REFERENCES: Marquardt, 7-27; Voigt, 311, 316 f., 454; Pauly-Wissowa, undercognōmen;Smith, Harper, and Lübker, undernōmen.
See also: Egbert, "Latin Inscriptions," Chapter IV; Cagnat, "Cours d'Epigraphie Latine," Chapter I; Hübner, "Römische Epigraphik," pp. 653-680 of Müller'sHandbuch, Vol. I.
38The Triple Name.—Nothing is more familiar to the student of Latin than the fact that the Romans whose works he reads first have each a threefold name, Caius Julius Caesar, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Publius Vergilius Maro. This was the system that prevailed in the best days of the Republic, but it was itself a development, starting with a more simple form in earlier times and ending in utter confusion under the Empire. The earliest legends of Rome show us single names, Romulus, Remus, Faustulus; but side by side with these we find also double names, Numa Pompilius, Ancus Marcius, Tullus Hostilius. It is possible that single names were the earliest fashion, but when we pass from legends to real history the oldest names that we find are double, the second being always in the genitive case, representing the father or the Head of the House: Marcus Marci, Caecilia Metelli. A little later these genitives were followed by the letterf(forfīliusorfīlia) oruxor, to denote the relationship. Later still, but very anciently nevertheless, we find the freeborn man in possession of the three names with which we are familiar, thenōmento mark the clan (gēns), thecognōmento mark the family, and thepraenōmento mark the individual. The regular order of the three names ispraenōmen,nōmen,cognōmen, although in poetry the order is often changed to adapt the name to the meter.
39Great formality required even more than the three names. In official documents and in the state records it was usual to insert between a man'snōmenandcognōmenthepraenōminaof his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and sometimes even the name of the tribe to which he belonged. So Cicero might write his name: M. Tullius M. f. M. n. M. pr. Cor. Cicero; that is, Marcus Tullius Cicero, son (fīlius) of Marcus, grandson (nepōs) of Marcus, great-grandson (pronepōs) of Marcus, of the tribe Cornelia. See another example in§427.
40On the other hand even the triple name was too long for ordinary use. Children, slaves, and intimate friends addressed the citizen, master, and friend by hispraenōmenonly. Ordinary acquaintances used thecognōmenwith thepraenōmenprefixed for emphatic address. In earnest appeals we find thenōmenalso used, with sometimes thepraenōmenor the possessivemīprefixed. When two only of the three names are thus used in familiar intercourse the order varies. If thepraenōmenis one of the two, it always stands first, except in the poets for metrical reasons and in a few places in prose where the text is uncertain. If thepraenōmenis omitted, the arrangement varies: the older writers and Cicero put thecognōmenfirst,Ahāla Servilius(Cic. Milo, 3, 8: cf.C. Servilius Ahāla, Cat. I., 1, 3). Caesar puts the nōmen first; Horace, Livy, and Tacitus have both arrangements, while Pliny adheres to Caesar's usage. It will be convenient to consider the three names separately, and to discuss the names of men before considering those of the other members of thefamilia.
41The Praenomen.—The number of names used aspraenōminaseems to us preposterously small as compared with our Christian names, to which they in some measure correspond. It was never much in excess of thirty, and in Sulla's time had dwindled to eighteen. The full list is given by the authorities named above, but the following are all that are often found in our school and college authors:Aulus(A),Decimus(D),Gāius(C),Gnaeus(CN),Kaesō(K),Lūcius(L),Mānius(M'),Mārcus(M),Pūblius(P),Quīntus(Q),Servius(SER),Sextus(SEX),Spurius(SP),Tiberius(TI), andTitus(T). The forms of these names were not absolutely fixed, and we find forGnaeusthe formsGnaivos(early),Naevos,Naeus, andGnēus(rare); so also forServiuswe findSergius, the two forms going back to an ancientSerguius. The abbreviations also vary: forAuluswe find regularlyA, but alsoAVandAVL;forSextuswe findSEXTandSas well asSEX, and similar variations are found in the case of other names.
