Od sestry k nuzné vdově. Změny postavení manželky v římském dědickém právu

This paper deals with the position of wife in the Roman law of succession from the earliest period (as far as the Law of the Twelve Tables) to the changes of the law of intestate succession made by emperor Justinian. This paper follows changes in the position of a wife in case of the death of the husband. This position was determined by type of marriage (strict or free form of the marriage) and was deeply influenced by the reform of the law of succession made by praetor. Even in the praetorian law, the position of the wife and her possibility to obtain some substantial part of the deceased husband’s property was limited and nothing had changed also after the codification of Corpus Iuris Civilis. In order to defend the natural (and justified) needs of widow, emperor Justinian introduced a special provision for so-called needy widow (and temporarily even for the needy widower). The paper examines very closely those provisions and states that the protection of the needy widow can be marked as one the basic values of the Roman law of succession.