MAGISTER
MAGISTER which contains the same root as
mag-is and
mag-nus, was applied at Rome to
persons possessing various kinds of offices, and is thus explained by Festus
(s. v.
Magisterare):--“
Magisterare,
moderari. Unde
magistri non solum doctores
artium, sed etiam pagorum, societatum, vicorum, collegiorum, equitum
dicuntur; quia omnes hi magis ceteris possunt.” Paulus (
Dig. 50, tit. 16, s. 57) thus defines the word:
“Quibus praecipua cura rerum incumbit, et qui magis quam ceteri
diligentiam et sollicitudinem rebus, quibus praesunt, debent, hi
magistri appellantur.” The following is a list of the principal
magistri:--
MAGISTER ADMISSIONUM. [ADMISSIONALES.]
MAGISTER ARMORUM appears to have been the same
officer as the Magister Militum. (
Amm. Marc.
16.7,
20.9.)
MAGISTER AUCTIONIS or BONORUM.
[BONORUM EMPTIO.]
MAGISTRI AUGUSTALES or LARUM
AUGUSTORUM. [AUGUSTALES.]
MAGISTER BIBENDI. [SYMPOSIUM.]
1MAGISTER A CENSIBUS (or
praepositus a censibus) was an official who examined the
qualifications of persons who applied to be enrolled among the knights. He
is sometimes
[p. 2.110]connected with the
a libellis, who received the application in the first
instance. [
EQUITES]
MAGISTER COLLEGII was the president of a collegium
or corporation. [
COLLEGIUM]
2MAGISTER EPISTOLARUM (or AB EPISTOLIS), a private secretary, answered
letters on behalt of the emperor. (Orelli,
Inscr. 2352.)
MAGISTER EQUITUM. [DICTATOR, Vol. I. p. 633
b.]
MAGISTER FANI in coloniae and municipia was
appointed each year by the duumviri of the town (one for each temple or
shrine), to arrange the ceremonies, sacrificia, pulvinaria, &c. (Lex
Col. Genet. 100.128, Orelli, 2218.) They were equivalent to the Roman
aedituus, who was also called
magister fani. (Marquardt,
Staatsverwaltung, 3.215.)
3MAGISTER LIBELLORUM (or A LIBELLIS) was an officer or secretary who read
and answered petitions addressed to the emperors. [
LIBELLUS p. 57
a.] He
is called in an inscription “Magister Libellorum et Cognitionum
Sacrarum.” (Orelli,
l.c.)
4MAGISTER MEMORIAE, an officer whose duty it
was to receive the decision of the emperor on any subject and communicate it
to the public or the persons concerned. (
Amm. Marc.
15.5,
27.6.)
MAGISTER MILITUM, the title of the two officers to
whom Constantine entrusted the command of all the armies of the Empire. One
was placed over the cavalry, and the other over the infantry. On the
divisions of the Empire their number was increased, and each of them had
both cavalry and infantry under his command. In addition to the title of
Magistri militum, we find them called
Magistri armorum, equitum et peditum, utriusque militiae
(Zosim. 2.33, 4.27; Vales.
ad
Amm. Marc. 16.7). In the 5th century, there were
in the Eastern empire two of these officers at court and three in the
provinces; in the Western empire, two at court and one in Gaul. Under
Justinian, a new magister militum was appointed for Armenia and Pontus.
(Walter,
Geschichte des römischen Rechts, §
342, 2nd ed.)
MAGISTER NAVIS. [EXERCITORIA ACTIO.]
5MAGISTER OFFICIORUM was an officer of high
rank at the imperial court, who had the superintendence of all audiences
with the emperor, and also had extensive jurisdiction over both civil and
military officers. They originally took part of the duty of the court
cubicularius; the other part went to the
praefectus sacri cubiculi. [See also
ADMISSIO] (Cod. 1, tit. 31; 12,
tit. 16;--Cod. Theod. 1, tit. 9; 6, tit. 9;--
Amm. Marc.
15.5,
20.2,
22.3; Cassiod.
Variar. 6.6.)
MAGISTER PAGI. [PAGUS.]
MAGISTER POPULI. [DICTATOR.]
6MAGISTER A RATIONIBUS, more usually called
procurator, had the charge of the emperor's
private expenses [see
FISCUS].
7MAGISTER SCRINIORUM had the care of all the
papers and documents belonging to the emperor. (Cod. 12, tit. 9; Spartian.
Ael. Ver. 4; Lamprid.
Alex. Sev. 26.)
MAGISTER SOCIETATIS. The equites, who farmed the
taxes at Rome, were divided into companies or partnerships; and he who
presided in such a company was called Magister Societatis. (
Cic. Ver. 2.74, 182;
ad Fam. 13.9;
pro
Plancio, 13, 32.) [
SOCIETAS]
MAGISTRI VICORUM. These officials had existed under
the Republic, and we have no account of their beginning. Livy (
34.7) introduces them into a speech of the year 195
B.C. as officials of an inferior class, but allowed to have the magisterial
insignia--no doubt at the festivals which were under their charge. The
magistri vicorum were, however, entirely re-organised by Augustus in the
year B.C. 7, when he divided the city into 14 regions and 265 vici, and
assigned 4 magistri vicorum to each vicus (the number may be gathered from
inscriptions,
C. I. L. 6.445, 975), who were elected annually
by the inhabitants of the vicus (
Suet. Aug.
30). The first so appointed entered upon their office on August 1,
B.C. 7, and accordingly in several inscriptions we find mentioned magistri
anni secundi, tertii, &c.,
equivalent to the years B.C. 6, 5, &c. (
C. I. L.
6.764, 282). Those of the year B.C. 7 are “magistri qui primi Kal.
Aug. magisterium inierunt.” The total number of magistri vicorum
remained 1060 till the beginning of the 4th century, when it was reduced to
672, and 48 were assigned to each
region: the
title magistri
vicorum was, however, retained.
Their functions were partly civil, partly religious. When Augusti appointed
them, they had (with servi publici under them) especially to guard against
fires. This had been a function of the old magistri vicorum, who accordingly
were in charge of the worship of Stata Mater, the protectress against fire
(see Fest. p. 317; Preller,
Röm. Myth. 531; Mommsen,
Staatsrecht, 1.328). They had other duties, as to the
limits of which we have not very clear information, regarding the
maintenance of order within their district. The duty of watching against
fire was in A.D. 6 transferred to the newly constituted
cohortes vigilum.
As regards their religious duties (their most characteristic function), they
presided over the Compitalia in honour of the Lares Compitales [
COMPITALIA], besides the
worship of Stata Mater mentioned above, and these offices were continued to
the newly constituted magistri vicorum under Augustus, with increased
importance when the Genius Augusti was included in the same worship. They
had also to superintend the building or repairs of the Sacella of the Lares,
as churchwardens, so to speak, of their vicus: but in this they had to
obtain the approval of the praetor or of the official over the region who
was appointed by lot from the aediles, tribunes, and praetors (see
Suet. Aug. 30;
D. C.
55.8; Mommsen,
Staatsrecht, 2.516). In the exercise of
their religious office they wore the toga praetexta, and had two lictors
assigned to them. (
D. C. 1. c.;
Liv. 34.7; Marquardt,
Staats-verwaltung, 3.203.)
[
W.S] [
G.E.M]