Legal Definitions - fugitivus

In ancient Roman law, a fugitivus referred to a slave who had escaped from their owner's control and was attempting to evade recapture. Essentially, it designated a runaway slave, someone who had unlawfully fled from their legal bondage.

• Imagine a slave named Lyra, who toiled on a large agricultural estate in the Roman province of Gaul. One moonless night, seeking an end to her arduous labor, Lyra slipped past the overseers and fled into the dense forest, hoping to reach a distant settlement where she might live undetected. Under Roman legal principles, Lyra's act of escaping from her master's property and authority would classify her as a fugitivus, making her subject to pursuit and recapture.

• Consider a household slave named Quintus, who served a wealthy merchant in the bustling city of Ostia. After learning that he was to be sold to a mining operation known for its brutal conditions, Quintus seized an opportunity during a market visit to disappear into the crowds, intending to stow away on a ship bound for another land. By unlawfully absconding from his owner's service and attempting to escape his legal status, Quintus became a fugitivus in the eyes of Roman law.

• During the transport of a group of slaves across the Italian peninsula, one individual named Brutus, who had been captured in a recent military campaign, managed to break free from his shackles and flee into the countryside. His escape occurred while he was under the legal custody of his new Roman owner, who was taking him to a new home. Brutus's act of escaping from this legal possession and attempting to regain his freedom would immediately brand him as a fugitivus, making him a target for slave catchers.