Právněhistorické studie / Legal History Studies (Charles University journal; below referred to as PHS or Journal) is a scientific journal listed in the international prestigious database SCOPUS. The journal is published by Charles University in Prague under the guarantee of the Department of Legal History of the Faculty of Law of Charles University. It is published by the Karolinum Press. The journal focuses on the field of legal history and related topics.
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PRÁVNĚHISTORICKÉ STUDIE, Vol 56 No 2 (2026), 13–31
ArticleOd rituálov k alimentácii: Náčrt raného vývoja fideikomisov v prospech familia libertorum
[From Rituals to Alimentation: An Outline of the Early Development of Fideicommissa in Favor of the Familia Libertorum]
Timotej Práznovský
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/2464689X.2026.550
published online: 06. 10. 2026
abstract
The paper explores the early development of the Roman legal institution known as the fideicommissum familiae relictum, with a particular focus on its application in favour of groups of freedmen (familia libertorum). It argues that the phrase ne de nomine suo exiret – commonly found in testamentary dispositions and funerary inscriptions – reflects a concern with ensuring the continuity of burial rites and private cults (sacra privata). Drawing on epigraphic evidence and legal sources, particularly the Digest of Justinian and fragments from jurists such as Aburnius Valens and Scaevola, the paper examines how land bequests to freedmen were structured to guarantee the upkeep of tombs and the perpetuation of ancestral worship. The analysis reveals that over time, particularly from the mid-2nd century CE onward, the institution appears to have shifted towards a more alimentary function, providing support for freedmen in the absence of biological heirs. Legislative developments, such as Hadrian’s ban on dispositions to uncertain persons (personae incertae), curtailed the long-term application of such fideicommissa, leading to alternative legal mechanisms, including transfers to municipalities. The development of fideicommissa in favour of freedmen thus illustrates broader transformations in Roman private law and social practice, including the decline of traditional religion and the rise of new forms of property management and welfare provision in the Roman world.
keywords: fideicommissum; familiae relictum; sacra privata; law of tombs; trust; Aburnius Valens; familia libertorum; familia nominis
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