LII
BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS 59 the force of law, that a son shall have full power of doing what he wishes with the portion he receives,with the further provision that if he dies without heirs and the decrees of fate permit his father to survive, and if he has made no gift from the property legally belonging to him during his lifetime and left no will, then his father may claim the succession to these portions in question. However, the father shall have no power of alienating them and when he has died the property of their dead brother will pass to the remaining sons. 3. The mother's ornaments and vestments belong to the daughters without any right to share on the part of the brother or brothers; further, let this legal principle be observed concerning those ornaments and vestments in the case of girls whose mothers die intestate. But if the mother shall have made any disposal of her own ornaments and vestments, there shall be no cause for action thereafter. 4. But if an unmarried girl who has sisters dies, and she has not declared her wish in writing or in the presence of witnesses, let her portion after her death belong to her sisters and, as has been stated, let her brothers have no share therein. 5. However if the girl dies and does not have a blood sister, and no clear disposition has been made concerning her property, let her brothers become her heirs. LII OF B ~ O T H E D WOMEN WHO, INCITED BY Dmm, GO TO CONSORT WlTH O T H E R S . 1. Howsoever often such cases arise concerning which none of the preceding laws have established provisions, it is fitting that the ambiguity of the matter be removed so that the judgment set forth shall receive the strength of perpetual law, and the special case shall have general application. 2. Since the deserts of a criminal case which is pending between Fredegisil, our sword-bearer on the one side, and Balthamodus together with Aunegild on the other, have been heard and considered , we give an opinion which punishes this recent crime and imposes a method of restraint for the future. 60 THE BURGUNDIAN CODE 3. And since Aunegild, after the death of her first husband, retaining her own legal competence, promised herself, not only with the consent of her parents, but also with her own desire and will, to the above-mentioned Fredegisil, and since she had received the greater part of the wedding price which her betrothed had paid, she broke her pledged faith, having been aroused by the ardor of her desire for Balthamodus. Furthermore, she not only violated her vows, but repeated her customary shameful union, and on account of this, she ought to atone for such a crime and such a violation of her free status not otherwise than with the pouring forth of her own blood. Nevertheless we command, placing reverence for these holy days before public punishment, that Aunegild, deprived of honor by human and divine judgment, should pay her wergeld, that is three hundred solidi, to Fredegisil under compulsion . 4. Nor do we remove merited condemnation from Balthamodus who presumed to receivea woman due in marriage to another man, for his case deserves death. But in consideration of the holy days, we recall our sentence for his execution, under the condition that he should be compelled to pay his wergeld of one hundred fifty solidi to that Fredegisil unless he offers evident (public) oaths with eleven others in which he affirms that at that time in which he was united with the above-mentioned Aunegild as if by the right of marriage, he was unaware that she was pledged to Fredegisil . But if he shall have so sworn, let him suffer neither loss nor punishment. 5. In truth we command that the judgment set forth in this case be established to remain the law forever, and lest the moderation of the composition now permitted encourage anyone hereafter to commit a deed of such great crime, we command that whosoever incurs the guilt of such a deed not only may sustain the loss of his property, but also may be punished by the loss of his life. For it is preferable that the multitude be corrected by the condemnation of a few rather than that the appearance of unsuitable moderation introduce a pretext which may contribute to the license of delinquency . Given on...
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