PATRON US, derived from pater, a " tether," as materna ieformect from seater, a " mother." The relation of Patron and Client (diens) in ancient Rome is discussed in the article CLIENT; but the relation between a freedman (liberties) and his patronus requires a few words of explanation.
In the Roman polity persons were divided, with respect to status or condition, into freemen (Ziberi) and slaves (serri). Freemen were again divided into persons who were born in a state of freedom (lagestui), and those who had been manumitted (libertini). A manu mitted slave was called libertus, that is, liberatus," freed," and his master who manumitted him became his patronise. The slave who was manumitted received the gentile name of his patronus. (See Lactant. ' Div. Instit.' iv. 3. ; Plin. ' Hist. Nat.' xxv. 3, and xxxi. 3; Pere. 'Sat.' v. 78.) The relation between patronue and libertus resembled in many respects that between patronue and elieus ; but it appears that their mutual rights and obligations were rather regulated by public opinion than fixed by any positive enactment. The patronus on the one hand was bound to take the libertus under his protection; and the libertus on his part was bound to assist his patronus by every menus in his power, but the only case in which he was compelled by the law to do ao, was when the patronus or his children had become too poor to support themselves. In such a case, if the patronus or his children proved to the satisfaction of the governor of the province (proses) their necessitous condition, he might direct the libertus to allow a monthly payment for their support (D. 25. 3. 9).
The moat important part however of the connection between the patronue and the libertue was the right which the former had in certain cases to the property or a portion of the property of the latter upon his death. This right was founded upon the fact, that the law regarded patroni as the adgnati of their liberti, and consequently they succeeded to the property like any other adgnati. By a law of the Twelve Tables, if the libertue died intestate and left no heir (sees litres), the patronue succeeded to his property. (Gail.' Comm.' iii. 40; Justin. ' hat.' iii. 8. 1.) If the heir was a son born of his own body (naturalis), no one had a right to complain; but it appeared to the Romans a greet injustice that an adopted son or daughter, or a wife (in mans), should deprive the patron of his right to the property. This injustice was remedied by the preetor's edict, which enacted that the patron's right should be barred only by the libertus leaving natural sons, whether under his power at the time of his death, or sui juris, or adopted by another during his life, provided they had not been disin herited, and that if a libertus who had no natural sone made a will, he should be obliged to leave half of his property to his patronus; and if he left none of his property, or leas than half, the bonorum possessio of half should be given to the patronus, even against the words of the w171; if the libertue died intestate, leaving an adopted sou, a wife (in menu), or a daughter-in-law (in mane filii this), half of the property was also given to the patronue. (' Gains,' iii. 40, 41; Institut., iii. 8. 1.) By the Lex Papia the rights of patrons to the property of their rich freedmen were still further increased. By this law it was enacted, that if a liberttes died leaving property to the value of 100,000 seater tea, a portion of his property (co-ilia pars) went to his patronus, whether he had made a will or died intestate, provided ho had fewer than three children. If ho left only one eon or one daughter, half of his property went to his patronue, as If he had died leaving no son or daughter ; if he left two children, a third went to the patrons/, but if three, the patronus had no claim to any portion. (Gains iii. 42; Institut; tit. 8. 2.) With regard however to the property of a liberta, the ancient law sufficiently protected the righta of the patromis, and he therefore had no occasion to have recourse to the edict of the praetor. For since the parolee.s was the tutor of the liberta, she could not make a will with out his consent, and consequently could not leave her property to any else. (Gains, iii. 43; Ulp., Fr.' xxix. 2.) 'rho Lex Papia however set free a liberta who had brought forth four children front the tutela of her patronua (Gains iii. 44; Ulp., Fr.' xxix. 3.) The patrons, previous to the passing of the Lex l'apia, had lie greater right to the property of the libertue than was granted to the patronue by the Twelve Tables, and could not, like the patronue, obtain by the pnetor's edict the fialf of the property of a libertue who had left only an adopted son or a wife or daughter-in.law. By the
