CENTUMVĬRI

were judices, who resembled other judices in this respect, that they decided cases under the authority of a magi stratus; but they differed from other judices in being a definite body or collegium. This collegium seems to have been divided into four parts, each of which sometimes sat by itself. The origin of the court is unknown. According to an ancient writer, three were chosen out of each tribe, and consequently the whole number out of the 35 tribes would be 105, who, in round numbers, were called the hundred men. If the centumviri were chosen from the tribes, this seems a strong presumption in favour of the high antiquity of the court. It was the practice to set up a spear in the place where the centumviri were sitting, and accordingly the word hasta , or hasta centum viral is , is sometimes used as equivalent to the words judicium centumvir ale . The praetor presided in this court. The jurisdiction of the centumviri was chiefly confined to civil matters, but it appears that crimina sometimes came under their cognizance. The younger Pliny, who practised in this court, makes frequent allusions to it in his letters.