42But small as this list seems to us the natural conservatism of the Romans found in it a chance to display itself, and the great families repeated the names of their children from generation to generation in such a way as to make the identification of the individual very difficult in modern times. Thus the Aemilii contented themselves with seven of thesepraenōmina,Gāius,Gnaeus,Lūcius,Mānius,Mārcus,Quīntus, andTiberius, but used in addition one that is not found in any other gens,Māmercus(MAM). The Claudii used six,Gāius,Decimus,Lūcius,Pūblius,Tiberius, andQuīntus, with the additional nameAppius(APP), of Sabine origin, which they brought to Rome. The Cornelii used seven,Aulus,Gnaeus,Lūcius,Mārcus,Pūblius,Servius, andTiberius. A still smaller number sufficed for the Julian gens,Gāius,Lūcius, andSextus, with the nameVopiscus, which went out of use in very early times. And even these selections were subject to further limitations. Thus, of thegēns Claudiaonly one branch (stirps), known as theClaudiī Nerōnēs, used the namesDecimusandTiberius, and out of the seven names used in thegēns Cornēliathe branch of the Scipios (Cornēliī Scīpiōnēs) used onlyGnaeus,Lūcius, andPūblius. Even after apraenōmenhad found a place in a given family, it might be deliberately discarded: thus, the Claudii gave up the nameLūciusand the Manlii the nameMārcuson account of the disgrace brought upon their families by men who bore these names; and the Antonii never used the nameMārcusafter the downfall of the famous triumvir, Marcus Antonius.
43From the list of names usual in his family the father gave one to his son on the ninth day after his birth, thediēs lūstricus. It was a custom then, one that seems natural enough in our own times, for the father to give his ownpraenōmento his firstborn son; Cicero's name (§39) shows the nameMārcusfour times repeated, and it is probable that he came from a long line of eldest sons. When these names were first given they must have been chosen with due regard to their etymological meanings and have had some relation to the circumstances attending the birth of the child: Livy in speaking of the mythical Silvius Aeneas gives us to understand that he received his first name because he was born in a forest (silva).
44So,Lūciusmeant originally "born by day,"Mānius, "born in the morning";Quīntus,Sextus,Decimus,Postumus, etc., indicated the succession in the family;Tulluswas connected with the verbtollerein the sense of "acknowledge" (§95),Serviuswithservāre,Gāiuswithgaudēre. Others are associated with the name of some divinity, asMārcusandMāmercuswith Mars, andTiberiuswith the river god Tiberis. But these meanings in the course of time were forgotten as completely as we have forgotten the meanings of our Christian names, and even the numerals were employed with no reference to their proper force: Cicero's only brother was calledQuīntus.
45The abbreviation of thepraenōmenwas not a matter of mere caprice, as is the writing of initials with us, but was an established custom, indicating perhaps Roman citizenship. Thepraenōmenwas written out in full only when it was used by itself or when it belonged to a person in one of the lower classes of society. When Roman names are carried over into English, they should always be written out in full and pronounced accordingly. In the same way, when we read a Latin author and find a name abbreviated, the full name should always be pronounced if we read aloud or translate.
46The Nomen.—This, the all-important name, is called for greater precision thenōmen gentīleand thenōmen gentīlicium. The child inherited it, as one inherits his surname now, and there was, therefore, no choice or selection about it. Thenōmenended originally in-ius, and this ending was sacredly preserved by the patrician families: the endings-eius,-aius,-aeus, and-eusare merely variations from it. Other endings point to a non-Latin origin of the gens. Those in-ācus(Avidiācus) are Gallic, those in-na(Caecīna) are Etruscan, those in-ēnusor-iēnus(Salvidiēnus) are Umbrian or Picene. Some others are formed from the name of the town from which the family sprang, either with the regular terminations-ānusand-ēnsis(Albānus,Norbānus,Aquiliēnsis), or with the suffix-ius(Perusius,Parmēnsius) in imitation of the older and more aristocratic use. Standing entirely apart is thenōmenof the notoriousGāius Verrēs, which looks like acognōmenout of place (§55).
47Thenōmenbelonged by custom to all connected with the gens, to the plebeian as well as the patrician branches, to men, women, clients, and freedmen without distinction. It was perhaps the natural desire to separate themselves from the more humble bearers of theirnōmenthat led patrician families to use a limited number ofpraenōmina, avoiding those used by their clansmen of inferior social standing. At any rate it is noticeable that the plebeian families, as soon as political nobility and the busts in their halls gave them a standing above their fellows, showed the same exclusiveness in the selection of names for their children that the patricians had displayed before them (§42).
