Paraphernalia most commonly refers to a group of apparatus, equipment, or furnishing used for a particular activity. For example, an avid sports fan may cover their walls with football and/or basketball paraphernalia.

Historical legal term

In legal language, "paraphernalia" is a term of art from older

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage ...

. The word "paraphernalia" is plural, meaning "things beyond the dowry". Paraphernalia were the separate property of a married woman, such as

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

and

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

"appropriate to her station", but excluding the assets that may have been included in her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

. The term originated in

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...

, but ultimately comes from Greek (''parápherna''), "beyond (''para'') the dowry (''phernē'')". These sorts of property were considered the separate property of a married woman under

coverture Coverture (sometimes spelled couverture) was a legal doctrine in the English common law in which a married woman's legal existence was considered to be merged with that of her husband, so that she had no independent legal existence of her own. U ...

. A husband could not sell, appropriate, or convey good title to his wife's assets considered paraphernalia without her separate consent. They did not become a part of her husband's estate upon his death, and could be conveyed by a married woman's will. Changes in

and

inheritance law Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officially ...

(mirroring trends in the wider society, such as the several Married Woman's Property Acts of the various common law jurisdiction), have generally rendered the legal concept of paraphernalia obsolete.

In fiction

The legal concept of paraphernalia in this sense is an important

plot point In television and film, a plot point is any incident, episode, or event that "hooks" into the action and spins it around into another direction. Noted screenwriting teacher Syd Field discusses plot points in his paradigm In science and philoso ...

in Anthony Trollope's novel '' The Eustace Diamonds''. In the novel, it was a matter of some consequence whether the title jewelry was an

heirloom In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for generations through family members. Examples are a Family Bible, antiques, weapons or jewellery. The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in En ...

, property of the heirs, or a woman's paraphernalia, freely alienable by her.Ch. 25, "Mr. Dove's opinion"

References

{{reflist Legal history Family law Roman law

Historical legal term

In fiction

See also

References