ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the changing boundaries between punishment and abuse in the late Roman household, or, to put it in terms perhaps more contemporary, between the punisher's self-control and cruelty. It examines the legal remedies available under both classical and late Roman law for those suffering violence in the household, and by subsequently contrasting these with another set of norms: Christian assumptions about the legitimacy of such violence. The chapter argues that late Roman views on family violence, both in law and in Christian debate, do not reflect cultural changes due to the influence of Christian theology. Violence in the household was traditionally not a public crime under Roman law, except if it involved killing. Originally, victims of iniuria were only able to start a civil lawsuit for financial compensation, but by late antiquity criminal procedure was allowed and hence a publicly imposed penalty seems to have been common in iniuria cases.
