Legal Definitions - nothus

Nothus is a term from ancient Roman law that refers to a child born outside of a legally recognized marriage. In Roman society, the legal and social status of a child was significantly determined by the marital status of their parents. A nothus was considered an illegitimate child, meaning they did not automatically possess the same legal rights or social standing as children born within a valid Roman marriage.

However, an important distinction in Roman law was that if the child's mother was a Roman citizen, the child would also be considered a Roman citizen, even if born illegitimately. This meant that while their birth status as nothus affected their rights within the family (like inheritance), it did not necessarily preclude them from Roman citizenship if their mother was a citizen.

• Example 1: Citizenship and Parental Status
  A Roman citizen woman named Valeria has a child with a man who is not a Roman citizen, and they are not legally married under Roman law. Their child, named Quintus, would be considered a nothus. Despite his illegitimate birth, because his mother Valeria is a Roman citizen, Quintus would still be granted Roman citizenship. This illustrates how the term applied to children born outside of formal marriage, while also highlighting the mother's crucial role in determining the child's citizenship status.

• Example 2: Inheritance Rights
  Lucius, a wealthy Roman merchant, has a legitimate son, Gaius, with his wife. Lucius also has a daughter, Claudia, with a freedwoman with whom he was never legally married. Claudia would be classified as a nothus. As such, she would typically not have the same automatic legal rights to inherit from Lucius's estate as Gaius, his legitimate son. This demonstrates how the status of nothus impacted a child's legal standing, particularly concerning inheritance and family rights within the Roman legal framework.

• Example 3: Social Recognition and Legitimization
  A Roman soldier, Marius, returns from a long campaign to find that his long-term partner, whom he was not legally married to, has given birth to a son, Tiberius. Tiberius would initially be considered a nothus because his parents were not legally married at the time of his birth. For Tiberius to gain the full legal status and rights of a legitimate son, Marius would have to undertake specific legal procedures, such as formal adoption, to integrate him into his family and change his initial status as a nothus.