Abstract
The correspondence of Firmus, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia (ca. 430–9), is made of
46 short letters which were edited for the last time, and translated into French, by Marie-Ange
Calvet-Sébasti and Pierre-Louis Gatier (Sources chrétiennes 350, Paris 1989). Three of them
refer to slaves and slavery. This article argues that the runaway οἰκέται mentioned in a letter
to a certain Inachios were slaves, not coloni (as argued by the editors), and that they belong to
the Basilias (the famous charitable institution founded by Basil of Caesarea in the 370s), not to
private landowners. As these slaves are said to have left behind them unpaid taxes, they must have been a working force, but it cannot be determined whether they were employed in agriculture
or in artisan production. A second letter about runaway slaves is addressed to a bishop called
Leontios (bishopric unknown), but these were certainly not the slaves referred to in the letter to
Inachios. In the third letter, Firmus asks a bishop called Helladios (of Tarsus?) to excommunicate
a nun who violated her vows and then, together with a partner in crime, deprived an unnamed
woman from her property and slaves. This is a neglected piece of evidence for two crimes, inuasio
bonorum and plagium. Helladios is asked to excommunicate the former nun in perpetuity, or at
least until property and slaves are restored to their owner. A parallel for this request is provided
by the 11th canon of the first council of Toledo (400 ce).
46 short letters which were edited for the last time, and translated into French, by Marie-Ange
Calvet-Sébasti and Pierre-Louis Gatier (Sources chrétiennes 350, Paris 1989). Three of them
refer to slaves and slavery. This article argues that the runaway οἰκέται mentioned in a letter
to a certain Inachios were slaves, not coloni (as argued by the editors), and that they belong to
the Basilias (the famous charitable institution founded by Basil of Caesarea in the 370s), not to
private landowners. As these slaves are said to have left behind them unpaid taxes, they must have been a working force, but it cannot be determined whether they were employed in agriculture
or in artisan production. A second letter about runaway slaves is addressed to a bishop called
Leontios (bishopric unknown), but these were certainly not the slaves referred to in the letter to
Inachios. In the third letter, Firmus asks a bishop called Helladios (of Tarsus?) to excommunicate
a nun who violated her vows and then, together with a partner in crime, deprived an unnamed
woman from her property and slaves. This is a neglected piece of evidence for two crimes, inuasio
bonorum and plagium. Helladios is asked to excommunicate the former nun in perpetuity, or at
least until property and slaves are restored to their owner. A parallel for this request is provided
by the 11th canon of the first council of Toledo (400 ce).
| Original language | French |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Mélanges Denis Feissel |
| Editors | Julien Aliquot, Sylvain Destephen, Avshalom Laniado, Catherine Saliou |
| Place of Publication | Paris |
| Pages | 345-374 |
| Number of pages | 30 |
| State | Published - 2024 |
Publication series
| Name | Travaux et mémoires - Centre de recherche d'histoire et civilisation de Byzance |
|---|---|
| Volume | 28 |