48The Cognomen.—Besides the individual name and the name that marked hisgēns, the Roman had often a third name, called thecognōmen, that served to indicate the family or branch of thegēnsto which he belonged. Almost all the greatgentēswere thus divided, some of them into numerous branches. The Cornelian gens, for example, included the plebeian Dolabellae, Lentuli, Cethegi, and Cinnae, in addition to the patrician Scipiones, Maluginenses, Rufini, etc. The recognition of a group of clansmen as such a branch, orstirps, and as entitled to transmit a commoncognōmenrequired the formal consent of the wholegēns, and carried with it the loss of certain privileges asgentīlēsto the members of thestirps.
49From the fact that in the official name (§39) thecognōmenfollowed the name of the tribe, it is generally believed that the oldest of thesecognōminadid not go back beyond the time of the division of the people into tribes. It is also generally believed that thecognōmenwas originally a nickname, bestowed on account of some personal peculiarity or characteristic, sometimes as a compliment, sometimes in derision. So, we find many pointing at physical traits, such asAlbus,Barbātus,Cincinnātus,Claudus,Longus(all originally adjectives), and the nounsNāsōandCapitō("the man with a nose," "with a head"); others refer to the temperament, such asBenignus,Blandus,Catō,Serēnus,Sevērus;others still denote origin, such asGallus,Ligus,Sabīnus,Siculus,Tuscus. These names, it must be remembered, descended from father to son, and would naturally lose their appropriateness as they passed along, until in the course of time their meanings were entirely lost sight of, as were those of thepraenōmina(§44).
50Under the Republic the patricians had almost without exception this third or family name; we are told of but one man, Caius Marcius, who lacked the distinction. With the plebeians thecognōmenwas not so common, perhaps its possession was the exception. The great families of the Marii, Mummii, and Sertorii had none, although the plebeian branches of the Cornelian gens (§48), the Tullian gens, and others, did. Thecognōmencame, therefore, to be prized as an indication of ancient lineage, and individuals whose nobility was new were anxious to acquire it to transmit to their children. Hence many assumedcognōminaof their own selection. Some of these were conceded by public opinion as their due, as in the case of Cnaeus Pompeius, who tookMagnusas hiscognōmen. Others were derided by their contemporaries, as we deride the made-to-order coat of arms of some nineteenth century upstart. It is probable, however, that only nobles ventured to assumecognōminaunder the Republic, though under the Empire their possession was hardly more than the badge of freedom.
51Additional Names.—Besides the three names already described, we find not infrequently, even in Republican times, a fourth or fifth. These were also calledcognōminaby a loose extension of the word, until in the fourth century of our era the nameagnōminawas given them by the grammarians. They may be conveniently considered under four heads:
In the first place, the process that divided the gens into branches might be continued even further. That is, as thegēnsbecame numerous enough to throw off astirps, so thestirpsin process of time might throw off a branch of itself, for which there is no better name than the vaguefamilia. This actually happened very frequently: thegēns Cornēlia, for example, threw off thestirpsof theScīpiōnēs, and these in turn the family or "house" of theNāsīcae. So we find the quadruple namePūblius Cornēlius Scīpiō Nāsīca, in which the last name was probably given very much in the same way as the third had been given before the division took place.
52In the second place, when a man passed from one family to another by adoption (§30) he regularly took the three names of his adoptive father and added his ownnōmen gentīlewith the suffix-ānus. Thus, Lucius Aemilius Paulus, the son of Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus (see§53for the last name), was adopted by Publius Cornelius Scipio, and took as his new namePūblius Cornēlius Scīpiō Aemiliānus. In the same way, when Caius Octavius Caepias was adopted by Caius Julius Caesar, he becameGāius Iūlius Caesar Octāviānus, and is hence variously styled Octavius and Octavianus in the histories.
