know the thief, and should be unwilling to expose him, he shall lose the property absolutely, and the purchaser shall possess it in peace. This law shall also apply to slaves.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=IX. Where Anyone, Knowingly, Buys Stolen Property of a Thief.=

If anyone should, knowingly, purchase stolen property of a thief, he must at once declare from whom he bought it, and afterwards must make restitution, just as the thief should do. If he should not be able to find the latter, he shall be compelled to pay double the amount required from thieves, because it is evident that he who purchases stolen property is on the same legal footing as a thief. Where a slave commits such an act, he shall pay half the amount required of freeborn persons, or his master shall surrender him in satisfaction of his crime.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=X. Concerning Money, and Other Property, Stolen from the King.=

If anyone should steal, or appropriate to his own use, money or other property belonging to the public treasury, he shall restore ninefold its value.[38]

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XI. Concerning the Stealing of Bells from Cattle.=

If anyone should steal a bell from a mare or an ox, he shall pay one _solidus_; from a cow, two _tremisæ_; from a ram or other cattle, one _tremisa_.

=XII. Concerning the Theft of Mill Machinery.=

If anyone should steal any of the parts of a mill, he shall return what was stolen; shall also pay the fine provided by law as punishment for other thefts; and shall receive, in addition, a hundred lashes.

=FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.=

=XIII. Concerning the Punishment of a Thief.=

A freeman who steals the property of another, shall pay to the owner nine times the value, and a slave six times the value, of the property stolen; and each shall receive a hundred lashes with the scourge. If the freeman has not sufficient pecuniary resources to pay said fine; or if the master should refuse to render satisfaction for the act of his slave; he who was guilty of the theft shall become forever the slave of the owner of the stolen property.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XIV. A Thief, when Taken, shall be Brought Before the Judge; and Where a Freeman Commits a Theft in Company with a Slave, Both shall Undergo the Same Penalty.=

When a thief is arrested, he shall be brought into court, and, if freeborn, shall pay nine times the value of the stolen property, and shall receive a hundred lashes publicly, in the presence of the judge. If, however, he should not have the means wherewith to make restitution, he shall forfeit his liberty, and become the slave of him whom he robbed. A slave shall make restitution sixfold for the property stolen; shall receive a hundred lashes in the presence of the judge; and shall be kept in custody until his: master is notified to immediately give satisfaction for his act; and, should he not do so, he must, at once, surrender the criminal to the party who suffered the loss.

It is also provided by this law, that if a slave and a freeman, or several slaves and several freemen, should, while together, steal any animal, or any other article of property, they shall make but one compensation for the same; that is to say, freemen shall pay half of its ninefold value, and slaves half of its sixfold value; but they all shall receive the same number of lashes as hereinbefore provided. The aforesaid provision shall also be observed in the cases of slaves and freemen, where property of great value was stolen, and they shall be scourged before the judge as hereinbefore stated.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XV. Where a Thief, Defending Himself with a Sword, is Killed.=

If a thief should be killed in the daytime, while defending himself with a sword, no responsibility shall attach to anyone on account of his death.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XVI. Where a Thief is Killed at Night, while he is Being Taken.=

If a thief should be surprised at night, and should be killed while he is attempting to remove stolen property, his death shall under no circumstances be punished.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XVII. Concerning Property Injured or Destroyed; and the Reparation to be Made for what has been Damaged or Stolen.=

Where anyone damages property or clothing belonging to another, or does any injury to a traveller while on a journey, or deprives him of anything by stealth, he shall immediately give satisfaction according to law; but shall not be compelled to pay the full value of the baggage of the traveller, but only an amount equal to what he damaged, or stole from him.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XVIII. Concerning Property Rescued from Shipwreck.=

Where property has been saved from conflagration, ruin, or shipwreck, and any of it is abstracted or concealed by any person; he shall be compelled to pay fourfold the value of the same.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XIX. Concerning the Property and the Heirs of Thieves.=

Where anyone obtains the property of a dead thief, either by will or inheritance, he shall not be liable to any penalty, because the crime died with the perpetrator; but he shall be liable to satisfaction in damages, for the reason that the thief would have been so liable, had he lived. If the damages incurred amount to more than the inheritance, he must surrender the latter in its entirety.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XX. Concerning Those who Rescue Thieves and Other Criminals after their Capture.=

