legitimate or not, and whether others were born after or not. In the previous year he had provided that, where by the death of the mother or for other cause marriage was not feasible, the children might be legitimated on the father's application or in accordance with his will; and that a woman who, trusting to a man's oath on the Gospels or in church that he would regard her as his wife, had lived long with him and perhaps had children, could on proving the fact maintain her position against him and be entitled to the usufruct of a fourth of his estate, the children having the property; if there were three children she had the usufruct of a child's share. In 542 he provided that if a man in a public deed, or his own writing duly witnessed, or in his will called a child by a free woman his son without adding the epithet "natural," this sufficed to make him and his brothers legitimate and their mother a legitimate wife without further evidence.
As regards connexions with slave women Justinian in 539 enacted that they might be legitimatised by enfranchisement and marriage settlement, and the children of the connexion though born in slavery would thereby become free and legitimate. He had already in 531 provided that if a man having no wife has formed such a connexion and maintained it till his death, the woman and her children should become free after his death, if he did not make other disposition by his will.
Theodosius in 443 had introduced another mode of improving the condition of natural children. He authorised a father either in his life or by his will to present one or more of his natural children to the municipal council of his town to become a member of their body, and further authorised him to give or leave such children any amount of his property to support their rank and position; and similarly to give his natural daughters in marriage to members of the council. Those so presented were not allowed to decline the position, burdensome though it was. They succeeded to their father's intestate inheritance just as if they were legitimate, but had no claim to the inheritance of their father's relatives. Theodosius restricted this right to a father who had no legitimate children. Justinian (539) in confirming the law removed this restriction but limited such a natural son's share of the inheritance to the smallest amount which fell to any legitimate son.
The jus liberorum exempting from the disabilities imposed by the Papian law was acquired by natural as well as by legitimate children, and so also the reciprocal rights between mother and children of intestate inheritance given by the Tertullian and Orfitian Senates' decrees. The Papian law was abolished by Constantine (320).
Incestuous connexion was not tolerated as concubinage any more than as marriage. Children of such or other prohibited connexion were not capable of legitimation or of any claim on their parents, even for aliment.
