Customs - Marriage Flashcards
sponsalia
betrothal - maiden promised to man by pater familias or tutor
sponsus
fiancé - betrothed man, “he having been promised”
sponsa
fiancée - betrothed woman, “she having been promised”
anulus
wedding ring - worn on left hand because they thought the left hand vein led to the heart
repudium renuntiare
breaking of betrothal done by nuntius
infamia
man can’t get presents if he broke betrothal
nubere
to marry - literally “to veil oneself”
in matrimonial ducere
to marry - “to lead into matrimony”
hymenaeus
marriage hymn
stola matronalis
matron’s dress - worn outside the house
Matronalia
March 1 - Mother’s Day (and Wive’s Day)
manus
power of husband over wife
divorce
not for first 5 centuries but many by time of Augustus
usus
plebeian marriage - no manus, not recognized by law
Servius
made plebeians citizens so they could legally marry
coemptio
mock sale marriage - involved dowry, 5 witnesses
libripens
sale-holder who laid single coin on scale in coemptio (mock sale marriage)
tunica recta
wedding dress
flammeum
saffron veil
nodus Herculaneus
knot on wedding dress
hasta caelibaris
spear head that divided bride’s hair into 6 locks
vittae
ribbons that tied bride’s hair
confarreatio
elaborate, religious marriage
pronuba
maid of honor
cumera
covered basket with utensils carried by camillus
camillus
boy who’s not an orphan and has both living parents
deductio
taking of bride to husband’s house
feliciter
congratulations - said at deductio
“ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia”
what wife says - “when you are Gaius, I am Gaia”
cena nuptialis
wedding feast
mustaceum
wedding cake
repotia
second feast of wedding the day after ceremony
nuptiae iustae
legal wedding
days unlucky for marriage
Kalends, Nones, Ides, May, first half of June, dies parentales (Feb 13-21), entrance to underworld opens (August 24, October 5, November 8), major holidays typically avoided)
