[German version]

In Roman law a liability that has arisen through a written document (litteris). According to Gai. Inst. 3,128ff., this includes the nomina transcripticia (transfer claims) through registration of a payment (expensum ferre), as on the basis of authorization ( iussum , Cic. Q. Rosc. 1,2) of the debtor (mostly by letter) with a certain date a sum was recorded by the creditor as paid to the debtor without this amount actually having been paid. The entry was made in the house book - described as codex accepti et expensi or tabulae - of the Roman house father ( pater familias ), in wh…