罗马自建城以来，便以父权家长制作为社会运行的基础，在这样的社会中女性是受到压迫和限制的一方。法律将父权和夫权合法化，这使得女性在法律上长时间处于弱势地位。《十二铜表法》和盖尤斯《法学阶梯》是罗马法发展历程中重要的法律渊源。两部法学著作不仅具有法律效力，还反映了不同历史阶段下女性的法律地位。因此，本文以《十二铜表法》和盖尤斯《法学阶梯》为中心对古罗马女性的法律地位进行考察。

本文主要分为三个部分，主要论述如下几个问题：《十二铜表法》中的女性法律地位、盖尤斯《法学阶梯》中的女性法律地位、从《十二铜表法》到《法学阶梯》女性法律地位的变化。《十二铜表法》作为罗马法中的第一部成文法第一次将父权和夫权记载成文，确立了妇女受到限制与压迫的法律地位。《法学阶梯》延续了《十二铜表法》中部分限制妇女权利的法律，但在女性的受监护制度、婚姻以及财产权方面的具体问题做出了新的补充。这体现出帝国初期，女性的法律地位根本上依旧处于弱势，但相对意义上出现了一定提升。

从《十二铜表法》到《法学阶梯》是罗马的发展史，也是一段古罗马女性法律地位的发展史。直至帝国前期，女性虽然依旧没有改变法律上的弱势地位，但女性婚姻自主权的提升、女性监护制度的消亡以及对于女性经济参与权限制的松动等迹象都表明，女性的地位得到了提高。这是父权制的妥协，也是罗马帝国发展的必然结果，更是帝国走向繁荣的象征。

Since its founding, Rome has been based on patriarchal paternalism, in which women are oppressed and restricted. The law legalizes patriarchal and patriarchal authority, which puts women in a weak position in the law for a long time. the Law of the Twelve Tables and Institutiones (Gaius) are important sources of law in the development of Roman law. The two legal works not only have the force of law, but also reflect the legal status of women in different historical periods. Therefore, this paper examines the legal status of women in ancient Rome centered on the Law of the Twelve Tables and Institutiones (Gaius).

This article is mainly divided into three parts, mainly discussing the following issues: the legal status of women in the Law of the Twelve Tables, the legal status of women in Institutiones (Gaius), and the changes in the legal status of women from the Law of the Twelve Tables to Institutiones (Gaius). As the first written law in Roman law, the Law of the Twelve Tables codified patriarchal and patriarchal rights for the first time, establishing the legal status of women who were restricted and oppressed. Institutiones (Gaius) continues some of the Law of the Twelve Tables that restrict women's rights, but adds new additions to specific issues relating to women's guardianship system, marriage and property rights. This reflects that in the early days of the empire, the legal status of women was still fundamentally weak, but there was a certain improvement in the relative sense.

From the Law of the Twelve Tables to the Institutiones (Gaius) is the history of the development of Rome, and also a history of the development of the legal status of women in ancient Rome. Until the early period of the empire, although women still did not change their legally weak status, the increase of women's marital autonomy, the demise of the female guardianship system, and the loosening of restrictions on women's economic participation rights all showed that women's status had improved. This is a compromise of patriarchy, an inevitable result of the development of the Roman Empire, and a symbol of the empire's prosperity.