Literis Obligatio

In Roman law. The contract of nomen, which was constituted by writing, (scripturd.) It was of two kinds, viz.: (1) A re in personam, when a transaction was transferred from the daybook (adversaria) into the ledger (codex) in the form of a debt under the name or heading of the purchaser or debtor, (nomen;) and (2) a persons in personam, where a debt already standing under one nomen or heading was transferred in the usual course of novatio from that nomen to another and substituted nomen. By reason of this transferring, these obligations were called "nomina transcripti-tia,." No money was, in fact, paid to constitute the contract. If ever money was paid, then the nomen was arcarium, (i. e., a real contract, re contratctus,) and not a nomen proprium.

Brown.