The validity of testamentary solemnities in the ius commune context

Abstract

The present study aims to explain the causes that led to the medieval doctrine to study the requirements which were needed for the preparation and perfection of the medieval Testament, since with the emergence of the ius commune caused the recovery of the different Roman testamentary forms, as well as their solemnities.
On the basis of the criterion whereby that falsehood made the testament null, the
doctrine argued that the Testament should observe both the solemnities legally prescribed in each Kingdom, as the will of the testator, since the error, fear or any other relevant defect of the testamentary will would bring with it the ipso jure nullity of the Testament.
For a more comprehensive overview of this complex reality, I shall analyze its validity in a particular geographical context, that of the Kingdom of Valencia, and a particular form of testament, the closed one; by analyzing a set of cases referred to by the legal doctrine, and using a deeply Romanized text, I shall explain all possible variants posed by the ius commune in the law of succession field.