Legal position of women in the medieval statute of Korčula

• Main Authors: Vilma Pezelj, Marija Štambuk Šunjić
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pravni fakultet Sveučilišta u Splitu 2018-01-01
• Series: Zbornik Radova Pravnog Fakulteta u Splitu
• Subjects: legal position of women; Statute of Korčula; 13 th century; Dalmatian statutory law
• Online Access: http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/303296

The authors analyze some questions on the legal position of women in the medieval Korčula, pointing to solutions in the other Dalmatian legal systems. This paper addresses the issues of the legal position of women in status, family (with marriage), property, criminal and procedural law. The tendency of community authorities to prevent foreigners from gaining property and to prevent the division of family property by dowry were the fundamental causes for the inferior position of women in communal legal systems. The statute of Korčula displays a Slavic legal base with the elements of Byzantine and Venetian law. During the reception of Roman law, some elements of the Roman law from Justinian's codification in glossarist and post-glossarist processing were adopted indicating the existence of interaction of legal cultures in the medieval Dalmatian communes.