Hull Classical Association

04/10/2026

A reminder that the next Hull Classical Association talk will be this Friday, 9th October 2026 at 7pm. We will meet at our usual venue, Oasis Hub, 310 Newland Avenue, Hull, HU5 2NB.

We will be welcoming Dr. Liz McKnight, Honorary Research Fellow at UCL, to provide an introduction to Roman Law in the Age of Cicero (1st century BCE).

As always, Hull Classical Association talks are free. Donations are gratefully accepted, but not expected. Tickets can be reserved here:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1999230787102?aff=oddtdtcreator

We look forward to seeing you there!

02/10/2026

Roman Law, Latin and English Law

By Cicero’s time – the first century BC and the dying days of the Roman Republic - Rome had a highly sophisticated legal system. Distinctions had been made, for example, between the obligations of contract and those of tort. Between the ownership of property and mere possession. Standard contract terms for various kinds of commercial activity had been developed and were regulated over the succeeding centuries for the promotion of trade across the Empire.

Some Roman jurists recorded detailed Codes (or summaries) of the laws in place in their day. After the Empire’s collapse, amid the chaos of the Dark Ages, those codes were lost.

They were re-discovered in the 11th century AD. While many emerging European nations, including Scotland, adopted them, England did not. English kings preferred to administer the local laws which became known as the “English common law.”

Nevertheless, those codes always exercised influence over English jurisprudence and some of their language became part of English legal terminology. The very words “justice”, “judge” and “judgement” all come from the Latin word “ius” meaning law. The word “injury” comes from the Latin “iniuria” which means “against the law.” The word “crime” comes from the Latin, “crimen” which means a charge or allegation. More than this, Roman law left us a host of expressions of legal principles which, until fairly recently, had been much used in the practice of English law.

Examples are:
actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea - an act does not make a person guilty unless the mind is also guilty. This is considered a cardinal doctrine of English criminal law.

res ipsa loquitur - the matter speaks for itself. This is a rule of evidence in injury claims where the circumstances of the accident point to the likelihood it was one party’s fault. For example, driving into the back of a car.

de minimis non curat lex – the law does not care for trivial matters. Petty complaints about another person should not be brought to court.

For centuries, these sorts of expressions have been a basis for complaints of
obscurantism practised by pompous (and probably classically educated) lawyers. However in 1999, to make the law more accessible, court reforms (promoted by the Plain English Campaign) swept away the use of legal Latin. Expressions like affidavit, ex parte, ad litem, sine die, prima facie were all consigned to the obscurity they (perhaps) deserved?

22/09/2026

A reminder that our reading group will be meeting this Thursday, 24th September, at 6:30pm at the Brynmor Jones Library, University of Hull. We will be reading excerpts from Cicero’s “Pro Roscio Amerino” in preparation for Dr. Liz McKnight’s upcoming talk, which will offer an introduction to Roman Law.

All are welcome at the reading group. The passages will be read in English, and no experience of reading this type of material is necessary!

Image shows an etching of a marble bust of Cicero.

03/09/2026

Come one, come all to the first Hull Classical Association event of the new school year!

Join us at 7pm on 9th October 2026 for a talk from Dr. Liz McKnight, Honorary Research Fellow at UCL, on the topic of Roman Law in the Age of Cicero.

Dr. McKnight's talk will provide an introduction to the basic structure of Roman law-making and the court system via two case studies: a homicide case based on Cicero's "Pro Roscio Amerino" and a civil law case that raise interesting issues of culpability/liability.

Cicero, whose name (or, in Latin, his cognomen or "nickname") means "chickpea", was known in Antiquity for his sharp tongue and quick wit. One of the most prolific writers during the Golden Age of Roman literature (from the end of the first century BCE to the beginning of the first century CE), Cicero wrote down many of his legal speeches in which he vehemently defended his clients and lambasted his opponents in his characteristically caustic style.

From these works, it is possible to tease out important elements of Roman law, which forms the foundation of numerous, western legal systems.

As always, tickets to this event are free with donations to support the association gratefully accepted.

Free tickets can be claimed here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1999230787102?aff=oddtdtcreator

Any questions may be directed to [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you there!

29/08/2026

In the fifth century BCE, around sixty years after the beginning of the Roman Republic, the Twelve Tables - a set of rules which consolidated earlier, ancient customs into published law - were made publicly available.

Not much is known about how these laws were first published, but Livy claims that they were engraved onto bronze tablets and displayed in the forum at Rome.

None of the original laws survive, but many of the ideas behind them, including quotations or paraphrases, are preserved in the works of later Roman writers and jurists. The works of Cicero, in particular, are rich in references to these earliest Roman laws.

