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ID
ER 610
The law issued by King Chindaswinth (ca AD 642-653) orders that wills must be published in the presence of a priest. The codification known as the Lex Visigothorum (issued and revised several times between AD 569 and 702).
II.5.14
 
XII. FLAVIUS CHINDASVINDUS REX.
 
Ut defuncti volumtas ante sex menses sacerdoti vel testibus publicetur.
 
Scripta volumtas defuncti ante sex menses coram quolibet sacerdote vel testibus publicetur. Et si quis eandem qualibet fraude subpresserit, tantum illis, in quibus testatus est, de proprio cogatur exolvere, quantum eiusdem scripture serię conquirere potuerant vel habere.
 
(ed. K. Zeumer 1905: 114)
II.5.14
 
XII. KING FLAVIUS CHINDASVINTH.  
 
A will must be published in the presence of a priest, or of witnesses, within six months.
 
A written will must be published within six months, either in the presence of a priest or of witnesses. And if anyone suppresses a will through fraud, he shall be compelled to pay as much out of his own property to the beneficiaries of the said will, as they are entitled to according to its provisions.
 
(trans. S.P. Scott 1910: 69; slightly altered)

Discussion:

Chindasvinth was a Visgothic king from AD 642 to 653. Law 12 was included in the codification both in the Recceswinth's and Ervig's revisions.
 
The discrepancy in numeration of the law is caused by differences in manuscript tradition.
 

Place of event:

Region
  • Iberian Peninsula
  • Gaul

About the source:

Title: Lex Visigothorum, Liber iudiciorum, Liber iudiciorum sive Lex Visigothorum
Origin: Iberian Peninsula
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian
Lex Visigothorum is a codification of law first composed during the reign of King Leovigild (569-586) on the basis of the Code of Euric, but the origin of all extant manuscripts is its revised version from the reign of King Recceswinth (649-672). The codification was also enlarged in the times of King Ervig (680-687) and Ecgica (687-702).
Edition:
K. Zeumer ed., Liber iudiciorum sive lex Visigothorum, Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Leges nationum Germanicarum 1, Hannover, Leipzig 1902, 33-456.
 
Translation:
The Visigothic Code (Forum Judicum), trans. S.P. Scott, Boston 1910
Bibliography:

Categories:

Described by a title - Sacerdos/ἱερεύς
    Private law - Secular
      Legal practice
        Public functions and offices after ordination - Public trustee/Mediator
          Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER610, http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=610
          Record by: Marta Szada
          last edited: 2018-11-21 13:02:21
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