“Ne inermem vitam ducant”. L’accertamento degli usi civici e il tardo diritto comune nel Theatrum di G.B. De Luca

The essay critically examines a common hypothesis in today’s debate on collective property rights: the necessary presence, in every feudal context, of a territory from which residents could take the minimum natural resources necessary for their survival, such as small-scale grazing or the collection of firewood. Legal doctrine generally reflects this hypothesis in the adage ne inermem vitam ducant and traces its origins to late 18th-century natural law theory, which inspired the laws that overthrew feudalism. This essay thoroughly critiques this approach by investigating the use of this expression by late common law jurists through G.B. De Luca’s ten discursus on pastures. This approach allows us to identify a more complex reality: the right to minimal land use highlights the broader problem of feudal balance in the territory.