If anyone should rescue a thief or any other criminal who is in custody, or permit him to escape; if he is a person of rank, he shall receive a hundred lashes in the presence of the judge for his insolence, and shall be compelled to produce in court the party whom he set free. If another person who has no claim against a thief, should arrest him, he shall receive for his services a fourth part of the sum due from the thief in satisfaction of his crime. Where the latter cannot afterwards be found, he who liberated him shall be liable to the punishment prescribed for theft; and shall be compelled to pay, out of his own property, a sum equal to that which the thief would have been compelled to pay, had he been convicted. If, however, he is a person of inferior rank, and should produce the thief in court, he shall receive for his insolence a hundred lashes. Where he is not able to find the thief, he shall be liable to both the penalty and damages for theft, to the same extent as the thief himself would have been liable after conviction.

If anyone should release a person accused of another crime than theft, he shall received a hundred lashes in like manner; and if he cannot find or produce the party he liberated, he shall at once suffer the same punishment to which the law declares the accused would have been liable, had he been found guilty. If a slave should commit this offence, without his master’s knowledge, he shall receive two hundred lashes for his insolence, and shall be compelled to produce the person whom he released. If he should not produce him, then his master, should he wish to do so, may pay for him the sum demanded as compensation for the crime; but if he should be unwilling to pay said sum as provided by law, he must surrender the slave in satisfaction for damages, or to be punished.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XXI. Where a Slave Steals from his Master, or from a Fellow-Slave.=

If a slave should steal anything from his master or from his fellow-slave, what shall be done with him lies entirely in the discretion of his master; and the judge has no right to interfere in the matter, unless the master should wish him to do so.[39]

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=XXII. Within what Time, after his Arrest, a Thief must be Brought Before the Judge.=

When anyone arrests a thief, or any other criminal, he must straightway conduct him before the judge; and he must not keep him in his house longer than one day, or one night. If anyone should violate this provision, he shall be forced to pay five _solidi_ to the judge for his insolence. If a slave should do this, without the knowledge of his master, he shall receive a hundred lashes, but if he should do it with the master’s consent, all liability for damages shall be incurred by the latter. If the slave is of superior rank, his master shall be compelled to pay a fine of ten _solidi_, half of which sum shall belong to the judge, and the other half shall be given to him who is known to have suffered the injury.

=FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.=

=XXIII. Where Anyone Secretly Kills an Animal Belonging to Another.=

If anyone should, secretly or at night, kill a horse, an ox, or any other kind of animal belonging to another, he shall be compelled to pay ninefold the value of the same. If it is not possible to convict him, he shall purge himself of guilt publicly, by oath. Where a slave commits such an offence, under the direction of his master, and this is proved by competent evidence; the master of the slave shall be compelled to make restitution ninefold, as a thief would have done. If a slave should not be convicted by testimony, he shall be tortured; and after it has been established that he committed the crime, he shall either pay sixfold the value of the animal killed, or shall be transferred to the service of him whom he injured. If, however, he should prove to be innocent, the complainant shall render satisfaction to the master of the slave, as provided by other laws.

TITLE III. CONCERNING APPROPRIATORS AND KIDNAPPERS OF SLAVES.

=I.= _Where Anyone Seizes the Slave of Another._

=II.= _Where a Freeman is Convicted of Having Stolen the Male or
Female Slave of Another._

=III.= _Concerning Kidnapped Children of Freeborn Persons._

=IV.= _Where one Slave Kidnaps Another Belonging to a Person not
his Master._

=V.= _Where a Slave, at the Command of his Master, Kidnaps a
Freeborn Person._

=VI.= _Where a Slave, without the Knowledge of his Master,
Kidnaps a Freeborn Person._

=THE GLORIOUS FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.=

=I. Where Anyone Seizes the Slave of Another.=

If any freeborn person should seize and appropriate a slave belonging to another, he shall be compelled to give to the master another slave, of equal value, by way of restitution. If a slave should commit this offence, he must return the slave whom he has seized to the master of the same, and he shall then receive a hundred lashes. If the slave that was seized cannot be produced in court, the master must give another slave, of equal value, to him who sustained the loss; to be kept by him until the slave who was carried off is restored, when the other slave, who was surrendered in his place, shall be returned to his own master.

=FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.=

=II. Where a Freeman is Convicted of Having Stolen the Male or Female Slave of Another.=

If a freeman should kidnap the male or female slave of another, he shall be compelled to give, by way of reparation, four slaves of the same sex to the master or mistress of said slave, and shall receive a hundred lashes in public; and if he should not have the property wherewith to make restitution, he himself shall be reduced to slavery.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=III. Concerning Kidnapped Children of Freeborn Persons.=

If anyone should kidnap the son or daughter of a freeborn person, of either sex; or should lure them from home, and cause them to be taken into other provinces of our kingdom, or into any foreign country; he who is guilty of such an atrocious crime, shall be delivered up to the father or mother of the child; or to its brothers, if there are any; or to its nearest relatives; to be killed or sold into slavery. Should they wish to do so, they may exact from the kidnapper, the legal compensation for homicide; that is to say, three hundred _solidi_: because for a child to be sold by its parents, or to be kidnapped, is as serious a crime as the commission of homicide. If, however, the kidnapper should recover the child from the foreign country where it has been sent, and bring it again to its native land, he shall pay a hundred and fifty _solidi_: that is to say, half of the composition for homicide; and should he not be possessed of said amount, he shall be condemned to servitude.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=IV. Where One Slave Kidnaps Another Belonging to a Person not his Master.=

If one slave should steal another, who is the property of another master, without the knowledge of his own master, he shall receive a hundred and fifty lashes in the presence of the judge, and the kidnapped slave shall be restored to his master. And he whose slave was stolen shall not be entitled to demand a reward from the master of the kidnapper for the capture of the kidnapped slave. If, however, the slave who was kidnapped should not be found, the master of the kidnapper shall be compelled by the judge to give another slave of equal value, or the kidnapper himself, up to him whose slave was stolen; to serve until such time as his own slave shall be restored to him, when the other slave shall be returned to his master.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=V. Where a Slave, at the Command of his Master, Kidnaps a Freeborn Person.=

If a slave, by order of his master, should kidnap a freeborn person, the master shall be liable for such satisfaction in damages as has been elsewhere provided in the case of freeborn persons, and shall receive a hundred lashes in public; but the slave himself shall incur no penalty, having acted under the command of his master.

=VI. Where a Slave, without the Knowledge of his Master, Kidnaps a Freeborn Person.=

If a slave, without the knowledge of his master, should kidnap a freeborn person, he shall be delivered up, without delay, to the parents of said person, to be disposed of absolutely at their pleasure. If, however, the kidnapped person should be brought back, and the master should desire to give satisfaction for the act of his slave; he shall pay a pound of gold, as compensation for the injury inflicted upon said freeborn person.[40]

TITLE IV. CONCERNING THE CUSTODY AND SENTENCE OF
CONDEMNED PERSONS.

=I.= _Where a Judge is Asked to Punish Crime, and is afterwards
Treated with Contempt._

=II.= _The Governor of the City shall Aid the Judge in the Arrest
of Persons Accused of Crime._

=III.= _Where a Person Breaks out of Prison, or Influences the
Jailer for that Purpose._

=IV.= _Concerning the Compensation which may be Received from
those in Custody._

=V.= _Where a Judge who is Lenient to Offenders against the
Law, Releases a Criminal._

=VI.= _Concerning the Punishment of a Judge who Improperly
Discharges a Criminal._

=VII.= _A Person Guilty of Crime shall Receive the Sentence of
the Law not Secretly, but in Public._

=THE GLORIOUS FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.=

=I. Where a Judge is Asked to Punish Crime, and is afterwards Treated with Contempt.=

If anyone should accuse another of theft, before a judge, and should afterwards be guilty of contempt of court, by accepting anything from the thief by way of compensation, without the judge’s knowledge, he shall be compelled to pay five _solidi_ to the judge, on account of his insolence. Where a slave, without the knowledge of his master, is guilty of this offence, he shall receive a hundred lashes, and his master shall incur no liability whatever, on account of his act. But if he should do this with the consent of his master, the latter shall be compelled to pay the sum hereinbefore mentioned.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=II. The Governor of the City shall Aid the Judge in the Arrest of Persons Accused of Crime.=