Lex Papia, however, en ingenue patrons, who had brought forth two children, and a libertine patrona, who had brought forth three, obtained almost the /acne rights as the patronus possessed by the prxtor'e edict ; and an ingenue itatrona who had brought forth three children obtained the same privileges as were given to the patronus by that law ; but a libertine patrons in no case obtained the rights granted to the patronue by the same law. (Gahm, iii. 49, 50; Ulp., ' Fr.' xxix. 5, 6.) The rights of a patronus to the property of a libertus only extended to his direct heredes, sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, &c., and never belonged to his collateral heirs (e.rtranei heredes). (Gains, iii. 58.) A patronus was able to assign a libertus (adsignare libertum) to one of his sons to the exclusion of his other children, so that on the death of a libertus, the son to whom the libertus had been assigned was alone entitled to the property, which was due to the patronus by the jus patronatus. (` Institut., iii., tit. 9; ' Dig.,' 50. 16.107.) All the preceding remarks respecting the euccession of the patronue to the property of the libertue, only apply to the property of those liberti who were Roman citizens. Those liberti who were Latini [LATINUM Jes], or Dediticii, had in fact no power over the disposal of their property. The Latini liberti had the privileges of freemen while alive, but "they lost their life and their liberty at the same time," and their property, like the peculia of slaves, came by the Lex Junia to the persons who had manumitted them (Gains., iii., 56; institut. ' S.4.) The succession to the property of the liberti Latini differed also in many other important particulars, which Gains has pointed out (iii. 57-62), from the succession to the property of those liberti who were Roman citizens. By a decree of the senate passed in the reign of Claudius during the consulship of Lupus and Largus, it was enacted that the property of the Latini should paw first to those who had manumitted them and their children not disinherited by name, and afterwards to their other heirs. (Gains, iii. 63; ' Institut, iii. 8.4.) By a constitutio of Trajan, it was enacted that if a Latin libertus obtained from the Emperor the jus Quiritium without the knowledge or against the will of his patronus, he should enjoy the privileges of a Roman citizen while he lived, but should be regarded as a Latinus at the time of his death, and should have no power of leaving his children as his heredes ; and that he should only be allowed to make a will so far as to leave his patronue his heir, or if the latter were unwilling to become his heir, of substituting another in his place. (Gahm, iii. 72.) This constitutio however was a little altered by one of Hadrian, who gave with certain conditions the same privileges to those Latini who had obtained the jus Quiritium from the Emperor, as to those who had obtained it by a decree of the senate or the Lex Alia Scotia. (Gahm, iii. 73.) These laws were however very much altered by Justinian. He gave to the liberti Latini and Dediticii the same privileges as those liberti possessed who were Roman citizens. He also enacted, that if a libertus or liberta, left leas property than amounted to the value of 100 aurei, the patronus had no claim to any portion of the property, provided they made a will; but if they died intestate, leaving no children, then the patronus succeeded to the property by the law of the Twelve Tables. if the property of the libertus or liberta was of more value than 100 aurei, and they left children, the patrouus had also no claim to any part of the property; but if those liberti or liberty who left no children died intestate, the patronus succeeded to the whole of the property, and if they made a will without leaving any part of their property to the patronus, then he had a right to a third of the property, and not to a half, as was formerly the case. (' Inetit.,' iii. 8.3.) (Gaius, iii. 89-76 • Ulpian, Fraym., xxvii. 1-5; xxviii. 7 ; xxix. 1-7; inaEitu)ienae, 8, De Successione Libertorum ; tit. 9, De natione Libertorum : Digest. 37, tit. 14, De Jure Patronatus ; 38, tit. 2, De "Ionia Libertorum ; 38, tit. 4, Dc Adsiynandis Likrtis ; Wiwi() Lrjum Mosaic. et Roman., xvi, 8, 9; Unterholzner, Leber das patrona tisehe Erbreeht, iu the Zeitsehrift far Gesehichtliehe RecJetsieassensehaft, 5th vol., 1st part, Berlin, 1823; and the articles CLIENT, LATINUM Jes, and LIBERTINES, in this work.)