Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans

Religious Law

how the two kinds of issues interact. But at the least religious law had some force of its own. As we have noted, it could have force even against what would have been the normal civil law result in situations that were relatively nonpolitical. It is not impossible, then, that religious imperatives would have been respected even in politically sensitive situations. At the same time, there were areas where we can see a retreat in religious law. There are areas in which it seems to have existed, but was later replaced by civil law. The most notable of these is inheritance. We are told that in the early days the pontiffs dictated the rules of inheritance, particularly with a view to linking property and rites. That is, the per son who got the most benefit from the deceased’s estate was also to bear the burden of keeping up the family sacrifices. Yet Cicero complained in the mid first century bc that the two kinds of succession had come apart. The jurists had taken over the inheritance of property, apparently leaving the sacred rites for the priests.

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