Marriage customs of Ancient Rome
Roman girls were considered of marriageable age at twelve and boys at fourteen, though many did not marry until they were somewhat older. Augustus legislated that women of twenty and men of twenty-five who were still unmarried should be penalized.
Marriages were usually arranged, particularly amongst the upper classes. At first, the marriage of close relations was a crime, but by the second century BC marriage between first cousins was not unusual. Roman law did not recognize a marriage between a Roman and a foreigner, and a Roman woman could not marry a slave.
A young couple became engaged with the consent of their fathers, but engagement was an informal agreement to marry made in writing, and could easily be renounced. A betrothal ceremony was held in the presence of friends and relatives, with a banquet to follow. The girl received gifts from her fianc and a ring. The prospective groom made a substantial gift to his fiance, usually returnable if the engagement was broken off. The girl would have a dowry, which would be paid by her father to the groom.
June was the favorite time of year for weddings. The wedding ceremony began in the morning, when the groom arrived with his family and friends at the home of the bride. The matron of honor performed the ceremony linking the couple’s right hands together. A sacrifice was then made, usually a pig, and the marriage contract, which involved the dowry, was signed. This was then followed by music, food and dancing, usually at the expense of the groom. After the time of Augustus, the cost of such festivities was not allowed to exceed 1000 sesterces.
On the day before her wedding, a girl would ritually surrender her childhood toys and clothes to the household gods. The bride’s appearance at the ceremony was also ritually prescribed. She wore a tunic-type dress without a hem, secured at the waist by a girdle or wool. Over this she wore a saffron-colored palla or cloak. She wore an orange veil, and her updo was dressed in an old-fashioned way with six strands parted using a bent iron spearhead.
After the wedding banquet, all the guests accompanied the bride to her new home, in a procession similar to that in an Athenian wedding. The bride was closely escorted by three young boys: one held her right hand, another her left, and the third boy carried a torch in front of her. The torch had been lit from the hearth at the bride’s home.
As the procession neared the bridegroom’s house, the torch was thrown away. Whoever managed to catch it was traditionally promised a long life.
When the wedding procession arrived at the groom’s house, the bride smeared the doorposts with oil and fat and wreathed them with wool. She was then carried across the threshold. Once inside the house, she symbolically touched fire and water, and then was led to the bedchamber. Here she was helped to prepare for bed by women who had been married only once, and the bridegroom was admitted. The Roman marriage contract stated explicitly that the purpose of marriage was the procreation of children.
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Tags: Roman Girls, Sesterces, Wedding Ceremony