nounthird declension
lēx rēgia
lēx rēgia f (genitive lēgis rēgiae)
Classical[ˈɫeːks ˈreː.ɡi.a]Ecclesiastical[ˈlɛks ˈrɛː.d͡ʒi.a]
Meaning
- Ancient Romeplural normallyOne of a group of ancient laws attributed to the Roman kings.
In primis foedera ac leges—erant autem eae duodecim tabulae et quaedam regiae leges—conquiri, quae comparerent, iusserunt.
They first of all decreed that treaties and laws be collected—namely the twelve tables and certain royal laws—as far as they could be discovered.27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 6.1.10 - Late LatinMedieval LatinThe irrevocable transfer of supreme power from the Roman people to the emperor, the basis of secular monarchy.
Prout est in principe diffinitur sic: merum imperium est absoluta potestas imperatori concessa per legem regiam.
Just as, in the prince, it is defined thus: merum imperium is the absolute power conceded to the emperor through the lex regia.1327 – 1400, Baldus de Ubaldis, Commentaria in Digesta ad 2.1.3
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | lēx rēgia | lēgēs rēgiae |
| genitive | lēgis rēgiae | lēgum rēgiārum |
| dative | lēgī rēgiae | lēgibus rēgiīs |
| accusative | lēgem rēgiam | lēgēs rēgiās |
| ablative | lēge rēgiā | lēgibus rēgiīs |
| vocative | lēx rēgia | lēgēs rēgiae |
Origins
Literally, “(the) royal law”. The process by which the term came to refer to the definitive transfer of authority from the Roman people to the emperor is obscure and controversial: although Ulpian (c. 220 CE) uses the term in describing the emergence of the principate, it is unclear whether he intended it specifically or in the generic sense of a royal law; it has also been argued that its appearance in Ulpian is a later Byzantine interpolation. The particular sense was established by the time of the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian (529–34).