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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.2.45.pr-23.2.45.6

Restrictions on Remarriage of a Freedwoman Married to Her Patron

Passage 3351 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

Ulpian discusses the restriction on remarriage of a freedwoman married to her patron, detailing who qualifies as a patron, the requirements of the patron's dissent, and the legal consequences when the patron is captured by enemies.

[ULPIANUS libro tertio ad legem Iuliam et Papiam. ] §23.2.45.prIn eo iure, quod dicit inuito patrono libertam, quae ei nupta est, alii nubere non posse, patronum accipimus (ut rescripto imperatoris nostri et diui patris eius continentur) et eum qui hac lege emit, ut manumittat, quia manumissa liberta emptoris habetur.
[ULPIANUS, in his third book on the Lex Iulia et Papia.] In that law which says that a freedwoman who is married to her patron cannot marry another against the patron's will, we understand as "patron" (as contained in the rescript of our Emperor and his deified father) also him who bought her on the condition that he should manumit her, because the manumitted woman is regarded as the freedwoman of the buyer.
§23.2.45.1Qui autem iurauit se patronum, hoc idem non habebit.
However, he who swore that he was the patron shall not have this same right.
§23.2.45.2Ne is quidem debet habere, qui non suis nummis comparauit.
Nor indeed ought he to have it who did not purchase her with his own money.
§23.2.45.3Plane si filius familias miles esse proponatur, non dubitamus, si castrensis peculii ancillam manumiserit, competere ei hoc ius: est enim patronus secundum constitutiones nec patri eius hoc ius competit.
Clearly, if a son-in-power is proposed to be a soldier, we do not doubt that if he manumitted a female slave from his camp peculium, this right belongs to him; for according to the constitutions he is the patron, and this right does not belong to his father.
§23.2.45.4Hoc caput ad nuptam tantum libertam pertinet, ad sponsam non pertinet: et ideo inuito patrono nuntium sponsa liberta si miserit, cum alio conubium habet.
This chapter applies only to a married freedwoman, and does not apply to a betrothed woman; and therefore, if a betrothed freedwoman sends a notice against her patron's will, she has the right of marriage with another.
§23.2.45.5Deinde ait lex 'inuito patrono': inuitum accipere debemus eum, qui non consentit ad diuortium: idcirco nec a furioso diuertendo soluit se huius legis necessitate nec si ab ignorante diuorterit: rectius enim hic inuitus dicitur quam qui dissensit.
Next, the law says "against the patron's will": we must understand "against his will" as referring to him who does not consent to the divorce; therefore, she does not free herself from the necessity of this law either by divorcing a madman, or if she divorces him while he is ignorant; for he who is unable to consent is more correctly said to be "against his will" than he who has expressed dissent.
§23.2.45.6Si ab hostibus patronus captus esse proponatur, uereor ne possit ista conubium habere nubendo, quemadmodum haberet, si mortuus esset.
If a patron is proposed to have been captured by enemies, I fear whether she can have the right of marriage by marrying, just as she would have if he were dead.
et qui Iuliani sententiam probant, dicerent non habituram conubium: putat enim Iulianus durare eius libertae matrimonium etiam in captiuitate propter patroni reuerentiam.
And those who approve Julian's opinion would say that she will not have the right of marriage; for Julian thinks that the marriage of his freedwoman continues even during captivity because of the respect due to the patron.
certe si in aliam seruitutem patronus sit deductus, procul dubio dissolutum esset matrimonium.
Certainly, if the patron is reduced to another state of slavery, the marriage would without doubt be dissolved.

Notes

  1. 23.2.45.prinuito patrono — An ablative absolute construction composed of the noun `patrono` and the adjective `inuito`, establishing the legal condition of 'against the patron's will'.
  2. 23.2.45.prhac lege... ut manumittat — Here `lex` refers to a contractual term or condition rather than a general statute. `hac lege` ('on this condition') is defined by the following `ut` clause with the subjunctive `manumittat` ('that he should manumit her').
  3. 23.2.45.1Qui... iurauit se patronum — An accusative with infinitive (ACI) construction, where the accusative pronoun `se` acts as the subject, with the infinitive `esse` omitted. It refers to someone who declared or claimed under oath to be the patron.
  4. 23.2.45.5idcirco nec a furioso diuertendo soluit se huius legis necessitate — The ablative gerund `diuertendo` expressing means governs the prepositional phrase `a furioso`. The verb `soluit` takes the reflexive pronoun `se` as its object, combined with the ablative of separation `necessitate` to mean 'does not free herself from the constraint'.
  5. 23.2.45.6uereor ne possit — The expression of fear `uereor ne` followed by the subjunctive `possit`. In juristic discourse, this serves as a polite or cautious way to express doubt about whether a certain legal capacity or effect (here, the right to marry another) is legally possible.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.2.45.pr-23.2.45.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.2.45.pr-23.2.45.6

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