had very much weakened the res mancipi distinction and come close to abolishing the need for mancipatio. The Romans did not speak of the bonitary owner as dominus (as a normal owner would be), but rather to say that he had the thing in bonis from which the term "bonitary" is derived. The Romans considered ownership unique and indivisible: accordingly, one either had the rights of ownership or one did not. The Praetor's distinction made this unclear. Ultimately, Justinian abolished res mancipi, so the bonitary owner became owner and this theoretical problem was solved. However, the position as to the good faith possessor relied on a concept of relative title, part of the common law, but something which was alien to Roman ideas of ownership. The Romans merely considered it possession, thus bypassing the theoretical problem. References Citations Bibliography Roman law