Humanitext Reader

Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §10.2.35.pr

Preferential Retention of Land Given as a Dowry

Passage 1673 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

When a daughter who had received land as a dowry became a coheir with her siblings upon her father's death, the question arose whether she could retain that land preferentially; it was answered that she is protected based on her factual possession and the father's intent.

[IDEM libro duodecimo responsorum. ] §10.2.35.prPomponius Philadelphus dotis causa praedia filiae quam habebat in potestate tradidit et reditus eorum genero solui mandauit: an ea praecipua filia retinere possit, cum omnes filios heredes instituisset, quaerebatur.
[THE SAME, from the twelfth book of Responses.] Pomponius Philadelphus, by way of dowry, delivered lands to his daughter whom he had under his power, and ordered their revenues to be paid to his son-in-law: since the father had appointed all his children as heirs, it was asked whether the daughter could retain them as a preferred portion.
iustam causam retinendae possessionis habere filiam, quoniam pater praedia de quibus quaerebatur dotis esse uoluit et matrimonium post mortem quoque patris steterat, respondi: filiam etenim, quae naturaliter agros tenuit, specie dotis cuius capax fuisset defendi.
I replied that the daughter had a just cause for retaining possession, since the father wished the lands in question to be part of the dowry, and the marriage had also endured after the father's death: for indeed, the daughter, who factually held the fields, is defended under the guise of a dowry of which she was capable.

Notes

  1. 10.2.35.prpraecipua — The neuter plural accusative of the adjective `praecipuus`, agreeing with `ea` (the lands), meaning "as a preferred portion" (praecipuum). It refers to a portion of the estate that a coheir is entitled to take before the general division.
  2. 10.2.35.prnaturaliter — A Roman law technical term referring to factual detention or natural possession (`naturalis possessio`), as opposed to civil possession (`civilis possessio`). It indicates that the daughter held the lands factually or physically, regardless of legal title.
  3. 10.2.35.prdefendi — Present passive infinitive of the verb `defendere`. Although homonymous with the first-person singular perfect active indicative (`defendi`, "I defended"), it functions here as the infinitive in the accusative-with-infinitive (AcI) construction dependent on `respondi`, with the accusative `filiam` as its subject.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §10.2.35.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:10.2.35.pr

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.