ilisation in Italy has succumbed completely to its barbarian
conquerors; when the East has been definitely sundered from the West;
when the Church has risen supreme, has won temporal power, and has
developed canon law into a force equal to the civil law,--then finally
we shall expect to see the legal rights of women changed in accordance
with two new world forces--the Roman Catholic Church and the Germanic
nations. I shall now discuss legislation having to do with my subject
under the Christian emperors from Constantine (306-337) through the
reign of Justinian (527-565).

[Sidenote: Divorce: rescript of Theodosius and Valentian.]

The power of husband and wife to divorce at will and for any cause,
which we have seen obtained under the old Roman law, was confined to
certain causes only by Theodosius and Valentinian (449 A.D.). These
emperors asserted vigorously that[249] the dissolution of the marriage
tie should be made more difficult, especially out of regard to the
children. Pursuant to this idea the power of divorce was given for the
following reasons alone: adultery, murder, treason, sacrilege, robbery;
unchaste conduct of a husband with a woman not his wife and vice-versa;
if a wife attended public games without her husband's permission; and
extreme physical violence of either party. A woman who sent her husband
a bill of divorce for any other reason forfeited her dowry and all
ante-nuptial gifts and could not marry again for five years, under
penalty of losing all civil rights. Her property accrued to her husband
to be kept in trust for the children.

[Sidenote: Justinian on divorce]

Justinian made more minute regulations on the subject of divorce. To the
valid causes for divorce as laid down by Theodosius and Valentinian he
added impotence; if a separation was obtained on this ground, the
husband might retain ante-nuptial gifts.[250] Abortion committed by the
wife or bathing with other men than her husband or inveigling other men
to be her paramours--these offences on the part of the wife gave her
husband the right of divorce.[251] Captivity of either party for a
prolonged period of time was always a valid reason. Justinian added
also[252] that a man who dismissed his wife without any of the legal
causes mentioned above existing or who was himself guilty of any of
these offences must give to his wife one fourth of his property up to a
sum not to exceed one hundred _librae_ of gold, if he owned property
worth