mancipatio

In Roman law, mancipatio (f. Latin manus, "hand"; and capere, "to take hold of") was a solemn verbal contract by which the ownership of certain types of goods (res mancipi) was transferred. Mancipatio was also the legal procedure for drawing up wills, emancipating children from their parents, and adoption.

Res mancipi were forms of property important in an early agrarian society: land, cattle, and slaves. The jurist Gaius excludes urban easements, lands located outside of Italy, intangible assets, and harness animals and pack animals apart from oxen, horses, mules, and donkeys from res mancipi. The right of ownership (dominium) for such goods was reserved to Roman citizens, the original term for which was Quirites, and therefore called a "quiritian" or a "quiritary" right.