Legal Limitations of the Anthropological Notion of the Gift in Roman Law

The gift from an anthropological perspective differs from the rigid civil notion of donation, which presupposes an unilateral, gratuitous transfer from one person to another. The anthropological notion of the gift includes all gratuitous transfers, either material or non-material. Therefore, the relation between the anthropological notion of the gift and the legal notion of donation is one of inclusion. However, limitations imposed on donations in Roman law follow the same logic of the legal limitations on other gratuitous transfers such as the ones prohibited by leges sumptuaria. In this article I will analyze the reasons behind the legal interdictions in Roman law on some gratuitous spending, including donations between spouses, the ones prohibited by Lex cincia de donis et muneribus and by leges sumptuaria, interdictions that deal with the anthropological function of the gift in the greco-roman world.