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This paper examines the ideology and reality of medieval French adop- tion in comparison with the Roman adoption of classical antiquity and in the light of medieval kinship structure.
Adoption in medieval France experienced serious changes in its ideolo- gical and practical level. While Roman adoption made much account of the power(patria potestas) of adoptive father and the interest of his family, medieval French adoption began to take into consideration the interest of adoptive child due to the mutation of medieval kinship structure. What should be noted first of all was that the Roman paterfamilias lost his patria potestas, concomitantly with the rise of filiation indiffẻrenciẻe in which the patria potestas was difficult to ensure. When maternal line was richer and nobler than paternal line, matrilineal structure could be created to the detriment of patria potestas, in the former of which daughter could be designated as heir, or son-in-law as adoptive son. It should be also noted that medieval French adoption was influenced by the ideology of spiritual kinship. Married couples or individuals(widows, widowers, unmar- ried women) having their own child or not, adopted the abandoned or orphan as their child, and nourished the adoptive child like their own one, due to the caritas(charity) and for the honor of God.
As far as adoption was concerned, Roman patria potestas waned and the adoptive child, boy or girl, was given relatively human treatment under the influence of filiation indiffẻrenciẻe and spiritual kinship, in particular the latter of which included the ideology of fraternity which made one raise the adoptive child like his/her own one. In sum, profound mutations that the adoption underwent in medieval France might be estimated as one phase in the long-term passage from the Roman practice in which was of importance only the interest of adoptive father and his family to the comtemporary practice in which the interest of adoptive child was always ensured by legislation.