Sortes

Sortes is a Latin noun meaning "lots" or "fates" and denotes a group of practices in which outcomes are determined by random selection or by interpreting signs believed to reveal divine will. In ancient Rome, drawing lots—sortition—was used to allocate offices, decide juries, or settle disputes, reflecting the belief that the result reflected providence rather than human choice.

Beyond administrative uses, sortes also referred to divinatory methods that sought guidance from texts, inscriptions, or objects. In bibliomantic forms, a reader would obtain answers by selecting a random passage, line, or verse and interpreting it as a sign. This tradition persisted into Late Antiquity and the medieval period in various forms.

One well-known example is Sortes Homericae, a form of bibliomancy in which passages from Homer were consulted as oracles. There were also traditions of Sortes Sanctorum (saints' sortes) that used scriptures or saintly authorities to yield guidance. The general term bibliomancy encompasses these practices, where sacred or literary texts provide responses.

In modern scholarship, sortes is discussed as part of the broader concept of sortition—the selection of political offices by lot—contrasting its ritual divinatory uses with its administrative function. The concept illustrates how randomness and textual signs were historically employed to adjudicate uncertain questions, legitimize decisions, or seek insight into future events.