Salic Law
By: Steve • Essay • 398 Words • December 21, 2009 • 956 Views
Essay title: Salic Law
Another chapter relating to sex involved the fornication of maidservants or slaves. A freeman fornicating with another's maidservant had to pay the maidservant's master 600 denarii. Anyone fornicating with the king's maidservant had to pay double the price. If a freeman publicly married another's maidservant then he would remain with her in slavery. The same policy was for a freewoman marrying a servant. The Salic law portrays that marriage was a sacramental bond and only people in the same social standing should marry within. The laws regarding the marriage of a slave or maidservants were made so the people of the society would play the right roles. Slaves and maidservants were allowed to marry each other but only with the master's consent. If he did not receive the master's consent then he would either get whipped or pay 120 denarii to the maidservant's master.
To show that women were worth of some value in the community, the men had to pay ring-money for marriage to a widow. If a man decided to marry a widow he would take her to court and have three witnesses. To officially take the widow he had to have three solidi or equal weight and a denarius. The witnesses had to weigh the solidi to make sure it was the correct amount.