Note 167 — XVI MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE UNDER ROMAN AND ENGLISH LAW

I pass by the distinction between iustae nuptiae, which could be contracted only between Roman citizens, and the so-called ‘natural’ marriage, or matrimonium iuris gentium, which was created by the marriage of a full citizen to a half citizen or an alien (peregrinus), because the latter is of no consequence for our purpose, and practically disappeared when all Roman subjects became citizens. It was a perfectly valid marriage, and the children were legitimate. As to their status, see Gai Inst. i. 78, 79.