Legal Definitions - famosus libellus

Famosus libellus is a Latin term from Roman law that refers to a written document containing false and damaging statements about an individual, intended to harm their reputation. It encompasses both the defamatory writing itself and the resulting injury or damage to the person's standing in society.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Imagine a widely circulated pamphlet in ancient Rome that falsely accused a respected senator of embezzling public funds and engaging in scandalous behavior. This pamphlet, containing untrue and reputation-damaging claims, would be considered a famosus libellus. The injury would be the severe damage to the senator's political career and public honor, even if the accusations were baseless.

• Consider a scenario where a disgruntled former employee anonymously posts a series of fabricated notices throughout a marketplace, falsely claiming that a local merchant sells tainted goods and cheats customers. These written notices, designed to destroy the merchant's business and good name, would constitute a famosus libellus. The resulting injury would be the loss of customers, financial harm, and the erosion of the merchant's trustworthiness within the community.