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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §29.4.29.pr

Duty of an Intestate Possessor to Manumit and Patronal Rights

Passage 4543 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

A person who possesses an inheritance as an intestate heir by bypassing the testament is obligated to manumit the slaves designated in the testament, on the condition that he himself acquires the patronal rights over those freedmen.

[ULPIANUS libro quinto fideicommissorum. ] §29.4.29.prQui omissa causa testamenti ab intestato possidet hereditatem, seruos ad libertatem perducere debet, ne eis factum noceat eius qui ex testamento adire noluit: sic tamen, ut habeat libertos.
[ULPIANUS, from the fifth book on Trusts.] He who, omitting the basis of the testament, possesses the inheritance as an intestate heir, must lead the slaves to freedom, lest the act of him who refused to enter upon the inheritance under the testament should prejudice them; provided, however, that he shall have them as his freedmen.

Notes

  1. §29.4.29.promissa causa testamenti — Ablative absolute composed of the noun causa and the perfect passive participle omissa (from omittere, 'to omit, discard'). It means 'having bypassed the basis of the testament,' referring to a fraudulent situation where an appointed heir intentionally claims the inheritance on an intestate basis to avoid the duties (such as manumission) imposed by the testament.
  2. §29.4.29.pradire — Used intransitively here, but conventionally implying the omission of hereditatem ('inheritance'), meaning 'to enter upon the inheritance' or 'to accept the inheritance'.
  3. §29.4.29.prsic tamen, ut habeat libertos — A restrictive clause with ut correlated with sic, meaning 'provided, however, that...'. It stipulates that while the possessor is obliged to manumit the slaves, he himself, having performed the manumission, shall acquire the patronal rights (patronatus) over these freedmen (liberti).

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §29.4.29.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:29.4.29.pr

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