Captatio in law, life and literature : a study of the topos of inheritance-hunting in the context of Roman testamentary legislation and social practice

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dc.contributor.advisorColeman, K Men_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSharland, Suzanneen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-03-28T14:28:56Z
dc.date.available2016-03-28T14:28:56Z
dc.date.issued1991en_ZA
dc.description.abstract"Captatio and the captator are stock elements of literature and undoubtedly existed in life, but as actual practice and figure in Roman society they are nearly impossible to identify" (Champlin 1989: 212). Captatio (inheritancehunting), as it appears in Latin literature, can be defined as the systematic courtship of elderly, preferably sickly or dying, childless wealthy people by social adventurers known as captatores, with the aim of gaining inheritances from these people by will. The methods by which this is shown to be achieved include gift-giving, salutatio, sexual favours, flattery etc. Roman literature suggests that this practice often took place within the exchange network of amicitia. This thesis examines captatio, as presented in the Latin literature of the early Empire, in the context of definable legal and social structures. It is not so much the purpose of this study to decide whether captatio existed or was a purely literary conceit, as to examine this literary topos in its broader context.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSharland, S. (1991). <i>Captatio in law, life and literature : a study of the topos of inheritance-hunting in the context of Roman testamentary legislation and social practice</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Classical Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18255en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSharland, Suzanne. <i>"Captatio in law, life and literature : a study of the topos of inheritance-hunting in the context of Roman testamentary legislation and social practice."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Classical Studies, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18255en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSharland, S. 1991. Captatio in law, life and literature : a study of the topos of inheritance-hunting in the context of Roman testamentary legislation and social practice. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Sharland, Suzanne AB - "Captatio and the captator are stock elements of literature and undoubtedly existed in life, but as actual practice and figure in Roman society they are nearly impossible to identify" (Champlin 1989: 212). Captatio (inheritancehunting), as it appears in Latin literature, can be defined as the systematic courtship of elderly, preferably sickly or dying, childless wealthy people by social adventurers known as captatores, with the aim of gaining inheritances from these people by will. The methods by which this is shown to be achieved include gift-giving, salutatio, sexual favours, flattery etc. Roman literature suggests that this practice often took place within the exchange network of amicitia. This thesis examines captatio, as presented in the Latin literature of the early Empire, in the context of definable legal and social structures. It is not so much the purpose of this study to decide whether captatio existed or was a purely literary conceit, as to examine this literary topos in its broader context. DA - 1991 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1991 T1 - Captatio in law, life and literature : a study of the topos of inheritance-hunting in the context of Roman testamentary legislation and social practice TI - Captatio in law, life and literature : a study of the topos of inheritance-hunting in the context of Roman testamentary legislation and social practice UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18255 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/18255
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSharland S. Captatio in law, life and literature : a study of the topos of inheritance-hunting in the context of Roman testamentary legislation and social practice. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Classical Studies, 1991 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18255en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentClassical Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherClassical Studiesen_ZA
dc.titleCaptatio in law, life and literature : a study of the topos of inheritance-hunting in the context of Roman testamentary legislation and social practiceen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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