Interpretation of the notion of familia in the Roman law context, in particular in the Digest of Justinian
Abstract
The chapter focuses on the law of persons/family law, in particular on the explanation of the notion of familia. The word familia occurs in the Digest of the emperor Justinian (and elsewhere in the Roman legal and non-legal sources) in different meanings.
The definition of the notion is provided by the lawyer Ulpian in D. 50, 16, 195, 1-5. According to it, the word familia may denote property, as well as family groupings of different size - familia proprio iure (small family), familia communi iure (larger family), gens (kin).
The most common use of the word familia in the Digest is for groups of slaves and persons in the position of slaves. The aim of the paper is to answer the question whether the definition of Ulpian covers all meanings of the word familia in Digest.
Further, the significance of the word in other sources as the Code of Justinian, the Code of Theodosius and in ancient literature, is briefly analysed.