Nexum
Nexum is the ancient Roman term for a debt-bondage contract, one of the earliest forms of binding obligation in Roman law. The word comes from Latin nexus, meaning a binding or tie. In the traditional account, a debtor and creditor would enter into a pledge whereby the debtor’s person and, in some cases, his property, served as security for a loan.
A key feature of early nexum was the ritual binding of the debt through a formal gesture
The practice was restricted and eventually prohibited for free citizens by the Lex Poetelia Papiria, enacted
Scholars view nexum as an early stage in the evolution of Roman contractual obligations, illustrating how personal