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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §1.5.19.pr

Status of Legitimate and Illegitimate Children

Passage 83 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

The principle that children born of a lawful marriage follow the status of their father, while those born out of wedlock follow the status of their mother.

[CELSUS libro uicensimo nono digestorum. ] §1.5.19.prCum legitimae nuptiae factae sint, patrem liberi sequuntur: uolgo quaesitus matrem sequitur.
[CELSUS, in the twenty-ninth book of the Digests.] When a lawful marriage has taken place, the children follow the father; a child conceived out of wedlock follows the mother.

Notes

  1. §1.5.19.pruolgo quaesitus — Literally 'sought commonly' or 'begotten at large'. It is a Roman legal term referring to an illegitimate child (spurius) born outside of a lawful marriage.
  2. §1.5.19.prsequuntur — The verb 'sequi' (to follow) indicates that the legal status of the child (such as citizenship, freedom, and family power) is determined by that of the parent.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §1.5.19.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:1.5.19.pr

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