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Justinian I · The Digest of Justinian §48.5.7.pr

Unlawful Marriage with a Ward and Adultery Charges

Passage 8181 of 9271 · Latin

Summary

It is ruled that anyone who marries his ward in violation of a senate decree not only has his marriage declared void but can also be accused of adultery under certain conditions.

[MARCIANUS libro decimo institutionum. ] §48.5.7.prQui pupillam suam duxit uxorem contra senatus consultum, nec matrimonium est hoc et potest adulterii accusari, qui tutor uel curator fuit et intra uicensimum sextum annum duxit uxorem non a patre desponsam uel destinatam uel testamento denominatam.
[MARCIANUS, in the tenth book of the Institutes.] He who has taken his ward as a wife contrary to the senate's decree—this is not a marriage, and he can be accused of adultery; namely, he who was her tutor or curator and took her as a wife before her twenty-sixth year, she not having been betrothed, destined, or designated in a will by her father.

Notes

  1. §48.5.7.prQui pupillam suam duxit uxorem... — The initial Qui clause anticipates the subject of the main verb potest, though an independent clause nec matrimonium est hoc ('this is not a marriage') is interposed. The subsequent clause , qui tutor uel curator fuit... is an appositive relative clause that further defines and limits the subject as one who, being a tutor or curator, married the ward under the age of twenty-six without her father's prior authorization.
  2. §48.5.7.pradulterii — Genitive of charge associated with the verb of accusing accusari.
  3. §48.5.7.printra uicensimum sextum annum — Meaning 'within the twenty-sixth year' (i.e., under twenty-six years of age), referring to the age of the ward (pupilla) in accordance with the Roman legal prohibition on such marriages.

Cite this passage

Justinian I, The Digest of Justinian §48.5.7.pr. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi2806.phi002.humanitext-lat1:48.5.7.pr

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