In ancient Rome slaves could gain freedom in a variety of ways and some manumission methods conferred the freed slave a higher status than others. A man who was legally freed was known as “libertinus” and a woman as “libertina”. Ex-slaves who were legally freed were eligible for Roman citizenship, but this was not the end of the bod between the former slave and his former master. The ex-slave became a client of his former master, now his patron. This relationship was different from the patron’s relationship with other clients. Another term was used for a slave who was bond in this way to his former master, i.e. libertus. Thus, the term libertinus indicated the legal status of the slave, while the word libertus described his social status.
Liberti were considered member of the former master’s familia and were expected to act accordingly, since their patron continued to be their paterfamilias, albeit in another sense. Liberti were expected to obey without question their former owners and show them the same devotion that Roman children in owed their fathers. As a result, ex-slaves continued to execute small tasks, without compensation, for their patrons, both voluntarily and at their patron’s order. And just as Roman children were not allowed to take legal action against their parents, so ex-slaves were not permitted to take their former owners into court for any reason.
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