Legal Definitions - verna

The term verna is a historical legal designation for an enslaved person who was born within the household or on the property directly owned by their enslaver. This distinguished them from enslaved individuals who might have been acquired through purchase, capture, or inheritance from outside the immediate household.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Example 1: In ancient Rome, a wealthy senator named Lucius owned a sprawling villa with many enslaved people. When one of his enslaved women, named Lyra, gave birth to a child within the villa's confines, that child was legally considered a verna.

  Explanation 1: The child was born directly into Lucius's household and onto his property, making them a verna according to the historical definition.

• Example 2: On a large sugar plantation in the Caribbean during the 18th century, an enslaved woman named Clara gave birth to her daughter, Eliza, in the slave quarters located on the plantation owner's land.

  Explanation 2: Eliza was born on the enslaver's property and into their direct control, fitting the historical meaning of a verna.

• Example 3: A prosperous merchant in ancient Greece maintained a staff of enslaved individuals who lived and worked within his urban residence. When one of the enslaved women became pregnant and delivered her baby within the merchant's home, that infant was classified as a verna.

  Explanation 3: The birth occurring within the enslaver's direct living space meant the child was a verna, having been born into servitude within that specific household.