>>213954777
>patria potestas
This concept, meaning literally “the power of the father” was a fundamental foundation of Roman society and influenced the law of the time and – by extension – our laws today.
A father’s power over his children was recognised as supreme, with the children unable to go against their father’s wishes. Many abuses of power were kept under control by social convention and censure, although the father still had the ability to take whatever action he saw fit, particularly when it came to punishment, even a right to put his children, of either sex, to death.
Patria potestas meant that the father alone had any rights in private law and because of this, anything that the child acquired became the father’s property. The father might permit his child to treat that property as their own but in the eyes of the law, it continued to belong to the father.
The father’s power was not merely restricted to the property of his children; he could also sell them into slavery if he wanted. However, if this happened three times, the law stated that the child was then no longer under patria potestas.
Whilst the father had the ability to approve or reject the marriages of his sons or daughter, an edict of Augustus said that he was not allowed to withhold that permission without good reason. The law did not permit him to force his children into marriage. He also had no right to prevent his children divorcing.
The father’s power over his family only ended with his death, but in certain cases, he could free a child by emancipation. However, this was something of a mixed blessing since they were, by this act, effectively disinherited.
When a daughter married, she ceased to be under his power. However, she then passed into the authority of her husband, so was not really any better off.
8/19/2025, 12:09:32 AM
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