Note BS — Fourth Book
Ernest Brehaut translation
P. 100, l. 20 f. The idea of conveying property by will was foreign to the Franks and was not received into their law, which regarded the family rather than the individual. On the other hand conveying property by will was a regular practice among the Gallo-Roman population. The church was often made a legatee, a practice due in part to the desire to have its interest involved in the carrying out of the will. Therefore in the conflicts that arose in regard to succession to property the interests of the church and of the state were naturally opposed.