Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1987
First Page
17
Volume
12
Source Publication Abbreviation
Okla. City U. L. Rev.
Abstract
This article seeks to dispel the common perception that the condominium is an institution peculiarly Roman. The article attempts to set the record straight and to trace a course of events that is symptomatic of underlying problems in American legal scholarship.
Part II outlines the considerations which render it improbable that anything like modern condominium existed in Roman civil law. Part III is a short sketch of the actual history of condominium. Part IV traces the process by which the fable of Roman origin crept throughout American legal literature. Part V explains, in reverse chronological order, how a now-discredited European historical theory was eventually transmitted to the western hemisphere. Part VI provides citations to materials cited by authors who have sought to find evidence of horizontal property ownership in Rome. Finally, Part VII speculates upon the reasons for this unfortunate state of legal scholarship and suggests a slight change in emphasis, a moderate increase in classical training, and a great deal more diligence and intellectual curiosity.
Recommended Citation
Natelson, Robert G., "Comments on the Historiography of Condominium: The Myth of Roman Origin" (1987). Faculty Law Review Articles. 43.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/faculty_lawreviews/43