53In the third place, an additional name, sometimes calledcognōmen ex virtūte, was often given by acclamation to a great statesman or victorious general, and was put after hiscognōmen. A well known example is the name of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the last name having been given him after his defeat of Hannibal. In the same way, his grandson by adoption, the Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus mentioned above, received the same honorable name after he had destroyed Carthage, and was calledPūblius Cornēlius Scīpiō Africānus Aemiliānus. Such a name is Macedonicus given to Lucius Aemilius Paulus for his defeat of Persens, and the title Augustus given by the senate to Octavianus. It is not certainly known whether or not these names passed by inheritance to the descendants of those who originally earned them, but it is probable that the eldest son only was strictly entitled to take his father's title of honor.
54In the fourth place, the fact that a man had inherited a nickname from his ancestors in the form of acognōmen(§49) did not prevent his receiving another from some personal characteristic, especially as the inherited name had often no application, as we have seen, to its later possessor. To some ancient Publius Cornelius was given the nicknameScīpiō(§49), and in the course of time this was taken by all his descendants without thought of its appropriateness and became acognōmen;then to one of these descendants was given another nickname for personal reasons,Nāsīca, and in course of time it lost its individuality and became the name of a whole family (§51); then in precisely the same way a member of this family became prominent enough to need a separate name and was calledCorculum, his full name beingPūblius Cornēlius Scīpiō Nāsīca Corculum. It is evident that there is no reason why the expansion should not have continued indefinitely. Such names are Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer, and Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio. It is also evident that we can not always distinguish between a mere nickname, one belonging strictly to this paragraph, and the additionalcognōmenthat marked the family off from the rest of thestirpsto which it belonged. It is perfectly possible that the name Spinther mentioned above has as good a right as Nasica to a place in the first division (§51).
55Confusion of Names.—A system so elaborate as that we have described was almost sure to be misunderstood or misapplied, and in the later days of the Republic and under the Empire we find all law and order disregarded. The giving of thepraenōmento the child seems to have been delayed too long sometimes, and burial inscriptions are numerous which have in place of a first name the wordpūpus(PVP) "child," showing that the little one had died unnamed. One such inscription gives the age of the unnamed child as sixteen years. Then confusion was caused by the misuse of thepraenōmen. Sometimes two are found in one name, e.g.,Pūblius Aelius Aliēnus Archelāus Mārcus. Sometimes words ending like thenōmenin-iuswere used aspraenōmina:Cicero tells us that oneNumerius Quīntius Rūfusowed his escape from death in a riot to his ambiguous first name. The familiar Gāius must have been anōmenin very ancient times. Like irregularities occur in the use of thenōmen. Two in a name were not uncommon, one being derived from the family of the mother perhaps; occasionally three or four are used, and fourteen are found in the name of one of the consuls of the year 169A.D.Then by a change, the converse of that mentioned above, a word might go out of use as apraenōmenand become anōmen:Cicero's enemyLūcius Sergius Catilīnahad for his gentile nameSergius, which had once been a first name (§41). Thecognōmenwas similarly abused. It ceased to denote the family and came to distinguish members of the same family, as thepraenōminaoriginally had done: thus the three sons of Marcus Annaeus Seneca, for example, were calledMārcus Annaeus Novātus,Lūcius Annaeus Seneca, andLūcius Annaeus Mela. So, too, a word used as acognōmenin one name might be used as a fourth element in another: for example in the namesLūcius Cornēlius SullaandLūcius Cornēlius Lentulus Surathe third and fourth elements respectively are really the same, being merely shortened forms ofSurula. Finally it may be remarked that the same name might be arranged differently at different times: in the consular lists we find the same man calledLūcius Lūcrētius Tricipitīnus FlāvusandLūcius Lūcrētius Flāvus Tricipitīnus.
