Legal implants: on feudalism and Emphyteusis

Abstract

Emphyteusis is a type of civil law contract, originating in Roman law, whereby a landowner (lessor) leases land subject to its upkeep and the payment of a fixed annual rent by a lessee (emphyteuta). In this paper, I will trace a history of emphyteusis in Italy. First, I will focus on 19th century historiographic debates on emphyteusis. Second, I will look at how Italian colonial lawyers mobilized the feudalism of emphyteusis to understand and translate Ethiopian indigenous legal systems.