Abstract

«Famuli», that is domestic servants, represent a category of interest for common law given their ties with the domus and the family and, therefore, paternal power. However, they have little in common with the Aristotelian view of servants being «tools», more inherent to slaves. The domestic servant in fact, is characterised by features that provide it a degree of independence, for example the payment of a wage. The «famuli scholarium», however, constitute a separate subcategory, both in literature and legal theory. They take on specific roles and enjoy certain privileges guaranteed by the status of their masters, but they are also exposed to more precarious life conditions that often characterise the «ordo studentium». The starting point for the research was legal texts such as «Tractatus de servis vel famulis» by Ippolito Bonacossa, but in order to investigate the nature and understand the role of the «famuli scholarium», it is indispensable to pose questions on certain anthropological features of the daily lives of students and the reasons for their specific needs. Indeed, it is in the servants’ daily work with students that their role stands out.