Whenever a Goth, or anyone else, is accused of crime, the judge must use every effort to arrest him. If, however, the judge himself is not sufficiently powerful to apprehend and imprison him, he may apply to the governor of the city for assistance, to effect what his authority of itself is not sufficient to accomplish. The aforesaid governor must immediately employ all his power to that end, in order that a person guilty of crime may not defy the law.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=III. Where a Person Breaks out of Prison, or Influences the Jailer for that Purpose.=

If anyone should break out of prison, or should use undue influence upon the turnkey, or upon the jailer himself, or upon any keeper who has charge of prisoners, by means of which any prisoner should be unlawfully released, without the order of the judge; he shall suffer the same punishment which the escaped or liberated prisoner himself would have suffered.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=IV. Concerning the Compensation which may be Received from those in Custody.=

Where a judge has charge of persons who have been arrested, or where officers have arrested them, or have received them for safe keeping; none of them shall be entitled to exact anything from said prisoners, on account of their keeping, or of their discharge, in case such prisoners should prove to be innocent. But where they are proved to be guilty, said officers shall not be forbidden to demand from each prisoner, one _tremisa_. If the party arrested should be released, upon giving the pecuniary compensation required by law, the judge himself shall pay over said sum to those who are entitled to the same, except the tenth part of it, which he himself shall have a right to retain for his trouble. If anyone should accept a larger amount than we have stated, he must restore it, twofold, to him from whom he exacted it.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=V. Where a Judge who is Lenient to Offenders against the Law, Releases a Criminal.=

Where a judge, corrupted by a bribe of any description whatever, puts an innocent man to death, he himself shall be punished in like manner. If he should discharge a person who has committed a capital crime, he shall pay sevenfold the amount which he received for his release, to him who was injured by the criminal; and, stripped of judicial power, and rendered infamous, he shall be compelled by the judge who succeeds him, to produce in court the party whom he released; so that the latter, when, convicted, may undergo the punishment which he deserved.

=THE GLORIOUS FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.=

=VI. Concerning the Punishment of a Judge who Improperly Discharges a Criminal.=

A judge shall not spare a criminal, on account of the patronage or friendship of any person. If, in his leniency and partiality, he should not vindicate the innocent, or should discharge the guilty, he shall not be put to death, or undergo any mutilation of body; but shall only pay the sum required by law in satisfaction for homicide, or of any other crime which may be involved.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=VII. A Person Guilty of Crime shall Receive the Sentence of the Law not Secretly, but in Public.=

When a judge inflicts the death penalty upon a criminal, he shall execute the sentence of the law not in secret and retired places, but publicly, in the sight of all.

TITLE V. CONCERNING FORGERS OF DOCUMENTS.

=I.= _Concerning those who Forge Royal Orders and Mandates._

=II.= _Concerning those who Forge Documents, or Attempt to
Forge Them._

=III.= _Concerning those who Forge, or Serve, False Orders in
the Name of the King, or a Judge._

=IV.= _Concerning those who Falsify a Will against the Consent
of a Party while Living, or Disclose the Contents of
the Same._

=V.= _Concerning those who Attempt to Forge or Conceal the
Will of a Person Already Deceased._

=VI.= _Where Anyone Assumes a Fictitious Name, or Adopts a
False Lineage or Relationship._

=VII.= _Concerning Documents Fraudulently Dated, Prior to their
Execution._

=VIII.= _Concerning Later Documents Fraudulently Executed._

=IX.= _Concerning those who Falsely Write, or Publish, Decrees
and Edicts of the King._

=I. Concerning those who Forge Royal Orders and Mandates.=

Whoever shall change, impair the force of, omit something from, or interpolate anything into, any part of our royal decrees or mandates; or shall alter the date of the same; or shall make or attach a forged seal to any of them; if said person is of high rank, he shall forfeit half of all his property, and it shall be confiscated for the benefit of the royal treasury; if, however, he is a person of inferior station, he shall lose the hand with which he committed the crime. Where the judges, or other authorities before whom the hearing was to be had, or for whom the order of the king was intended, die; then either the bishop of the diocese, or any other bishop, or the judges of the territory adjacent to that affected by the order, shall have full authority to act in their stead; to promulgate the decree; and to make such disposition of the matter as, in their judgment, shall appear to be legal and just.

=FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.=

=II. Concerning those who Forge Documents, or Attempt to Forge Them.=

Whoever forges a document; or publishes it; or knowingly makes an addition to it; or produces it in court; or anyone who suppresses, abstracts, mutilates, impairs the force of, or changes, a genuine document; and whoever engraves, makes, or attaches a false seal, and is found guilty of such infamous crimes, shall, with all his abettors, lose the fourth part of their property, if they are persons of noble rank. If any person should steal, or deface a document belonging to another, and should afterwards confess, in the presence of the judge, that he had stolen or defaced said document, and this confession should be corroborated by witnesses, said testimony shall have the same force in law as the destroyed or defaced document would have, if it still existed in its integrity. But if the contents of the document cannot be shown with certainty, he who drew it up shall be permitted to prove by his own oath, or by a witness, what said document contained; and the testimony so given shall establish the contents of said document.

When the property of those who have been condemned is not sufficient to pay the fine prescribed by law, they, with such possessions as they have, shall be delivered up, as slaves, to those whom they have defrauded. He who sustained the injury or loss, shall receive, by order of the king or the judge, three quarters of the fourth part of the property hereinbefore mentioned; and the fourth part of the same shall be reserved for the king, to be disposed of at his royal pleasure. Persons of inferior rank, or of infamous character, who have been convicted of these offences, must sign a confession as hereinbefore provided; and shall forever be the slaves of those who suffered by their fraudulent acts. In addition to the above penalties, culprits of inferior, as well as of superior rank, shall receive a hundred lashes with the scourge. If a slave commits such an offence, and it should appear that he was influenced by other persons, all parties implicated in the crime, and who are proved to have either stolen, concealed, or mutilated, the document in question, shall become slaves forever to those who were injured by their unlawful acts. But if it should appear that said acts were committed under the orders of a master, he shall be responsible for all damages sustained. We also decree that this same rule shall apply to all who, for the sake of gain, either suppress or mutilate any documents belonging to others, with the view to inflicting upon them either loss or injury. Such persons also shall be considered forgers, and shall suffer the penalty hereinbefore provided, according to their rank.

Where nothing which is set forth in this chapter appears to have been done; that is to say, if no one is convicted of having mutilated, torn, forged, or concealed, a document belonging to another, or of having committed any other offence described by this law, but that the person accused has merely lost said document through negligence, accident, or want of care; or where he declares that it has been stolen from him; if a witness who subscribed said document be still living, his testimony, taken in court, will be amply sufficient to establish its validity. Where it appears that the witness who subscribed said document is dead, and other lawful and intelligent witnesses can be found, who will testify that they saw said document, and are thoroughly acquainted with its contents; then he who lost the document in question, may prove by the testimony of said witnesses, by a public investigation in court, the former existence and the contents of said document, and thereby establish its validity.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=III. Concerning those who Forge, or Serve, False Orders in the Name of the King, or a Judge.=

He who ignorantly publishes an edict issued in the name of the king or a judge, shall not incur the guilt of forgery; but he must at once disclose who gave him the said edict. If he should be unwilling to name the person, or to admit that he received the edict from him, he himself shall then be punished for forgery, according to his rank; as is hereinbefore provided in the cases of those who make or utter forged documents. But if both the parties should be aware that the forgery had been committed, both shall be considered forgers.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=IV. Concerning those who Falsify a Will against the Consent of a Party while Living, or Disclose the Contents of the Same.=

Whoever shall forge the will, or any document containing an order, or any instructions, of a person still living, or shall disclose the contents of the same contrary to the wishes of said party, shall be deemed guilty of forgery.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=V. Concerning those who Attempt to Forge or Conceal the Will of a Person Already Deceased.=

Whoever shall conceal the will of a deceased person, or shall insert any forged matter therein, shall lose whatever property he would have been entitled to, through the bequest of the testator in said will, and said property shall belong to those whom he attempted to defraud; and he shall, besides, bear the infamy attaching to the crime of forgery. Even if he should have little or nothing to gain from such an act, he shall nevertheless be condemned as a forger.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=VI. Where Anyone Assumes a Fictitious Name, or Adopts a False Lineage, or Relationship.=

Whoever assumes a false name; or changes his lineage; or claims a fictitious parentage; or is guilty of any other imposture; shall be considered a forger.

=FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING.=

=VII. Concerning Documents Fraudulently Dated, Prior to their Execution.=

The cunning of certain persons often requires the enactment of new laws, as soon as the employment of new and wicked forms of fraud, contrived for the deception of others, becomes publicly known. Henceforth, for the reason that many persons, with the intent to deceive their creditors, enter into false obligations in writing, which allege their indebtedness to others; we hereby promulgate the following law, which is to be perpetually valid, to wit: Wherever anyone who is indebted to another, should fraudulently draw up any writing in which he asserts that he is indebted to a third party, and, thereby anyone should be deceived; and, by means of said fraudulent document, he should contrive to nullify the claim of a party to whom he is justly indebted; or if it should happen that anyone should craftily, and fraudulently deceive another to the above mentioned end, not in writing but verbally; the party guilty of such offences shall be publicly branded as infamous, shall be liable in damages to him whom he has defrauded, and shall also be punished as provided in the law concerning forgery. He, also, shall be liable to similar damages and penalty, who has been convicted of having stated that he was indebted to another, by means of a fraudulent paper, executed subsequently to the one evidencing his indebtedness to his genuine creditor. He who shall be convicted of having made such a fraudulent document, as well as he for whose benefit it is alleged to have been executed; where the latter is known to be cognizant of the fraud; shall be liable to the damages and penalty hereinbefore provided; and the fraudulent document, having been declared void, the validity of the other, although it was apparently subsequently executed, shall be firmly established.

=FLAVIUS RECESVINTUS, KING.=

=VIII. Concerning Later Documents Fraudulently Executed.=

It is but just that he who is recognized as the heir of a deceased person, should discharge the debts of the latter. For the reason, therefore, that fraud ought, under no circumstances, to be excused, we hereby decree that the following law shall be forever observed, to wit: That whoever gives to any person, by any instrument in writing, any property whatever, no matter where said property may be situated, and he who gave such property shall not be the owner thereof; or if he was the owner, what he has given, he has already pledged to another by a former written document, or has conveyed it to anyone else under some contract; and he should subsequently dispose of said property, which was either not his own, or had been previously pledged to another, as aforesaid; as soon as the commission of said fraudulent act shall become known; he who is guilty, should he still be living, shall be liable for the amount mentioned in said instrument executed by him, and shall suffer whatever penalty it prescribes. But if the fraud should not become known until after his death, either his heirs shall be compelled to execute, for the benefit of the complainant, whatever the maker of said fraudulent instrument promised therein; or if the amount promised, or the penalty set forth in said forged paper, shall be greater in amount than the property left by said person, and his heirs should be unwilling to make satisfactory amends for the act of their ancestor; they shall be forced to surrender, at once, their entire inheritance to the complainant. Where there are no heirs, the entire property of the deceased shall, by the provisions of the present law, be given up by those to whom it was left by the deceased, or by those who have possession of the same.

This rule shall also apply in cases where it is found that he for whose benefit the prior instrument was drawn up, is implicated in the fraud; so that he who actually drew up the paper, as well as he who knew that this was done, shall both be liable for the satisfaction of the obligation, and to the imposition of the penalty set forth in the instrument subsequently executed; and both shall likewise undergo, in person and in property, the penalties provided by a former law in the case of those who are guilty of forgery.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=IX. Concerning those who Falsely Write, or Publish, Decrees and Edicts of the King.=

