marriage, divorce and the power of the father stage 38
TRANSCRIPT
MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND THE POWER OF THE FATHER
Stage 38
Marriage (#1-2)
Purpose of marriage is to have babies
- girls marry at age 13-14 when they can bear children
- boys marry at ag 18-20 when they can support children
Due to frequent divorce and death, there can be an age discripensy between man and wife
Father picks the groom, but the consent of both bride and groom must be given
PATERFAMILIASBride does not typically disagree with
her father due to his paterfamilias status
paterfamilias-male head of the household with no living father or grandfather, who had unbounded powers
Held paterpotestas, powers of life and death over all of his family members-including slaves and freedmen
Retained the right to accept or reject babies if they were deformed or of dubious paternity, every newborn child was laid at their feet
Sponsalia – Engagement (#3-4)
The terms of the marriage are agreed upon by the fathers
The father of the bride gives a dos – dowry – to the husband. It was a payment (money or property)
Father of bride made promise of marriage to the father of the groom
Wedding contract is signed Gifts are exchanged and a ring is placed
on the left hand, 3rd finger Engagement celebration follows
Types of Marriages (#5-7)Cum Manu – Old school Sine Manu – New School
• Bride belongs to husband• Ceases to be member of
father’s family• Her property becomes
the husband’s property• She can not ask for a
divorce even though he can
• Confarreatio ceremony results in this type of marriage
• Bride belongs to father and stays under his control
• Still a member of her family but lives with husband
• Bride still retains property
• Bride can ask for a divorce
• easy to enter into - Live together and declaring intent
Wedding Day (#8) – Bridal Preparation
Night before, bride removes bulla and dedicates it to the lares
Bride wears flammeum and tunic style dress – tunica recta
Bride wears the knot of Hercules, which only her husband unties
Bride’s hair is parted by a spear into 6 sections
Before ceremony, bride is symbolically pulled away from her mother
Bride undressed by matronae univirae (women who have had only 1 husband)
Wedding – Ceremony (#8-9)
Before the wedding, haruspex performs the sacrifice to check the omens
The hands are bound by a strap to symbolize the uniting – iunctio dextrarum
Vows are exchanged – ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia and vice versa
After the ceremony, there is a feast at the father of the bride’s house – cena nuptialis
dextrarum iunctio
After the wedding… (#8-9)After the wedding all the guests escorted the
bride to her new homeBride had three young boys to attend her
One held left hand, one held right hand, one carried a torch before her that had been lit at the hearth of her own home (the torch was thrown away as she approached her new home-whoever caught the torch was promised a long life)
Men in the procession called out rude jokes and noisy greetings to the groom
Groom greets bride at the door and carries her across the anointed door posts
The Newlyweds Nest
The brides symbolic acts when they returned to the grooms home:Touched the hearth fire and water
inside the housePrepared for her wedding night by
women who had only been married once (most girls were virgins for their first marriage)
Marriage Laws (#10)
The Roman Government, especially Augustus, made laws encourage marriage to ensure the growth in the Roman population
- penalities for singles, like no inheritance
- special privileges for families with 3+ children
Rights of Women (#11)
A Roman woman was under the control of her husband or father
- could not vote
- could not take part in political life
- could not sit on a jury or appear in court
However, Roman women had more rights than many other Mediteranean women at the time
- could run the house and manage the finances
- could leave the house
- could dine with the ment
- could attend plays/entertainment
- could go to the baths
- could attend dinner parties with husband
Woman’s Role (#12-13)
Roman women were expected to- Have and raise children
- Manage house and slaves
- Weave
- Obey husband
- Remain faithful
- Behave properly
This role was valued and known to be complicated and demanding. Women gained respect and prestige for how they ran their house.
Limited information since most literature left to us was written by men
Literature concerning Marriage (#14)
Letters and tombstone inscriptions give us a view of the average Roman’s view of married life
The lettes of Cicero and Pliny show marital bliss
- Here lies Amymone, wife of Marcus, most good and most beautiful, wool-spinner, dutiful, modest, careful, chaste, home-loving
- I have written these words so that those who read them may realize how much we loved each other
- To my dearest wife, with whom I have lived two years, six month, three days, and ten hours.