56There is even greater variation in the names of persons who had passed from one family into another by adoption. Some took the additional name (§52) from thestirpsinstead of from thegēns, that is, from thecognōmeninstead of from thenōmen. A son of Marcus Claudius Marcellus was adopted by a certain Publius Cornelius Lentulus and ought to have been calledPūblius Cornēlius Lentulus Claudiānus;he took instead the namePūblius Cornēlius Lentulus Marcellīnus, and this name descended to his children. The confusion in this direction is well illustrated by the name of the famous Marcus Junius Brutus. A few years before Caesar fell by his hand, Brutus, as we usually call him, was adopted by his mother's brother, Quintus Servilius Caepio, and ought to have been calledQuīntus Servīlius Caepiō Iūniānus. For some reason unknown to us he retained his owncognōmen, and even his close friend Cicero seems scarcely to know what to call him. Sometimes he writes of him asQuīntus Caepiō Brūtus, sometimes asMārcus Brūtus, sometimes simply asBrūtus. The great scholar of the first century, Asconius, calls himMārcus Caepiō. Finally it may be noticed that late in the Empire we find a man struggling under the load of forty names.
57Names of Women.—No very satisfactory account of the names of women can be given, because it is impossible to discover any system in the choice and arrangement of those that have come down to us. It may be said in general that the threefold name was unknown in the best days of the Republic, and thatpraenōminawere rare and when used were not abbreviated. We find suchpraenōminaasPaullaandVibia(the masculine forms of which early disappeared),Gāia,Lūcia, andPūblia, and it is probable that the daughter took these from her father. More common were the adjectivesMaxumaandMinor, and the numeralsSecundaandTertia, but these unlike the corresponding names of men seem always to have denoted the place of the bearer among a group of sisters. It was more usual for the unmarried woman to be called by her father'snōmenin its feminine form,Tullia,Cornēlia, with the addition of her father'scognōmenin the genitive case,Caecilia Metellī, followed later by the letterf(=filia) to mark the relationship. Sometimes she used her mother'snōmenafter her father's. The married woman, if she passed into her husband's hand (manus,§35) by the ancient patrician ceremony, originally took hisnōmen, just as an adopted son took the name of the family into which he passed, but it can not be shown that the rule was universally or even usually observed. Under the later forms of marriage she retained her maiden name. In the time of the Empire we find the threefold name for women in general use, with the same riotous confusion in selection and arrangement as prevailed in the case of the names of men at the same time.
58Names of Slaves.—Slaves had no more right to names of their own than they had to other property, but took such as their masters were pleased to give them, and even these did not descend to their children. In the simpler life of early times the slave was calledpuer, just as the word "boy" was once used in this country for slaves of any age. Until late in the Republic the slave was known only by this name corrupted toporand affixed to the genitive of his master's first name:Mārcipor(=Mārcī puer), "Marcus's slave." When slaves became numerous this simple form no longer sufficed to distinguish them, and they received individual names. These were usually foreign names, often denoting the nationality of the slave, sometimes, in mockery perhaps, the high-sounding appellations of eastern potentates, such names as Afer, Eleutheros, Pharnaces. By this time, too, the wordservushad supplantedpuer. We find, therefore, that toward the end of the Republic the full name of a slave consisted of his individual name followed by thenōmenandpraenōmen(the order is important) of his master and the wordservus:Pharnacēs Egnātiī Pūbliī servus. When a slave passed from one master to another he took thenōmenof the new master and added to it thecognōmenof the old with the suffix-ānus:when Anna the slave of Maecenas became the property of Livia, she was calledAnna Līviae serva Maecēnātiāna.
59Names of Freedmen.—The freedman regularly kept the individual name which he had had as a slave, and was given thenōmenof his master with anypraenōmenthe latter assigned him. Thus, Andronicus, the slave of Marcus Livius Salinator, became when freedLūcius Līvius Andronīcus, the individual name coming last as a sort ofcognōmen. It happened naturally that the master'spraenōmenwas often given, especially to a favorite slave. The freedman of a woman took the name of her father, e.g.,Mārcus Līvius Augustae l Ismarus;the letterlstands forlībertus, and was inserted in all formal documents. Of course the master might disregard the regular form and give the freedman any name he pleased. Thus, when Cicero manumitted his slaves Tiro and Dionysius he called the former in strict accord with customMārcus Tullius Tīrō, but to the latter he gave his ownpraenōmenand thenōmenof his friend Titus Pomponius Atticus, the new name beingMārcus Pomponius Dionysius. The individual names (Pharnaces, Dionysius, etc.) were dropped by the descendants of freedmen, who were anxious with good reason to hide all traces of their mean descent.
