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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §23.5.15.pr

Husband's Retention of Land After Dotal Renunciation Letter

Passage 3506 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

When a husband retained possession of a dotal estate after sending a letter declaring it would not be part of the dowry, he was allowed to keep it upon his wife's death during the marriage, as she had no action based on the unilateral declaration.

[PAPINIANUS libro tertio responsorum. ] §23.5.15.prDotale praedium, cuius uir possessionem retinuit post litteras ad uxorem emissas, quibus dotis non fore praedium declarauit, in matrimonio defuncta muliere uirum retinere placuit, quia mulier actionem ex pacto non habuit.
[PAPINIAN, Decisions, Book III.] In the case of a dotal estate, of which the husband retained possession after sending letters to his wife in which he declared that the estate would not be part of the dowry, it was held that, if the woman died during the marriage, the husband should retain it, because the woman had no action based on the agreement.

Notes

  1. §23.5.15.prDotale praedium — The phrase Dotale praedium at the beginning of the sentence is neuter nominative or accusative, grammatically functioning as the direct object of the infinitive retinere in the main clause. It is placed at the front for topicalization.
  2. §23.5.15.prdotis — The genitive dotis is used as a predicate genitive (of possession or characteristic) with the future infinitive fore (futurum esse), meaning 'to become (part of) the dowry'.
  3. §23.5.15.pron meaning uirum, uires — Since the neuter noun 'praedium' is the de facto topical subject of the sentence, it is placed in the nominative or accusative at the sentence to introduce the topic, and conceptually serve as the grammatical object of the infinitive 'retinere' without the use of an impersonal placeholder (nominativus pendens / topicalization).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §23.5.15.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:23.5.15.pr

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