4 - A Comparison of Roman and Visigothic Approaches to Exile

Summary

Abstract

In the Classical and late Roman world, exile was mentioned often in legislation, indicating that it was of particular interest to rulers. Abundant references in literary sources enable us to analyse how legislation was applied in practice, often in response to individual circumstances. There are likewise numerous references to exiles and fugitives in Visigothic legislation, Hispano-Visigothic church canons, and contemporary literary texts. We know concrete details of several particular episodes from narrative sources. However, collectively, these sources suggest that the legal treatment of exiles in the Visigothic kingdom cannot be considered a simple transposition of Roman practices. This chapter aims to determine the relationship between individual cases and Visigothic legislation in order to outline deviations from Roman practice and to understand their potential causes.

Keywords: exile; Late Roman legislation; Visigothic legislation; comparison; case studies

Introduction

For those who were sentenced to exile in the late Roman empire, the punishment entailed removal from their society, their families, and their polities. The penalty of exile was employed to demonstrate to the population as a whole that the behaviour for which the convicted were exiled was absolutely reprehensible. Exile entailed physical exclusion, social shame, and, therefore, a stigma that separated the person from the rest of society. It was not a physical brand but a social one. When the exiled person also had their property and assets partially or totally confiscated or forcibly transferred, they were demoted to a lower level in society, in both their places of origin and exile.

Exile as a judicial punishment, either as relegatio or banishment or as deportation to islands as specific destinations, was a very common practice in the late Roman empire. The barbarian kingdoms of the West also employed exile as a punishment for individuals who were found guilty of various crimes and offences. As in the case of the Roman empire, literary and legal sources constitute our main supply of information on this subject, which make possible numerous studies on exile in these societies.

Several important studies have focused on the extent of Roman influence on Visigothic legislation. However, fewer publications have analysed whether Visigothic kings from the reign of Euric (d. 484) until the end of the kingdom in 711 adopted or modified judicial exile as it existed in the late Roman and early Byzantine empires.