Suspect Inheritances

This chapter investigates inheritances as a source of conflict, tension and social criticism in Roman society. More specifically, the contribution explores the discursive and rhetoric reception of non-normative posthumous transfers in literature as forms of misbehavior and corruption that challenged established social hierarchies and order. The stereotypical depiction of captatores testamenti as immoral and greedy ‘gold diggers’ and the spread of hybrid forms of transfers that emerged as alternatives to wills - and that were often labelled as suspicious - such as donationes mortis causa and fideicommissa, raised relevant questions about the legitimacy and motivation of testators, donors, heirs and donees. They also inform about social mobility and inequality, about the role of the state as arbiter but also interested party in these private transactions and, ultimately, about the complex relationship between death and wealth.