El poder familiar: la Patria Potestad en el Antiguo Régimen

Abstract

The domain of paternal authority is the family. This domain, regulated by rights and made sacred by the Catholic Church, is a private realm in which the father of the family exercises total and unlimited authority. This type of authority gives way to domination and subjection both inside the family itself and outside, in its ties with the rest of society. Paternal authority is a privilege based on pre-established consent leading to a general form of dominance that invalidates the will of the offspring. The dowry, the testament and the control over property are foundations of an authority which is always transferred along male lines.