Stage 38 Culture Flashcards
What was the average age for a Roman girl to marry? A Roman man?
- Girls were normally married by 20 (girls from elite families could be married by 12)
- Men were married by 25-30
- Could have a large age difference between husband and wife if the man had been married previously
How was the husband selected? What had to happen by law before the marriage could take place?
- The girl’s father/guardian (paterfamilias) chose her husband
- Both the bride and groom had to give their consent before that got married
What was the dōs?
Dowry - payment in money and/or property that the bride’s family gave to the husband
Describe five aspects of a Roman spōnsālia (ceremony of betrothal or engagement).
- The father of the bride made a promise of marriage to the groom himself or to his father
- Gifts were exchanged
- A ring was put on the bride’s ring finger
- Friends and family were present as witnesses
- Ceremony was followed by a party
Outline three aspects of marriage cum manū.
- The bride stopped being a member of her father’s family and went under the control (manus) or her husband
- All her property became her husbands
- He could divorce her (she could not divorce him)
How did the ceremony of cōnfarreātiō get its name?
Confarreatio - ceremony to enter into a cum manu marriage where the couple ate a sacred cake made of far (grain)
Outline four aspects of marriage sine manū.
- The bride was not in the control of her husband (she was still seen as a member of her father’s family)
- Bride could have property
- Bride could divorce her husband
- Couple just had to live together after saying they would be man and wife to have a sine manu marriage
Lūnula
- Moon shaped locket or amulet which the bride would have worn since birth
- Removed the evening before her wedding day to symbolize that she was leaving her childhood behind
Bulla
- Male equivalent of a lunula
- the groom would have already dedicated this to his family lares when he became a citizen (17 or 18 yrs. old)
flammeum
a flame-colored bridal veil
haruspex
would make a sacrifice and take the omens at a wedding
iūnctiō dextrārum
symbolic joining of hands
cēna nūptiālis
wedding feast
ubi tū Gāius, ego Gāia
traditional words of the bride to her husband (“Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia)
mātrōnae ūnivirae
women who only had one husband, would undress the bride
List nine other customs of a Roman wedding.
- Signing of the marriage contract (witnessed by the wedding guests)
- Pretending to pull the bride away from her mother by force
- Torch-lit procession to the groom’s house
- The wedding song
- Calling out of noisy greeting and course jokes to the groom
- Anointing the doorposts with oil
- Carrying the bride across the threshold of her new home
- Arranging the bride’s hair (Parted with a spear, Divided into 6 braids)
- Presentation of fire and water by the groom to the bride
What was the chief purpose of a Roman marriage? List two ways the Emperor Augustus encouraged marriage and large families. How successful was he?
- Main purpose was to have and raise children
How they encouraged marriages:
- Penalties against people who did not get married (ie: forbidding them to receive legacies)
- Privileges for married couple who had 3+ children
- Birthrate still continued to drop
What were five things a Roman wife couldn’t do? What were four things that she could?
What she couldn’t do
- Vote in elections
- Take an active part in public or political life
- Sit on a jury
- Plead in court
What she could do
- Was not restricted to her home - could go visit friends
- Could go to the theater and baths
- Could accompany her husband to dinner parties
What was a Roman wife’s traditional role? Why was that role considered demanding?
- Running the household
- She had to manage and supervise a large number of domestic slaves
Why is our view of Roman married life very incomplete?
- We do not know as much about married life for the poor
- We do not have much information about married life form the women’s point of view (most writers were men)
What are two types of sources for what we do know about married life?
- Writing of Roman authors (ie: letters)
- Epitaphs - things written in memory of husbands and wives