ROMAN LAW OF PROPERTY. Working Questions IV

 Juventa (above), winner of the Miss Rome competition in the year 113AD and wine aficionadoSpecificatio, fructus & usucapio (and some other things) 

1. Javolena is the bonitary owner of a lovely little vineyard (how do you suppose she became that?) and has been tending it for several months. She decides to make some fruit juice, and collects a pail full of grapes and starts crushing them underfoot. Eventually she has an entirely drinkable amount of juice. Does she own the juice? If yes or no, what is the legal basis for your answer?
2. Without knowing anything about him, Calpurnia buys some clay from Titus, who has stolen it. She makes a lovely statue from it, and has a bit of clay left which she leaves in a cold storage unit she set up for that very purpose. She burnishes the statue in a kiln. Does she own the statue? On what legal basis? Does she own the blob of clay? On what legal basis?
3. Juventa likes wine. She receives a bottle of Plonk Estate Falernian as a gift from a friend, and unwittingly mixes it in a little vat at home with a bottle of identical wine belonging to her housemate. What are the legal consequences of this?
4. It’s the year 200BC. Titia picks up a pair of spectacles she saw someone throw into a rubbish bin. Does she become the owner? What conditions have to be met for that to happen, if it is indeed possible?
5. If the year in question 5 is in fact 100AD, how would your answer differ?
6. Think about the function of usucapio in Roman society. Was it a useful legal institution? If yes, why? If no, why not?
7. What problems are there inherent in usucapio?
8. Specificatio and accessio are merely species of the same legal notion. Do you agree? Or disagree? Discuss.
9. It’s the year 100AD and Lavernia is a usufructuary of a tract of land in Pisa. What does this limited real right entitle her to do in respect of the land? Make a list of things she may do, and a list of things she is not permitted to do in respect of it.

10. On the piece of Pisan land, there stands a fig tree. Eleven figs are blown to the ground in a gust of wind, and five fall on the land of which Lavernia is the usufructuary. The other six land on her neighbours land. How might Lavernia become owner of the figs?


Falernian Wine (Poem 27)
by Catullus
Waiter-boy, pour me stronger cups


of old Falernian, since the laws of Postumia


– the mistress – demand it,


she who’s juicier then the juicy grape.


But you, water, the death of wine, shoo off:


far off, wherever, be off to those whose throats are dry.


This wine is liquidated Bacchus.

Who was Catullus?
Wikipedia says:
Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. 84 BC – ca. 54 BC) was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.

It was probably in Rome that Catullus fell deeply in love with the Lesbia of his poems, who is usually identified with Clodia Metelli, a sophisticated woman from the aristocratic house of patrician Claudii Pulchri and sister of the infamous Publius Clodius Pulcher. In his poems, Catullus describes several stages of their relationship: initial euphoria, doubts, separation, and his wrenching feelings of loss. Many questions must remain unanswered – most importantly, it is not clear why the couple split up – but Catullus’ poems about the relationship display striking depth and psychological insight. One such poem with insight to the reasons of his parting with Lesbia is poem 11, which is addressed to his companions Furius and Aurelius and requests them simply to pass a farewell insult to Lesbia.
Further reading: For fun, find English translations of Catullus’ poems online. They are readily available.
What was Falernian wine?
Wikipedia says:

Falernian wine (Latin: Falernum) was produced from Aglianico grapes (and possibly Greco as well) on the slopes of Mount Falernus near the border of Latium and Campania where it became the most renowned wine produced in ancient Rome, considered a “cult wine” for its time, often mentioned in Roman literature but has since disappeared.

Questions for your general education:

1. Who was Bacchus?
2. What is the English adjective we derive from the name Bacchus? How is it used? Use it in a sentence.

3. Who painted the famous picture below? When?