The laws cover issues from family relationships, property, inheritance, debt, crime, and court procedures. Many of these laws were strict and reflected the values of ancient Roman society, and included rules about debts and punishments for crimes.

Others were concerned with property, and laid down rules which were intended to mitigate disputes between neighbours. One law (recorded by Pliny the Elder) permits a person to gather fruit or produce growing from a neighbour's tree onto their land:

"Glande opes nunc quoque multarum gentium etiam pace gaudentium constant . . . cautum est praeterea Lege XII Tabularum ut glandem in alienum fundum procidentem liceret colligere." (Pliny, N.H., XVI, 15)

"Fruit is the substance of which the wealth of many tribes even now consists, although they enjoy the blessings of peace . . . moreover a provision of the Law of the Twelve Tables was made that a man might gather up fruit that was falling down on to another man’s farm." (Trans. E. H. Warmington, LCL 329).

18/08/2026

How rampant were cheating and fraud in the Roman world?

This is a difficult question to answer, not least due to the understandably covert nature of much of this type of behaviour. However, with a system of weights and measures which was hyper-local in its specificity, it was possible to take a little bit more than you are entitled to, from time to time, without anybody noticing.

And this is, apparently, what was happening when a 1st century CE vessel (known as a "modius") was used at the fringes of the Roman empire, at what is now the village of Greenhead, Northumbia, to measure out grain for the soldiers stationed there.

The modius, which came to be known as the "modius Claytonenesis", bears a Latin inscription indicating that it was produced during the reign of the Emperor Domitian (81-96 CE) and that it had a capacity of 17.5 sextarii, a Roman unit of measurement used for dry weights.

The actual capacity of this vessel, however, is significantly higher than the inscription on its exterior declares. The modius Claytonenesis in fact has a capacity of 20.8 sextarii - a discrepancy for which one possible explanation is that soldiers stationed at the fort were deceiving merchants into depositing more grain into the vessel than they realised, and more than the garrison were paying for as a result.

Quite how common this behaviour was is difficult to discern, since we are largely indebted to fate for the survival of any and all ancient archaeological artefacts. However, though unusual, the misleadingly-labelled modius from Northumbria points to a practice of deceit that was undoubtedly widespread across the vast expanse of the Roman empire.

Image credit: Haverfield. "Modius Claytonensis: The Roman Bronze Measure from Carvoran." Archaeologia Aeliana 13, (1916): 85-102.
Image depicts: modius Claytonensis.

15/08/2026

History lovers won't want to miss this fascinating journey into Hull’s past. Local historian and YouTuber Jamie Topliss-Yates (Hull History Nerd) explores the story of Hull’s town walls, from their status as some of Europe’s earliest brick defences to their destruction as the city entered the Industrial Revolution. Enjoy an informative talk followed by audience questions.

📅 Saturday 5 September, 1pm–2pm.

🎟️ Tickets £5. Booking essential.
Book your ticket at https://www.hullmuseums.co.uk/museum-events/hulls-town-walls-hull-history-hour-talk

19/07/2026

09/07/2026

Whilst many eagerly await the release of Christopher Nolan's "Odyssey" later this month, some historians have questioned the historical accuracy of some of the costumes and movie set.

The Odyssey was first composed during the 8th or 7th century BCE, by "Homer" (precisely who "Homer" was, we don't really know). The story follows the return home of the King of Ithaca, Odysseus, after the Greek victory at Troy in the 13th or early 12th century BCE - the Mycenaean Bronze Age.

The costumes of the 2026 movie have been criticised for being anachronistic - that is, they are not accurate for the time period in which the Odyssey was supposed to take place. Particular issue has been taken with the armour, some of which is made from iron, which was not used during the Bronze Age.

The style of the armour is also historically inaccurate, with warriors depicted in later forms that are more typical of the Archaic period. However, it has been noted that the stories contained within the Odyssey have been retold and anachronised since the earliest days of ancient history, with characters depicted on pottery in the armour of the later Archaic and Classical Greek styles by artists during those periods.

So, are Christopher Nolan's stylistic choices any different? Do the themes of the Odyssey matter more than these kinds of details?

Image depicts the oldest-known manuscript fragment of the Odyssey, produced in Ptolemaic Egypt during the 3rd century BC. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

26/06/2026

🪏 Hear about the past, from the team that dug it up 🪏

Humber Field Archaeology's Peter Connelly lifts the curtain on Medieval Hull, and this towns earliest origins.

Talks are FREE entry, and begin at 12:00 in the Minster chancel.

https://hm.churchsuite.com/events/kp5p790z