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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §50.16.211.pr

Legal Meaning of Land and Terms for Real Property

Passage 9025 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It defines the scope of the legal term 'land' (fundus) and explains the distinction between urban and rural terminology for buildings, plots, and fields.

[FLORENTINUS libro octauo institutionum. ] §50.16.211.pr'Fundi' appellatione omne aedificium et omnis ager continetur.
[FLORENTINUS, in the eighth book of Institutes.] Under the term 'land', every building and every field is included.
sed in usu urbana aedificia 'aedes', rustica 'uillae' dicuntur.
But in common usage, urban buildings are called 'houses', and rural ones 'villas'.
locus uero sine aedificio in urbe 'area', rure autem 'ager' appellatur.
On the other hand, a plot without a building is called a 'vacant lot' in the city, but a 'field' in the country.
idemque ager cum aedificio 'fundus' dicitur.
And the same field with a building is called 'land'.

Notes

  1. §50.16.211.prFundi — The noun fundi is the genitive singular of fundus, functioning as a genitive of definition (genitivus definitionis) that qualifies appellatione (ablative singular of appellatio, 'appellation, term'), together meaning 'by the term "land"'.
  2. §50.16.211.prcontinetur — The third-person singular present passive of the verb continere ('to contain, include'). Despite the compound subject (omne aedificium et omnis ager), the verb is singular because it agrees with the nearest singular subject (omnis ager).
  3. §50.16.211.prrure — The ablative singular of rus ('countryside'), functioning as a locative ablative (ablatiuus locatiuus) without a preposition to mean 'in the country', standing in symmetrical contrast to the phrase in urbe ('in the city').

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §50.16.211.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:50.16.211.pr

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