The latin roots of the "profession": metamorphoses of the concept in law and teology from ancient Rome to the middle ages

This paper argues that the Latin notion and practice of the professio (declaration) played an important role in the shaping of the modern concept — and ethical and politico-social significance — of ‘profession’. The Roman law institution of the census (professio census), and its subsequent reinterpretations in both theology and law, were key in this process. The theological interpretation of the census at the time of Jesus’ birth, and that of religious profession by Christian authors such as Ambrose, Bede, Isidore, Aelred, and the medieval practice of the professiones iuris, are examined, in order to demonstrate that the professio coincides with the act of inclusion within an established and salvific order.