Legal Definitions - mulier

The term mulier has two primary historical legal meanings:

• In ancient Roman law, it broadly referred to a woman. The specific nuance of the term could vary depending on the context, sometimes indicating a virgin, a non-virgin, a wife, or even a mistress.
• In historical Scots law, and in some other historical legal systems, it specifically denoted a legitimate son. This meant a son born within a lawful marriage, whose mother was considered a "lawful wife." This distinction was crucial for matters of inheritance and social status.

Here are some examples illustrating the application of mulier in its historical legal contexts:

• Imagine a scenario in 15th-century Scotland where a wealthy landowner passes away without a will. He has two sons: one born to his legally married wife, and another born to a woman with whom he had a relationship outside of marriage. Under Scots law, only the son born to his lawful wife would be considered a mulier. This status would grant him the exclusive right to inherit his father's titles and estates, as he was deemed a legitimate heir.

  This example demonstrates how the term mulier was used to distinguish a legitimate son, born of a lawful marriage, from an illegitimate child, thereby determining rights of inheritance and succession.

• Consider a legal dispute in medieval Scotland concerning a family's lineage and social standing. If a family's claim to a particular noble status depended on proving an unbroken line of legitimate male heirs, they would need to show that each successor was a mulier. Any break in this line with an illegitimate son would invalidate their claim to certain hereditary privileges or titles, as the illegitimate son would not possess the legal status of a mulier.

  This illustrates how the designation of mulier was fundamental to establishing and maintaining social and legal status, particularly concerning hereditary rights and the legitimacy of a family's lineage.