60Naturalized Citizens.—When a foreigner was given the right of citizenship, he took a new name, which was arranged on much the same principles as have been explained in the cases of freedmen. His original name was retained as a sort ofcognōmen, and before it were written thepraenōmenthat suited his fancy and thenōmenof the person, always a Roman citizen, to whom he owed his citizenship. The most familiar example is that of the Greek poet Archias, whom Cicero defended under the name ofAulus Licinius Archiāsin the well-known oration. He had long been attached to the family of the Luculli and when he was made a citizen took as hisnōmenthat of his distinguished patron Lucius Licinius Lucullus; we do not know why he selected the first name Aulus. Another example is that of the Gaul mentioned by Caesar (B. G., I, 47),Gāius Valerius Cabūrus. He took his name from Caius Valerius Flaccus, the governor of Gaul at the time that he was given his citizenship. It is to this custom of taking the names of governors and generals that is due the frequent occurrence of the name Julius in Gaul, Pompeius in Spain, and Cornelius in Sicily.
REFERENCES: Marquardt, 28-80; Voigt, 318, 449; Göll, II, 5 f.; Friedländer, I, 451 f.; Ramsay, 293 f., 477; Preston, 8 f.; Smith,mātrimōnium;Baumeister, 696 f.; Harper,cōnūbium,mātrimōnium;Lübker, 364; Pauly-Wissowa,coēmptiō,cōnfarreātiō,cōnūbium.
61Early Forms of Marriage.—Polygamy was never practiced at Rome, and we are told that for five centuries after the founding of the city divorce was entirely unknown. Up to the time of the Servian constitution (date uncertain) the patricians were the only citizens and intermarried only with patricians and with members of surrounding communities having like social standing. The only form of marriage known to them was the stately religious ceremonial called, as will be explained hereafter,cōnfarreātiō. With the direct consent of the gods, with thepontificēscelebrating the solemn rites, in the presence of the accredited representatives of hisgēns, the patrician took his wife from her father's family into his own (§28), to be amāter familiās, to rear him children who should conserve the family mysteries, perpetuate his ancient race, and extend the power of Rome. By this, the one legal marriage of the time, the wife passedin manum virī, and the husband acquired over her practically the same rights as he had over his own children (§§35,36) and other dependent members of his family. Such a marriage was said to becum conventiōne uxōris in manum virī(§35).
62During this period, too, the free non-citizens (§§177,178), the plebeians, had been busy in marrying and giving in marriage. There is little doubt that their unions had been as sacred in their eyes, their family ties as strictly regarded and as pure, as those of the patricians, but these unions were unhallowed by the national gods and unrecognized by the civil law, simply because the plebeians were not yet citizens. Their form of marriage was calledūsus, and consisted essentially in the living together of the man and woman as husband and wife for a year, though there were, of course, conventional forms and observances, about which we know absolutely nothing. The plebeian husband might acquire the same rights over the person and property of his wife as the patrician, but the form of marriage did not in itself involvemanus. The wife might remain a member of her father's family and retain such property as he allowed her (§33) by merely absenting herself from her husband for the space of atrinoctiumeach year. If she did this the marriage wassine conventiōne in manum, and the husband had no control over her property; if she did not, the marriage like that of the patricians wascum conventiōne in manum.
63At least as far back as the time of Servius goes another Roman form of marriage, also plebeian, though not so ancient asūsus. It was calledcoēmptiōand was a fictitious sale, by which thepater familiāsof the woman, or her guardian (tūtor) if she wassuī iūris, transferred her to the manmātrimōniī causā. This form must have been a survival of the old custom of purchase and sale of wives, but we do not know when it was introduced among the Romans. It carriedmanuswith it as a matter of course and seems to have been regarded socially as better form thanūsus. The two existed for centuries side by side, butcoēmptiōsurvivedūsusas a form of marriagecum conventiōne in manum.
64Ius Conubii.—While the Servian constitution made the plebeians citizens and thereby legalized their forms of marriage, it did not give them the right of intermarriage with the patricians. Many of the plebeian families were hardly less ancient than the patricians, many were rich and powerful, but it was not until 445B.C.that marriages between the two orders were formally sanctioned by the civil law. The objection on the part of the patricians was largely a religious one: The gods of the state were patrician gods, the auspices could be taken by patricians only, the marriages of patricians only were sanctioned by heaven. Their orators protested that the unions of the plebeians were no better than promiscuous intercourse, they were notiūstae nūptiae(§67); the plebeian wife was takenin mātrimōnium, she was at best anuxor, not amāter familiās;her offspring were "mother's children," notpatriciī.
