ADULTERIUM

adulterium  (ad-<<schwa>>l-teer-ee-<<schwa>>m),  n.[Latin]  Roman  &  civil  law.  1.  The

crime of adultery. 2. A punishment imposed for the offense of adultery.

“Adulterium….  [A]dultery  …  was  considered  a  criminal  offense  only  when  committed  by  a

married woman (adultera) …. [Before the Lex Julia de adulteriis coercendis of 18 B.C.], customary

law admitted only immediate revenge of the husband …. Under the Julian statute, the father of the

adulterous woman was permitted to kill her and her partner (adulter) if he surprised them in his or

her  husband’s  house.  The  husband’s rights were rather limited; he  was forced to  divorce  her,  for

otherwise he made himself guilty of matchmaking [pandering] …. Besides, he or his father had to

accuse  the  adulteress  of  adulterium  which  now  became  a  public  crime  prosecuted  before  a

criminal court.” Adolf Berger, Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law 352 (1953). [Blacks Law 8th]