ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, ''confarreatio'' was a traditional

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

form of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

. The ceremony involved the bride and bridegroom sharing a cake of

emmer Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid (4''n'' = 4''x'' = 28 chromosomes). The domesticated types are ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccum'' and ''Triticum turgidum ''conv.'' durum''. The wild plant is ...

, in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''far'' or ''panis farreus'', hence the rite's name. (''Far'' is often translated as "spelt", which is inaccurate as the grain used was ''Triticum dicoccum,'' not ''Triticum speltum''.) The Flamen Dialis and pontifex maximus presided over the

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

, and ten witnesses had to be present. The woman passed directly from the hand ''(manus)'' of her father or head of household (the ''

pater familias The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (plural ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his ext ...

'') to that of her new husband. Having parents who were married by ''confarreatio'' was a prerequisite for becoming a Vestal or the Flamen Dialis. ''Confarreatio'' seems to have been limited to those whose parents were also married by ''confarreatio'', but later, perhaps with the rise of plebeian ''nobiles'', this requirement must have been relaxed. Scipio Africanus presumably married his wife

Aemilia Tertia Aemilia Tertia, also known as Aemilia Paulla (c. 230–163 or 162 BC), was the wife of the Roman consul and censor Scipio Africanus. She was the daughter, possibly the third surviving daughter, of the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus and the ...

by ''confarreatio'', because their elder son was Flamen Dialis; yet Scipio's mother

Pomponia Pomponia is the female name for the Pomponia gens of Ancient Rome. This family was one of the oldest families in Rome. Various women bearing this name lived during the Middle and Late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The oldest known Pompon ...

was a plebeian. Divorce for ''confarreatio'' marriages, '' diffarreatio'', was a difficult process and therefore rare. Not much is known about how ''diffarreatio'' was carried out except that there was a special type of sacrifice that caused the dissolution of the relationship between the man and woman. She would then pass back into the ''manus'' of her ''paterfamilias''. Originally, the ''confarreatio'' was indissoluble, and this remained true of the marriage of the Flamen Dialis. The other two major flamines, the Flamen Martialis and the

Flamen Quirinalis In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Quirinalis was the flamen or high priest of the god Quirinus. He was one of the three ''flamines maiores'', third in order of importance after the Flamen Dialis and the Flamen Martialis. Like the other two hi ...

, were also required to marry by ''confarreatio.'' The three major flamines were also required to marry virgins; further, if the wife of the Flamen Dialis died, he was immediately required to resign. It is not clear if this was true of the other priests.

References

{{Italic title Roman law Marriage in ancient Rome Ancient Roman religion Types of marriage

See also

References