Letztwillige Verfügungen in griechischer Sprache bei Q. C. Scaevola, Paulus und Modestinus

Abstract

AbstractLast Wills in Greek Terms in the Works of Q.C. Scaevola, Paulus and Modestinus. Several responsa from the writings of Q.C. Scaevola, Paulus and Modestinus report trust dispositions in Greek terms. These last wills appear before the constitutio Antoniniana and possibly after the decree de Graecis litteris (224-235 AD) of Alexander Severus. The content of these trusts was often highlighted as evidence for the contrast, in the provincial practice, between local peregrine laws or customs and the classical Roman law. However, the analysis of these Greek provisions implies that non-Roman legal institutions are quite scarce. The attention of the jurists is therefore primarily related to the challenge of bilingual legal communication and the ordinary need to interpret testamentary dispositions.