Definition
In Roman and civil law, simpla refers to the single value of a thing — that is, the straightforward, unaugmented worth of an object or property as measured at its actual market or assessed value. It functions as the baseline unit of value against which penalties or multiplied damages are calculated. The concept gains meaning primarily in contrast to its multiples: dupla (double value), tripla (triple value), and so forth, which Roman law imposed as sanctions in various transactional and delictual contexts, particularly in warranty disputes arising from sales.
Common Confusion
The Black's Law Dictionary (1st Ed.) entry for simpla is corrupted, containing definitional text for simony rather than simpla. This is a straightforward transcription or typesetting error in that edition, not a reflection of any genuine overlap between the two concepts. Simony and simpla share no doctrinal relationship.
Why It Matters in Research
Simpla rarely appears in isolation in legal texts and almost never generates independent legal consequences. Its significance is relational: researchers encounter simpla as the denominator in civil law penalty structures. When reading Digest passages on sales with warranty of title (the actio auctoritatis) or warranty against eviction, the measure of recovery is expressed as a multiple of simpla — most commonly dupla under the stipulatio duplae. A researcher who does not recognize simpla as the baseline unit may misread damage calculations in civil law treatises, glossed texts, and early modern commentaries.
The term surfaces primarily in sources dealing with Roman sale law, particularly Digest 21.2, which governs eviction and title warranties. Researchers working in Louisiana, Quebec, or other mixed civil law jurisdictions may encounter the concept in historical deed or title warranty analysis, where civilian penalty traditions influenced early law. In those contexts, understanding that a penalty expressed as "dupla" means twice the simpla — i.e., twice the purchase price or assessed value — is essential to interpreting the remedy correctly.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (1st and 2nd editions) and Burrill's Law Dictionary are consistent: all three define simpla as the single value of a thing, with reference to Digest 21.2 (Burrill cites 21.2.37.2; the second edition of Black's cites 21.2.87.2, which appears to be a variant citation to the same passage). The definitions are skeletal, as befits a term that is primarily structural rather than substantive. Burrill adds the most useful navigational note by cross-referencing Dupla, correctly identifying that simpla is best understood by reading the two entries together.
None of the historical dictionaries explain the doctrinal context in which simpla operates — the warranty against eviction in Roman sale law — leaving researchers without the framework needed to apply the term to actual source texts. The 1st edition of Black's appears to have suffered a printing or compilation error, rendering the simpla entry with text belonging to simony (the buying or selling of ecclesiastical offices), an entirely unrelated term. Researchers relying on that edition should treat the simpla entry as effectively absent and consult the 2nd edition or Burrill instead.