merum imperium

Latin

Alternative forms

• imperium merum

Etymology

Literally “pure power” or “pure authority”.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈme.rum imˈpe.ri.um/, [ˈmɛrʊ̃ˑ ɪmˈpɛriʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈme.rum imˈpe.ri.um/, [ˈmɛːrum imˈpɛːrium]

Noun

merum imperium n (genitive merī imperiī or merī imperī); second declension (law)

1. (Ancient Rome) The coercive, executive authority of a judge, which cannot be delegated; the right to execute criminal punishments.
2. (Medieval Latin) Public authority in general; the jurisdiction held and delegated by a sovereign, especially the authority over life and death; sovereignty.
   • 13th century, Odofredus, Elucidatio in novem posteriores libros Infortiati; republished as Matura, diligentissimeque repetita interpretatio […], 1550, folio 38^v, paragraph 9:

     Dico merum imperium competere soli principi per excellentiam, tamen alii possunt exercere merum imperium ut presides provinciarum, multo fortius maiores iudices […]

     I say merum imperium preeminently belongs to the prince alone, but others can exercise merum imperium, such as provincial governors and much higher judges […]

Usage notes

Merum imperium acquired a much more general significance in the Middle Ages than its technical meaning in ancient Roman law, but the latter was recovered by humanist jurists in the Renaissance. In New Latin, the term is thus ambiguous.

Related terms

• mixtum imperium

References

• “imperium merum,” in Berger, Adolf (1953) Encyclopedic Dictionary of Roman Law, The American Philosophical Society, page 494
• Gilmore, Myron Piper (1967) Argument from Roman Law in Political Thought, 1200–1600‎^[1], reissued edition, Russell & Russell
• Lee, Daniel (2016) Popular Sovereignty in Early Modern Constitutional Thought, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 79–86