Legal Definitions - naulum

Naulum is a term originating from Roman law that refers to the payment made to a shipowner for the service of transporting people or goods by sea from one location to another. It encompasses both the fare paid by passengers and the freight charges for cargo.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of naulum:

• Imagine a Roman merchant in the port of Ostia who needs to send a large quantity of olive oil to a buyer in Hispania. He contracts with a shipowner to carry the amphorae of oil across the Mediterranean Sea. The agreed-upon fee the merchant pays for this shipping service is the naulum.

  This example illustrates naulum as the freight charge for transporting goods (olive oil) by sea.

• Consider a family living in Athens who decides to relocate to Syracuse in Sicily. They arrange passage on a trading vessel that regularly sails between the two cities. The sum of money they pay to the ship's captain for their journey and the transport of their personal belongings is the naulum.

  Here, naulum represents the fare paid for transporting people (the family) and their possessions by sea.

• Suppose a Roman provincial governor requires a significant amount of timber from forests in Gaul to construct a new public bathhouse in Britannia. He commissions a shipowner to transport the heavy logs across the English Channel. The payment made to the shipowner for delivering these building materials is the naulum.

  This demonstrates naulum as the fee for transporting specific cargo (timber) for a public project across a body of water.