Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

URNA. USUCAPIO. 1217
and from the thirteenth century, most commonly Plin. Ejist. x. 3; Juv. xiii. 4): also to receive the
Studium; and if it was a distinguished school, it ashes of the dead. [FuNus, p. 560, a.] For this
was called Studium Generale. The first occasion purpose urns were made of marble, porphyry,
on which the term Universitas was applied to a baked clay, bronze, or glass, of all forms and sizes,
great school is said to be in a Decretal of Innocent some quite simple, and others sculptured in bas-.II., of the beginning of the thirteenth century, relief, or ornamented in an endless variety of
addressed Scholaribus Parisiensibus. ways. [J. y.]
(Savigny, System des Heutigen RMsm. Reclts, i. URPEX. [IRPE x.]
378, ii. 235, iii. 8; Savigny, Geschiclte des Rome. USTRI/NA, USTRI'NUM. [FUNUs, p.
Rechts ims Mittelalter, vol. iii. 318, 380; Puchta, 559, b.]
Inst. ii. ~ 222.) [G. L.] USUCA'PIO. The history of Usucapio is an
VOCA'TIO IN JUS. [ACTIO, p. 10. b.] important fact in the history of Roman JurisVOLO'NES is synonymous with Volsntarii prudence. Usucapio is the acquisition of Quiri(from vole), and might hence be applied to all tarian ownership by continuous possession; consethose who volunteered to serve in the Roman quently, it is not possible in the case of a Perearmies without there being any obligation to do so. grinus nor is it applicable to provincial land.
But it was applied more especially to slaves, when Gaius (ii. 40-42) states that there was origiin times of need they offered or were allowed to nally in Rome only one kind of ownership: a perfight in the Roman armies. Thus when during son was either owner of a thing Ex jure Quiritium,
the second Punic war after the battle of Cannae or he was not owner at all. But afterwards ownerthere was not a sufficient number of freemen to ship was divided, so that one man might be owner
complete the army, about 8000 young and able- Ex jure Quiritium, and another might have the
bodied slaves offered to serve. Their proposal was same thing In bonis, that is, have the right to the
accepted; they received armour at the public ex- exclusive enjoyment of it. He then. goes on to
pense, and as they distinguished themselves they give an instance of the mode in which the divided
were honoured with the franchise. (Liv. xxii. 57, ownership might arise by reference to the transfer
xxiii. 35; Macrob. Sat. iL 11; Fest. s. v. Volones.) of a Res Mancipi: if such a thing was transferred
In after times the name volones was retained when- by bare tradition, and there was neither Mancipatio
ever slaves, chose or were allowed to take up arms nor In jure cessio, the new owner only acquired the
in defence of their masters, which they were the natural ownership, as some would call it, or only
more willing to do, as they were generally re- had it In bonis, and the origisna owner retained the
warded with the fianchise. (Liv. xxiv. 11, 14, Quiritarian ownership until the purchaser acquired
&c., xxvii. 38, xxviii. 46; J. Capitolin. 1M. Anto. the Quiritarian ownership by Usucapio (possidendo
einz. Philos. 21.) [L. S.] usucalpiat)'; for when the Usucapio wascompleted,
VOLU'MEN. [LIBER.] the effect was the same as if the thing had been
VOLUNTA'RII. [VOLONES.] originally mancipated or transferred by the In
VOMITO'RIA. [AMPHITHEATRUM, p. 84.] jure cessio. Gaius adds, " in; the case of moveable
URAGUS. [EXERCITUS, p. 506, a.] things the Usucapio is completed in a year, but in
URIBA'NAE COHORTES. [EXERCITus, p. the case of a fundus or- aedes two years are re510, a.] quired; and so it is, provided by the Twelve
U'RCEUS, a pitcher, or water-pot, generally Tables."
made of earthenware. (Dig. 33. tit. 7. s. 18; Her. In this passage he i;tdVidently speaking of Res
As. Poet. 22.) It was used by the priests at Mancipi only, and of thein only when transferred
Rome in the sacrifices, and thus appears with other to the purchaser by the owner without the forms
sacrificial emblems on the coins of some of the of Mancipatio or in Jure Cessio. From this then
Roman gentes. The annexed coin of the Pompeia it might be safely concluded that the Twelve
gens has on the obverse a lituus before the head Tables provided a remedy for defective modes of
of Pompeius, the triumvir, and an urceus be- conveyance of' Res Mancipi from the owner; and
hind it. this is all that could be concluded from this passage. But a passage which immediately follows
shows that this ias all that the Twelve Tables
did; for Gaius (ii. 43) proceeds to say, " But
AS?......... //1 )/rX (Ceterum) there may be Usucapio even in the case
of those things- which have come to us by.tradition
I?~'C t\/22t \t:~ _ from a person who was not the owner, whether
NAs -lf Dthey are Res Mancipi or not, provided we have
N 0' L von received them bona fide, believing that he who delivered (qui tradiderit) them -to us was the owner.
And this rule of law seems to have been established,
URNA, an urn, a Roman measure of capacity in order that the ownership of things might not
for fluids, equal to' half an AMPHORA. (H-or. Sat. be long in: uncertainty, seeing that one or two
i. 1. 54.) This use of the term was probably years would be qiuite sufficient for' the owner to
founded upon its more general application to de- look- after his' property, that being the time alnote a vessel for holding water, or any other sub- lowed to the Possessor for Usucapio."
stance, either fluid or solid. (Plaut. Pseud. i. 2. The reason for' limniting the owner to one or two
24; Hor. Sat. i. 5. 91, ii. 6. 10; Ovid. Met. iii. years has little force in it alnd possibly no his172.) torical truth; but it is clear from this passage that
An urn was used to receive the names of the this application of the rule of Usucapio was formed
judges (judices) in order that the praetor might from analogy to the rule of the Twelve Tables,
draw out of it a sufficient number to determine and that it was not contained in them. The
causes (Hor. Carm. iii. 1. 16; Virg. Aen. vi. 432; limitation of the time of Usucapio is clearly due to
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