Terminology used to denote real property in the sources of classical Roman law

Abstract

This paper has discussed a variety of terms used in classical Roman law to denote land,
namely: praedium, fundus, locus, possessio, villa, ager, solum. Apart from those, terminology
used for land in the classical law period comprised: res quae solo continentur/tenentur (things
related to land), res solo cohaerentes (things attached to land) or simply res soli (real property),
while the term res immobiles, meaning real property, appeared in the sources of Roman law
as late as in the post-classical period.
The analysis of the selected sources of Roman law indicates that the scope of those terms
was wider or narrower, which means that they sometimes coincided or overlapped, and as
a result they were sometimes used interchangeably. The terminology in this respect fluctuated,
and the scope of individual terms was being determined by Roman jurists when resolving
individual cases. The preserved sources of Roman law indicate that although attempts were
made to define individual terms used in respect of land, Roman lawyers did not fully develop
a complete division of land into individual categories.