65Much of this was class exaggeration, but it is true that at this early date thegēnswas not so highly valued by the plebeians as by the patricians, and that the plebeians assigned to cognates certain duties and privileges that devolved upon the patriciangentīlēs. With, theiūs cōnūbiīmany of these points of difference disappeared. New conditions were fixed foriūstae nūptiae;coēmptiōby a sort of compromise became the usual form of marriage when one of the parties was a plebeian; and the stigma disappeared from the wordmātrimōnium. On the other hand patrician women learned to understand the advantages of a marriagesine conventiōneand marriage withmanusgradually became less frequent, the taking of the auspices before the ceremony came to be considered a mere form, and marriage began to lose its sacramental character, and with these changes came later the laxness in the marital relation and the freedom of divorce that seemed in the time of Augustus to threaten the very life of the commonwealth.
66It is probable that by the time of Cicero marriage withmanuswas uncommon, and consequently thatcōnfarreātiōandcoēmptiōhad gone out of general use. To a limited extent, however, the former was retained until Christian times, because certain priestly offices (flāminēs maiōrēsandrēgēs sacrōrum) could be filled only by persons whose parents had been married by the confarreate ceremony, the one sacramental form, and who had themselves been married by the same form. But so great became the reluctance of women to submit tomanus, that in order to fill even these few priestly offices it was found necessary under Tiberius to eliminatemanusfrom the confarreate ceremony.
67Nuptiae Iustae.—There were certain conditions that had to be satisfied before a legal marriage could be contracted even by citizens. It was required:
1. That the consent of both parties should be given, or of thepater familiāsif one or both werein potestāte. Under Augustus it was provided that thepater familiāsshould not withhold his consent unless he could show valid reasons for doing so.
2. That both parties should bepūberēs;there could be no marriage between children. Although no precise age was fixed by law, it is probable that fourteen and twelve were the lowest limit for the man and woman respectively.
3. That both man and woman should be unmarried. Polygamy was never practiced at Rome.
684. That the parties should not be nearly related. The restrictions in this direction were fixed rather by public opinion than by law and varied greatly at different times, becoming gradually less severe. In general it may be said that marriage was absolutely forbidden between ascendants and descendants, between other cognates within the fourth degree (§25), and the neareradfīnēs(§26). If the parties could satisfy these conditions they might be legally married, but distinctions were still made that affected the civil status of the children, although no doubt was cast upon their legitimacy or upon the moral character of their parents.
69If the husband and wife were both Roman citizens, their marriage was callediūstae nūptiae, which we may translate "regular marriage," their children wereiūstī līberīand were by birthcīvēs optimō iūre, "possessed of all civil rights."
If but one of the parties was a Roman citizen and the other a member of a community having theiūs cōnūbiībut not the fullcīvitās, the marriage was still callediūstae nūptiae, but the children took the civil standing of the father. This means that if the father was a citizen and the mother a foreigner, the children were citizens; but if the father was a foreigner and the mother a citizen, the children were foreigners (peregrīnī) with the father.
But if either of the parties was without theiūs cōnūbiī, the marriage, though still legal, was callednūptiae iniūstaeormātrimōnium iniūstum, "an irregular marriage," and the children, though legitimate, took the civil position of the parent of lower degree. We seem to have something analogous to this in the loss of social standing which usually follows the marriage of a person with one of distinctly inferior position.
70Betrothals.—Betrothal (spōnsālia) as a preliminary to marriage was considered good form but was not legally necessary and carried with it no obligations that could be enforced by law. In thespōnsāliathe maiden was promised to the man as his bride with "words of style," that is, in solemn form. The promise was made, not by the maiden herself, but by herpater familiās, or by hertūtorif she was notin potestāte. In the same way, the promise was made to the man directly only in case he wassuī iūris, otherwise to the Head of his House, who had asked for him the maiden in marriage. The "words of style" were probably something like this:
"Spondēsne Gāiam, tuam fīliam(or if she was a ward:Gāiam, Lūciī fīliam),mihi(orfīliō meō)uxōrem darī?"
