potestatis

Potestas, in Latin, means power, authority, or ability. The word appears in the genitive form potestatis. It is used across different Latin texts to denote various kinds of authority, from private to public, and often in phrases that specify source or scope, such as patria potestas (paternal power) or potestas magistratus (the authority of a magistrate).

In Roman law and political theory, potestas signified legal authority over persons and property within a defined jurisdiction. It could refer to the private power of the pater familias over his household or to the public authority exercised by magistrates within the bounds of their office. In scholarly distinction, potestas is often contrasted with imperium (military or supreme executive command) and with auctoritas (moral or persuasive influence), highlighting different dimensions of power rather than a single, uniform category.

In ecclesiastical and medieval contexts, potestas appears in discussions of church authority, such as potestas episcopalis (episcopal power) or potestas ecclesiastica, indicating formal capacity to govern, adjudicate, or administer sacraments within canonical structures. The term thus functions as a broad label for various legally recognized authorities, whether secular or spiritual.

Today, potestas is primarily of historical and philological interest. It remains a key term in translations and analyses of ancient legal texts, illustrating how Latin vocabularies categorized forms of authority. The concept continues to inform discussions of how power and legitimacy were structured in classical and medieval thought, even as contemporary law uses different terms and frameworks.