In diem addictio

Even in ancient Rome, contracts were modified by side agreements such as the "in diem addictio". This allowed the seller to close the contract with a third party instead of the first buyer within a certain period of time if a better offer was made. But what was a better offer? A higher price? A more solvent counterparty? And who owned the object of purchase during the waiting period? Who, for example, had the right to the fruit grown on a field that had been sold? The author explores these and other complex legal issues, and examines the diverse thoughts of classical jurists on this forerunner of the modern legal contract.