ABSTRACT
The Lombard kingdom was an early medieval state established across much of the Italian peninsula by the Lombards (Langobardi), a Germanic people, from 568. The laws deal with marriage primarily in relation to property transfer. Women are explicitly denied legal competence under these laws and a woman's mundium – meaning both her legal guardianship and a payment that is made for that guardianship – is an important concern in the extracts that follow. The extracts from the laws given here are largely concerned with the process of betrothal and marriage, as well as the consequences for a woman who attempts to contract her own union, or commits fornication or adultery. The extracts are concerned with various forms of rape and abduction, and marriage within forbidden categories.