"Dī bene vortant! Spondeō."
"Dī bene vortant!"
71At any rate the wordspondeōwas technically used of the promise, and the maiden was henceforthspōnsa. The person who made the promise had always the right to cancel it. This was usually done through an intermediary (nūntius), and hence the formal expression for breaking an engagement wasrepudium renūntiāre, or simplyrenūntiāre. While the contract was entirely one-sided, it should be noticed that a man was liable toīnfāmiaif he formed two engagements at the same time, and that he could not recover any presents made with a view to a future marriage if he himself broke the engagement. Such presents were almost always made, and while we find that articles for personal use, the toilet, etc., were common, a ring was usually given. The ring was worn on the third finger of the left hand, because it was believed that a nerve ran directly from this finger to the heart. It was also usual for thespōnsato make a present to her betrothed.
72The Dowry.—It was a point of honor with the Romans, as it is now with some European nations, for the bride to bring to her husband a dowry (dōs). In the case of a girlin potestātethis would naturally be furnished by the Head of her House; in the case of onesuī iūrisit was furnished from her own property, or if she had none was contributed by her relatives. It seems that if they were reluctant she might by process of law compel her ascendants at least to furnish it. In early times, when marriagecum conventiōneprevailed, all the property brought by the bride became the property of her husband, or of hispater familiās(§35), but in later times, whenmanuswas less common, and especially after divorce had become of frequent occurrence, a distinction was made. A part of the bride's possessions was reserved for her own exclusive use, and a part was made over to the groom under the technical name ofdōs. The relative proportions varied, of course, with circumstances.
73Essential Forms.—There were really no legal forms necessary for the solemnization of a marriage; there was no license to be procured from the civil authorities, the ceremonies simple or elaborate did not have to be performed by persons authorized by the state. The one thing necessary was the consent of both parties, if they weresuī iūris, or of theirpatrēs familiās, if they werein potestāte. It has been already remarked (§67, 1) that thepater familiāscould refuse his consent for valid reasons only; on the other hand, he could command the consent of persons subject to him. It is probable that parental and filial affection (pietās) made this hardship less rigorous than it now seems to us (§§32,33).
74But while this consent was the only condition for a legal marriage, it had to be shown by some act of personal union between the parties; that is, the marriage could not be entered into by letter or by the intervention of a third party. Such an overt act was the joining of hands (dextrārum iūnctiō) in the presence of witnesses, or the escorting of the bride to her husband's house, never omitted when the parties had any social standing, or in later times the signing of the marriage contract. It was never necessary to a valid marriage that the parties should live together as man and wife, though, as we have seen (§62), this living together of itself constituted a legal marriage.
75The Wedding Day.—It will be noticed that superstition played an important part in the arrangements for a wedding two thousand years ago, as it does now. Especial pains had to be taken to secure a lucky day. The Kalends, Nones, and Ides of each month, and the day following each of them, were unlucky. So was all of May and the first half of June, on account of certain religious ceremonies observed in these months, the Argean offerings and theLemūriain May and thediēs religiōsīconnected with Vesta in June. Besides these thediēs parentālēs, February 13-21, and the days when the entrance to the lower world was supposed to be open, August 24, October 5, and November 8, were carefully avoided. One-third of the year, therefore, was absolutely barred. The great holidays, too, and these were legion, were avoided, not because they were unlucky, but because on these days friends and relatives were sure to have other engagements. Women marrying for the second time chose these very holidays to make their weddings less conspicuous.
76The Wedding Garments.—On the eve of her wedding day the bride dedicated to theLarēsof her father's house herbulla(§99) and thetoga praetexta, which married women did not wear, and also if she was not much over twelve years of age her childish playthings. For the sake of the omen she put on before going to sleep thetunica rēcta, orrēgilla, woven in one piece and falling to the feet. A very doubtful picture is shown in Rich under the wordrëcta. It seems to have derived its name from having been woven in the old-fashioned way at an upright loom. This same tunic was worn at the wedding.