Abstract
One of characteristic features of ancient law was a particular form of restriction on contractual autonomy in the form of provisions on the non-pledgeability of items indispensable for the social or economic life of citizens. This paper outlines the evolution of the closely related provisions in the Code of Hammurabi, the Decalogue, the Code of Gortyn, and Roman Imperial Constitutions, and considers the underlying motives for their enactment. A particular question is whether the relevant norms on non-pledgeability of the Roman Imperial period were motivated by a Christian tendency to favour the debtor (favor debitoris).