According to article 230 of book 3 of the Dutch Civil Code the rights of pledge and hypothec are indivisible. The indivisibility of pledge and hypothec was also codified in the Old Dutch Civil Code (1838) and the French Civil Code (1804). The roots of the indivisibility of pledge and hypothec can however be traced much further back. They probably even go back to Roman law. By using a historical and comparative approach I want to trace the origin and meaning of the indivisibility of pledge and hypothec. In my research I pay attention to Roman law, the reception of Roman law in the Middle Ages, French law and Dutch law.