Sailing to Damietta. Rent of an anchor for a Venetian ship (1118)

A contract for the rent of an anchor in 1118 offers a privileged outlook on how legal forms were employed in the service of the interests of the enterprising Venetian economy, where speculation was open to small as well as great investors. The deed reveals the care employed in preventing occasions for litigation through alternative ways of performance and clauses detailing the responsibility of the debtor. Some formulaic expressions point to evolving trading customs, largely independent from Roman legal institutes. The document is a later authenticated copy, witness to the development of archival methods for private deeds.