“Capitis deminutio is the destruction of the ‘caput’ or legal personality. Capitis deminutio, so to speak, wipes out the former individual and puts a new one in his place, and between the old and the new individual there is, legally speaking, nothing in common. A juristic personality may be thus destroyed in one of three ways: (1) by loss of the status libertatis. This is the capitis deminutio maxima; (2) by loss of the status civitatis. This is the capitis deminutio media (magna); (3) by severance from the agnatic family. This entails capitis deminutio minima.” Rudolph Sohm, The Institutes: A Textbook of the History and System of Roman Private Law 178–79 (James Crawford Ledlie trans., 3d ed. 1907).
capitis deminutio maxima (kap-i-tis dem-i-n[y]oo-shee-oh mak-si-m[schwa]). [Latin “maximum reduction of status”] Roman law. The diminution of a person’s legal status as a result of being reduced to slavery.
capitis deminutio minima (kap-i-tis dem-i-n[y]oo-shee-oh min-i-m[schwa]). [Latin “minimal reduction of status”] Roman law. The diminution of a person’s legal status involving a change of family, while both citizenship and freedom were retained.
capitis deminutio minor (kap-i-tis dem-i-n[y]oo-shee-oh mI-n[schwa]r). [Latin “minor reduction of status”] Roman law. The diminution of a person’s legal status involving a loss of citizenship but not of freedom. • Under the Empire, banishment for life to an island or other restricted area had this effect.
— Also termed capitis deminutio media.
