2. The rise of informal solutio

All this changed in the course of the Republic, and by the time of the 3rd century^[3872] the performance as such (i.e. an informal solutio) was generally regarded as sufficient for the termination of the obligation.

Legal thinking had emancipated itself from the fetters of formalism, magic and religion, and one had come to realize that there was no point in preserving an obligation which had in actual fact been fulfilled. After all, the creditor had received what was due to him and it would have been entirely improper of him to invoke the debtor's liability. More particularly, the recognition of the informal, consensual transactions gave considerable impetus to this development; they had, of course, never required a formal solutio in order to be discharged, and thus provided a model that could be conveniently adopted for other legal acts too.⁶² In the end, therefore, nearly all that survived of the old regime was the word "solutio", but it was used in the sense ot "to perform", "to fulfil" or "to satisfy" (an obligation). At least in one respect, however,⁶³ the archaic origins lived on even in classical substantive law: for if it was accepted that any third party could make performance on behalf of the debtor (and thus discharge his obligation),⁶⁴ then the historical reason for this rule lies in the fact that the person liable was literally obligated, in the sense of being put into fetters, and had to rely, in any event, on the intervention of a friend or family member for his liberation.⁶⁵

3.

More on the topic 2. The rise of informal solutio:

1. Informal release
2. Formal release by way of solutio per aes et libram and acceptilatio
3. Formal and Informal Contracts
4. Solutio Indebiti
5. 2. THE INFORMAL CONTRACTS
6. Undue payment (solutio indebiti)
7. The first group of informal contracts were those consensu, four of them.
8. I. SOLUTIO
9. 1. Solutio per aes et libram and acceptilatio as actus contrarii
10. The tension between ‘informal’ exchange networks and ‘over-regulation’ of access to seeds: raising a social sharing disruption
11. Permutatio and the rise of actiones praescriptis verbis
12. The rise of the actio iniuriarum
13. The rise of American pluralism
14. The Rise of Magisterial Law
15. Custom and the Rise of ‘Vulgar Law'
16. The rise of the state: 1300 to 1648
17. The Law of the Twelve Tables and the Rise of Legislation