Judicial Protection of the Lower Classes

The society of the late Empire was a non-egalitarian and rigidly stratified society where the mass of the common people (humiliores) were exposed to the arbitrar­iness of an all-powerful and deeply corrupt administrative apparatus that favoured the upper classes.

As the institution of the defensor civitatis proved short-lived, oppressed people increasingly sought protection from the Christian bishops whose influence in the administration of secular justice tended to intensify. From the perspective of the civilian population, the operation of the administration became increasingly oppres­sive and Christianity assuaged this situation. The faith embodied an egalitarian ideology that viewed all humans as equal before God and it exercised a mitigating influence in several fields on the conditions of the oppressed classes and groups. For example, bishops could frequently defend refugees who pursued sanctuary in churches, or intervene in favour of the accused or the convicted in criminal trials. Moreover, these bishops as religious heads of their towns were more effective than the defensores in protecting impoverished citizens against the unfair demands of imperial officials. One may declare in conclusion that during a period featuring the most lawlessness thus far in Roman history, the influence of the Church constituted an important element of civil stability and protective justice.