The legate is not only the envoy of the Senate and the Pope of Rome, but also the rule of law

The word legate is a derivative of the Latin wordlegatus, which in translation means "to delegate, prescribe, appoint." 2 It has four meanings: in ancient Rome, the envoy of the senate and representative under the commander of the legion, in Roman law there is any gift stipulated in a will that is deducted from its total amount. In the Vatican, the envoy of Pope Rimsky for a certain period of time, necessary to carry out the assignment, in addition, the Legate is a Swedish surname, there are also derivatives from this word, for example, the delegation.

Legate in Ancient Rome

When we hear the word "legate", then there is an association with Ancient Rome. This word is indeed of Roman origin, which was borrowed by other peoples.

I would like to emphasize one important point - thisthe word in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire was of a different character. In principle, its value does not change. It depended on the form of the state, the characteristic features of the republic and the empire. During the time of the empire, other territories were annexed to Rome, in the overwhelming majority by military means. They were provinces, governed by the governor, he was sent to the aid of a legate. In Ancient Rome the concept had three meanings, we will consider them in more detail.

In the days of the Roman Republic

In the time of the Roman Republic, the legate is an ambassador inmodern understanding of it. This is the representative of the Senate, who could speak to other nations and states on his behalf. He must have been involved in declaring war or concluding peace and other important events.

Appointed from the deputies on presentationcommanders (the highest magistrate). It was impossible to refuse this assignment. The People's Assembly did not participate in this process. The law 64 years BC. e. It was established that the Roman legate is necessarily a senator, but he could not be the magistrate chosen by the people for a period of one year. Although there were exceptions, when the legate was not a senator.

During the Roman Empire

In the Roman Empire, the senate appointed legates asin conquered provinces, and in legions. Their functions remained practically unchanged. The governor was sent to the provinces not always one legate, sometimes three, in exceptional cases, their number could reach 25. They did not have any insignia (insignia), but they had lictors (servants, assistants), the number of which was regulated.

The Senate sent them to legions or to the governor withcertain tasks, during its implementation it was necessary to provide a report on the work done, notes of the legate. Under the military legions, they played the role of advisers and joined the council of commanders, if necessary, they could temporarily perform their functions.

In Roman law

In the law of ancient Rome there was such a thing,as legate, which subsequently entered into the laws of all civilized countries, it concerned inheritance and people (legatees) who had a passive testamentary capacity, that is, they were not direct heirs, but distant relatives, friends, people who had some merit before the testator and so on.

The legatee received his part, a valuable thing afterpayment of all debts of the testator and their deductions from the inheritance. Only after this the remaining share of the inheritance was received directly by the heirs. From this it follows that the legate is a special instruction about transferring to the legateer the thing specified in the will, hereditary obligations. He should not have prevented the inheritance of the testament.

In the Vatican

There is such a thing as papal legacy. This is a messenger of the Vatican, personally pope in any country with specific instructions. Its term of office may be limited by the time during which it is necessary to fulfill this mandate. He is sent to the monarch, to the government, to the parliament of the country, just to the society of believers as an organizer or participant in a church celebration, events. Appointed directly by the Pope. This tradition dates back to the 6th century. The legate does not solve diplomatic issues, unlike the nuncio (ambassador), is sent only for the performance of a specific task.

Last name Legat

There are people who carry the surname Legate. In our country it is a dynasty of ballet dancers and choreographers, whose foundation was laid by the pupil M. Petipa Gustav Legat (1837-1895), a Swede by nationality.

In Belarus there is a village called Legata. It is located in the Brest region and is part of the Kobrin district. There is reason to believe that people from these places can also wear this name.