Testamentary Formalities in Roman Law

Abstract

Roman jurists devoted great care to the formalities required for a valid testamentary disposition. This chapter traces the development of the Roman law relating to these formal requirements, from the inception of Roman legal scholarship to the time of Justinian's codes. This is only possible by distinguishing between the different stages of Roman legal history. It follows common practice and, in particular, the model of Kaser's encyclopaedic work in dealing separately with the archaic, the classical, and the post-classical period of Roman law. This chapter departs from Kaser's model, however, in so far as archaic and pre-classical law are treated together.