Arrae in Visigothic and Bavarian Law. Continuity and Malapropism of an Ancient Practice

Abstract

The hellenistic practice of giving an arrabon as surety in cases of sale on credit has been integrated into Roman law. According to the prevailing view, the law of arra underwent a radical change in the leges Barbarorum. Visigothic and Bavarian sources show affinity as well as partial discrepancy among each other. The evidence allows us to reconstruct an original text that conforms to the ancient tradition. What has been qualified as legal „change“, is a problem of manuscript transmission.