The unlawful and wicked conduct of certain persons renders it necessary that laws should be enacted for the restraint of future generations; so that those over whom reproof has no influence, may be amenable to legal censure and coercion. And, for the reason that it is well known that many not only write out royal orders themselves, but also promulgate them, and publish documents confirmed by the signatures of notaries, whereby many things have been introduced into the laws of our kingdom, and many provisions have been written, or attempted to be added, which have not received the sanction of our authority; nor are suitable to our people, not having been dictated by the principles of justice or truth; and, in consequence, our subjects have been greatly vexed by injuries, spoliation, and other annoyances; we therefore promulgate the following edict: that, now and hereafter, no notary whosoever, no matter to what rank or race he may belong, (with the exception of the public notaries, or those attached to the royal service and their sons, and such as have received special commissions from the king, or any orders or appointments issued by the royal authority) shall write or publish any spurious document, purporting to have been issued by the king, or shall attempt to offer any such document to any notary, to be confirmed by his signature; but only the public notaries, and our own notaries, and those of our successors, and such as have been especially appointed by us, shall have authority to write or publish any royal order or edict. Whoever shall be found guilty of violating this law, whether he be freeman or slave, shall receive two hundred lashes, by order of the king or the judge; shall be scalped as a mark of infamy; and have, in addition, the thumb of his right hand cut off; as punishment for having attempted to commit unlawful acts which were contrary to the dignity of the throne.[41]

TITLE VI. CONCERNING COUNTERFEITERS OF METALS.

=I.= _Concerning the Torture of Slaves, in Order to Convict
their Masters of Counterfeiting Money; and the Reward
of Witnesses who have given Information of the Same._

=II.= _Concerning those who Debase Solidi, or Other Coins._

=III.= _Concerning those who Debase Gold by a Mixture of Other
Metals._

=IV.= _Where Artificers of Metals are Found to have Abstracted
a Portion of what was Entrusted to Them._

=V.= _No One shall Refuse to Accept a Golden Solidus of Legal
Weight._

=I. Concerning the Torture of Slaves, in Order to Convict their Masters of Counterfeiting Money; and the Reward of Witnesses who have given Information of the Same.=

We do not forbid that slaves should be tortured, in order to convict their master or mistress of counterfeiting; as, by this means, the truth may be the more easily ascertained. If a slave belonging to another person should give information of such a crime, and it should prove to be true, he shall be given his freedom, if his master consents, and the latter shall receive his value from the public treasury; and if he does not consent, the slave shall receive three ounces of gold from the public treasury. Where the informer is a freeman, he shall be entitled to six ounces of gold, on account of the service which he has rendered.

=FLAVIUS CHINTASVINTUS, KING=

=II. Concerning those who Debase Solidi, or Other Coins.=

Where anyone debases, pares, or files, _solidi_, he shall be arrested, as soon as the judge is apprized of the fact; and, if he is a slave, his right hand shall be cut off. If he should be arrested a second time, for the same offence, he shall be brought before the king, to be disposed of at the royal pleasure. Where the judge hesitates to discharge his duty in a case of this kind, he shall forfeit the fourth part of his property, which shall be confiscated for the benefit of the treasury. If the offender is a freeman, he shall forfeit half of his property to the treasury; if he is of inferior rank, he shall lose his freedom, and shall be given up as a slave to whomever the king may select. Whoever shall engrave or make counterfeit money, no matter who he may be, shall undergo a similar sentence and penalty.

=ANCIENT LAW.=

=III. Concerning those who Debase Gold by a Mixture of Other Metals.=

Whoever receives gold to be made into ornaments and debases the same, by the mixture of brass, silver, or any other metal of inferior value, shall be deemed guilty of theft.

=IV. Where Artificers of Metals are found to have Abstracted a Portion of what was Entrusted to Them.=

Goldsmiths, silversmiths, and all other workers in metals, who abstract anything from what has been entrusted or delivered to them, shall be deemed guilty of theft.

=V. No One shall Refuse to Accept a Golden Solidus of Legal Weight.=

No one shall dare to refuse to accept a golden _solidus_ of legal weight, provided it is genuine; nor demand other money in exchange for the same, unless it should be of short weight. Whoever shall act contrary to this law, and refuse to accept a golden _solidus_ of legal weight, or shall demand a premium, in exchange for the same, as aforesaid; shall be compelled by the judge to pay three _solidi_ to him from whom he refused to accept the coin. This law shall also apply to _tremisæ_.