MARRIAGE Settlement is a legal act, previous to marriage, whereby a jointure is secured to the wife after the death of the husband. These settlements seem to have been in use among the ancient Germans, and their kindred nation the Gauls. Of the former Tacitus gives us this account: Dotem non uxor marito, sed uxori maritus affert: intersunt parentes et propinqui, et munera probant (De Mor. Germ. c. 18.). And Cæsar, (De Bell. Gallic. lib. vi. c. 18.) has given us the terms of a marriage settlement among the Gauls, as nicely calculated as any modern jointure: Viri, quantas pecunias ab uxoribus dotis nomine acceperunt, tantas ex suis bonis, estimatione facta, cum dotibus communicant. Hujus omnis pecunie conjunctum ratio habetur, fructusque
servatur. Uter eorum vita superavit, ad eum pars utriusque eum fructibus superiorum temporum pervenit. The dauphin's commentator supposes that this Gaulish custom was the ground of the new regulations made by Justinian, Nov. 97. with regard to the provision for widows among the Romans; but surely there is as much reason to suppose, says Judge Blackstone, that it gave the hint for our statutable jointures. Comment. vol. ii. p. 138.
See an excellent marriage settlement by Blackstone in the appendix to the second volume of his Commentaries.